Andrew Samonsky, Elizabeth Stanley, and More Lead Musical Theatre Factory Gala NEW ORCHESTRATIONS

Musical Theatre Factory in association with The Chelsea Symphony will present the gala concert event "Get Yourself Some New Orchestrations," the launch of an exciting new series which pairs emergent musical theatre writers with Broadway orchestrators to commission stunning new orchestrations of their shows. Excerpts from four new musicals (and one reimagined favorite!) will be brought to life by the 35-piece Chelsea Symphony and a cast of Broadway stars. In addition to the new works audiences will also get to enjoy an exclusive performance of the touring cast of The Bridges of Madison County, staring Elizabeth Stanley and Andrew Samonsky. "New Orchestrations," will take place at Merkin Concert Hall (129 W 67th St) on Monday, November 9, 2015 at 8PM. The evening will be hosted by Javier Muñoz (Hamilton). Tickets are $50 and are available online at mtf.nyc/neworchestrations.

Performers for the evening include Bridges of Madison County's Andrew Samonsky and Elizabeth Stanley, Lily Ali-Oshatz (The Wild Party), Farah Alvin (Grease, Saturday Night Fever), Jenny Ashman (Sleep No More), Nikko Benson, Michael DeSouza (Regional: Lysistrata Jones), Annie Golden ("Orange Is The New Black"), Rosalie Graziano (National Tour: West Side Story), Mallory Hawks (Seussical), Jay Armstrong Johnson (On the Town), Angel Desai (Company), Claybourne Elder (Pippin), Eden Espinosa (Wicked), Ali Ewoldt (The King & I), Aidan Gemme (Finding Neverland), Jason Gotay (Bring It On), Kate Loprest (First Date), Cheeyang Ng (Regional: Godspell), Beth Malone (Fun Home), Jeff Ostermueller (National Tour: Spring Awakening), Kent Overshown (Porgy and Bess), Hugh Panaro (Phantom of the Opera), Ashley Park (The King & I), Amanda Pinto, Zachary Piser (Mad Libs Live!), Amanda Savan (Fancy Nancy), Sam Simahk (Regional: Sweeney Todd), Garrett Turner (Sister Act), Tamara Young (Hairspray), Remy Zaken (Spring Awakening), Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Bullets Over Broadway, Contact).

The Honorary Host Committee includes Tony Award-winners Daryl Roth (Kinky Boots, August: Osage County), James Lapine (Into The Woods, Sunday In The Park With George), Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade) and Michael Cerveris (Fun Home, Assassins), and all proceeds will benefit the Musical Theatre Factory.

The "New Orchestrations" Series, created by founding Musical Theatre Factory Members Danny Abosch and Mira Magrill, aims to be MTF's most ambitious project to date. The series pairs up-and-coming musical theatre composers with Broadway orchestrators, with the mission of freeing composers from the traditional economic limitations of instrumentation, to unlock new possibilities through a fully-realized reading of their scores. The size and scale of the program is unprecedented; it allows for the creation of orchestrations beyond the scope of what's practical for a musical production, even on Broadway.

Recently hailed by the New York Times as "Heart-healing Musical Theatre...in Broadway's backyard," the Musical Theatre Factory is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to helping musical theatre artists develop and present new work in a collaborative atmosphere free from the pressure of critical or commercial success. Musical Theatre Factory's Artistic Director Shakina Nayfack is the recipient of the 2015 Lilly Award for Working Miracles for her achievements in founding, and growing, the Musical Theatre Factory.

The performance will feature the 35-piece Chelsea Symphony premiering fully orchestrated excerpts from:

THE FIREBIRD

Music by Lisa Whitson Burns

Words by Christopher Staskel

Orchestrated by Matt Aument

ONLY ANNE

Music by Will Buck; Book and Lyrics by John Dietrich

Orchestrated by William David Brohn (Tony Award Winning Orchestrator of Ragtime, Wicked, Miss Saigon)

RADIOACTIVE

Music by Will Reynolds

Book and Lyrics by Eric Price

Orchestrated by Doug Besterman (Three-time Tony Award Winning Orchestrator of The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Fosse)

THE WHITE CITY

Music by Avi Amon

Words by Julia Gytri

Orchestrated by Kim D. Sherman

And an orchestral re-imagining of:

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown

Book by Marsha Norman

Based on the Novel by Robert James Waller

Orchestrated by Charlie Rosen (Drama Desk Award nominee for Honeymoon in Vegas, Charlie Rosen's Broadway Big Band).

Also featuring a special Charlie Rosen orchestration of "Broadway, Here I Come!" by Joe Iconis (featured on NBC's SMASH)"

The NEW ORCHESTRATIONS Series is directed by Danny Abosch and Mira Magrill. The Chelsea Symphony is conducted by Matthew Aubin, Reuben Blundell, and Mark Seto. NEW ORCHESTRATIONS is generously supported by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

"Get Yourself Some New Orchestrations" series takes place on November 9, 2015 at 8pm at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, 129 West 67th Street, New York, NY 10023. Tickets are available online at mtf.nyc/neworchestrations.

Musical Theatre Factory is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to helping musical theatre artists develop and present new work in a collaborative environment free from the pressures of critical or commercial success.

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