Lindsay Mendez, Daniel Breaker, Brian Gallagher and More Set for Events and Concerts as Part of NAMT's 2014 Festival of New Musicals

The National Alliance For Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced casting for the additional concerts and events surrounding their 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals. On October 22nd the Festival kicks off with The 46th Minute, a concert featuring cut songs and new material from all eight 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals selections, followed by The 2014 Songwriters Showcase on October 23rd and The Songwriters Sessions on October 23rd and 24th, all at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

The 46th Minute, directed by Victoria Bussert, will feature songs cut from each selected show's 45-minute presentations at the Festival and be hosted by Lindsay Mendez (Godspell, Wicked). Performing songs from the writers behind the 26th Festival of New Musicals will be Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]), Kevin Earley (A Tale of Two Cities), Rebecca Hart (The Civilians' The Great Immensity), Aaron Jafferis (How to Break), Doreen Montalvo (Giant), Mamie Parris (Ragtime), Bryce Ryness (First Date), Kevin So (Great Wall), Emerson Steele (Violet), Yako 440 (How to Break), Corey Mach (Godspell), Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde), and more to be announced. The 46th Minute will take place on October 22, 2014 at 6pm and is open to the public, with tickets starting at $25 and available for purchase at www.namt.org/46minute or telecharge.com.

The 2014 Songwriters Showcase, directed Branden Huldeen, will highlight four exciting new musicals at varying stages of development and feature performances from Tony Award Winner Nikki James (The Book of Mormon), Daniel Breaker (Shrek), Marc de la Cruz (If/Then), Katrina Lenk (Once), Liz McCartney (Annie), Hansel Tan (Unlock'd), Courtney Wolfson (Kinky Boots), EJ Zimmerman (Avenue Q), Corey Mach (Godspell), Jeremy Morse (Bloodsong of Love), Emily Walton (The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World), Shannon O'Boyle (Once), PigPen Theatre Co. (The Old Man and The Old Moon) and more to be announced. Each writing team will present two new songs and talk a bit about the project. The lineup for the 2014 Songwriters Showcase includes COSTS OF LIVING by Timothy Huang, THE HUNTER AND THE BEAR by PigPen Theatre Company, OCTOBER SKY by Michael Mahler and Aaron Theilen, and STORYVILLE by Lisa de Spain, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and Julia Jordan. The 2014 Songwriters Showcase is part of the 26th Festival of New Musicals and is open to the public via a standby line. For more information, visit www.namt.org/festival.

Directed by Brandon Ivie, The Songwriters Sessions will be presented at New World Stages from October 23rd through the 24th. Directed by Brandon Ivie and featuring four different songwriting teams, The Songwriters Sessions will feature performances by Daniel Berryman (Rent), Brian Gallagher (Jekyll & Hyde), Molly Hager (Heathers the Musical), Katie Thompson (Giant), Mykal Kilgore (Motown), Ashley Blanchet (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical), Anastasia McClesky (Violet), Sarah Beth Pfeifer (The Lightning Thief), Ashley Moniz (Sister Act), and more to be announced. The songwriting talent, who will be presenting new material from various projects, includes Michelle Elliott and Danny Larsen, Rob Rokicki, Will Aronson, Douglas Lyons and Ethan Pakchar. The Songwriters Sessions are open only to Festival Pass holders. For more information visit www.namt.org/festival.

The previously announced lineup for the 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals includes eight new musicals: Beautiful Poison, Cubamor, Great Wall, How To Break, Mary Marie, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, String and Stu For Silverton. The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals will take place on Thursday, October 23, 2014 and Friday, October 24, 2014 at New World Stages.

The Festival of New Musicals attracts theatre producers from around the world for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute reading presentations over two days. All production costs are underwritten by NAMT, at no cost to the writing teams. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions.

For the 11th consecutive year, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals will be presented at the premiere Off Broadway facility New World Stages, located at 340 West 50th Street. A limited number of free seats will be available to the public on a standby basis. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a donation to NAMT. Registration for Industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival.

The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works Director and Festival Producing Director Branden Huldeen and Festival General Manager Lisa Dozier King.

ABOUT NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE - The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. Our mission is to advance musical theatre by nurturing the creation, development, production and presentation of new musicals, and to provide a forum for musical theatre professionals to share resources and exchange information. Our 200 members, located throughout 34 states and abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world and include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs and individual producers. Among the 220 musicals launched by NAMT's annual Festival of New Musicals are Thoroughly Modern Millie, Children of Eden, Honk!, The Drowsy Chaperone, Songs for a New World, I Love You Because, Striking 12, Vanities, Ordinary Days and many others, representing 420 writers.

ABOUT NAMT'S ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS - NAMT's Festival of New Musicals is the cornerstone of NAMT's mission to nurture the creation, development and production of new musicals. We present eight musicals in 45-minute presentations before an audience of over 600 industry professionals. In the short run, the Festival's goal is to connect producers with writers, so that their shows can continue their development trajectory. The long-term goal is to expand the musical theatre repertoire, bringing new musical theatre to thousands of audience members around the world.

For more information, visit WWW.NAMT.ORG.