NYMF's ACADEMY Gets Reviewed In The NY Times, Adds Additional Show 10/15

Academy is looking to graduate from NYMF with full honors.

Because of critical acclaim and ticket demand, Academy has added another performance to its schedule at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

In her New York Times review, Anita Gates calls Academy "one of the most impressive" selections in NYMF. "All this show needs for the big time is a set and a larger theater," she wrote. "And the set is optional."

Academy began performances at NYMF on Oct. 6, and has proceeded to sell out every one of its scheduled performances.

"Well-written, well-acted and well, just excellent all around, this coming-of-age musical is one that grabs you right away," wrote Rob Lester, at NiteLife.com.

The additional performance is 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15.

Academy, seen at Florida's Maltz Jupiter Theatre in October 2008, was conceived and developed by Andrew Kato, the theatre's Artistic Director, with book, music and lyrics by John Mercurio.

"All of us here at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre are beaming that this work, which is now being recognized in New York, started in Jupiter," Kato said.

Academy was one of three musicals that was presented after receiving a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fund at the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

Starring as the three leads will be Steven Kane as Benji, Corey Boardman as Amory and Wilson Bridges as Michael, along with F. Michael Haynie as Regan, Joseph Medeiros as Conrad, Antonio Addeo as Gert, Jason Edward Cook as Pete, Lyle Mackston as Phil and Gabriel Violett as Will. Two-time Tony nominee John Carrafa directs.

The story takes place at St. Edward's Academy, where two senior boys make a harmless bet on whether they can influence an unsuspecting freshman to break a few rules in order to succeed. However, when the deal goes recklessly out of control, the boys become entangled in a fight for their own academic and personal survival. Inspired by Goethe's Faust, Academy is a pop chamber musical about boys learning to become men and remaining true to themselves.

"The audience and critical response has been a dream come true for us," Mercurio said. "We've been receiving calls and e-mails from so many people, so we're hopeful there will be life after NYMF."

Remaining Academy performances at NYMF are 1 and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, and 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at The Barrow Group Theatre Company, 312 West 36th St., New York. On the Web: www.academythemusical.com or www.nymf.org.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its sixth year, has premiered more than 175 new musicals since 2004. The largest musical theatre event in America, NYMF has been hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," and is widely regarded as the key source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2009 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by Back Stage, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, King Displays, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, New World Stages, NASDAQ OMX, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, Sweet Caroline's, Tekserve, TheMenEvent.com, The Tank, and Times Square Squared. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. NYMF's programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.

 

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