Tickets Now On Sale for SOUND BITES 5.0

Tickets are now on sale for the Fifth Annual 10-Minute Musical Festival, SOUND BITES 5.0! This unique event showcases ten new musicals of up-and-coming musical theater writing teams. The festival will be at 7:00 pm on May 28, 2018 (Memorial Day). For the second year, the festival will be at the Signature Theatre's Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036. Tickets are $25, $35, and $45. Tickets can be purchased on www.tnny.org or by phone, 855-254-SHOW [7469]. The proceeds of SOUND BITES 5.0 will go to the creation and development of new musicals.

After a record-breaking amount of submissions this year, the SOUND BITES 5.0 Adjudication Committee chose the top ten. The finalists will compete for top festival honors including Best Musical, Best Director, Best Book, Best Choreography, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Music, and Best Lyrics. The audience also votes for their favorite musical to earn the coveted Audience Choice Award.

Featured at this year's SOUND BITES 5.0:

Bystander

(Book and Lyrics by Ed Levy, Music by Eric Grunin)

On a late-night subway, a passenger accuses a young woman wearing a hijab of terrorism, which puts the only other rider in a precarious situation.

Cooking For Two

(Book & Lyrics by Charlie O'Leary, Music by Karl Hinze)

It's the first season finale of Food Network's latest, Tasty Time with Jenny and Brett - but as the cameras roll, the eponymous couple's cheery facade starts to crack. When Jenny tries to end the show in a desperate bid to save their marriage, Brett must confront a terrifying choice: relationship or career?

Dinosaur

(Book, Music, and Lyrics by Zach Spound)

How do you spark up a conversation with a stranger? Meet Ben. He has no idea.

Dead Flowers

(Book, Music, and Lyrics by Michael Finke)

At age 82, Polly Patolsky believes she is meant to spend the rest of her days with her unfaithful and manipulative husband, Charlie. But on the worst day of her life (and her marriage), Polly reaches a breaking point and finds strength and courage in a strange place with an unlikely new friend.

End of the Line

(Book by Howard Ho, Lyrics by Chris Edgar, Music by Kristen Rea)

Four worker ants set out on a routine mission to retrieve tasty morsels for their colony and end up on the quest of a lifetime. When faced with a fork in the road, will they return home empty handed or receive a hero's welcome for discovering the "legendary stuff" long prophesied by their ancestors?

Hospital Kids

(Music by Jake Chapman, Book & Lyrics by Lisa Mongillo)

A hilarious, madcap, heartwarming romp of a musical that follows three young cancer patients as they embark on a quest to meet their idol, the flawless Hollywood hottie Ryan Reynolds. These kids won't let anything - not illness, not nurses chasing them through halls, not doctors trying to send them home, not constant nagging from their least favorite celebrity Ryan Gosling - stand in the way of their dream.

JABEZ And The P.P. Gang

(Music, Lyrics, and Book by Tom Hyndman)

While on the lam, a teenage Mexican boy and his outspoken "Pet" cockatoo encounter a former Mariachi cover band turned Banditos, a posse of hostile Texas Rangers, a beautiful senorita and trouble in Old Mexico.

Run This Town

(Music by Assaf Gleizner, Book & Lyrics by Cindy Sideris)

A jazzy comedy about a gangster in the 1920s who is frustrated with his friends and accomplices, and wants to work with and learn from a pro. However, he soon realizes people aren't always who they seem to be, and sometimes your friends are your best partners.

The Almost In-Laws

(Book and Lyrics by Greg Edwards, Music by Andy Roninson)

Des has to introduce his fiancée to his parents, and they're, well... elves.

Welcome to Ridgington

(Music by Luke Steinhauer, Book & Lyrics by Jordan Silver)

The perfect town of Ridgington, everyone follows a strict regimen of routines, rituals, and traditions. Today is Cleansing Day, the only time when each family has the right to tell each other the truth that's been pent up all year. Every other day, they must smile and nod, just as they do in public to hold their lives and families together.

"Every year we are known for our diverse selections and we will stay true to that this year by showcasing everything from Bystander to Welcome to Ridgington to a musical about four worker ants, End of the Line. We have a little bit of everything to satisfy everyone's taste. We're thrilled to be back at Signature Theatre for our fifth anniversary of this one night only event," said Thomas Morrissey, Artistic Director of Theatre Now New York.

"As a non-profit organization, we believe that too many talented and worthwhile entry-level and mid-career writers are stuck in the reading phase without enough opportunities for production. The lack of production opportunities for writers is severely hindering the development of new theatre and therefore new theatre-going audiences. SOUND BITES is a chance for musical theatre writers, at any point in their careers, to get their work seen and possibly developed further, or even produced," said Chris Giordano, Managing Director of Theatre Now New York.

Producing SOUND BITES 5.0 is Theatre Now New York Artistic Director, Thomas Morrissey, who has helped develop and produce new plays and musicals including the East Coast Premiere of Kingdom, the world premiere of The Last Sunday in June, and the East Coast Premiere of The Break-Up Notebook. Chris Giordano, Theatre Now New York Managing Director, who co-produced last year's SOUND BITES 4.0 and TNNY's Rotating Rep Series, which included musicals: We Have Apples, Kragtar: An American Monster Musical, and Thicket & Thistle's What's Your Wish. Stephen Bishop Seely, Theatre Now New York Literary Manager, who has helped develop several Off-Broadway and Broadway shows including Disney's Tarzan, Rock Wilk's Broke Wide Open, Rock Wilk's Brooklyn Quartet, and 8 Million Protagonists.

The mission of Theatre Now New York is to facilitate the creation and development of new theatrical works, the reimagining of previously produced known titles and the reinterpretation of classic works through readings, productions, workshops and work-in-progress presentations and to promote the understanding and appreciation of live theatre and its process by the general public and provides opportunities for emerging, mid-career and established theatre professionals in their ongoing creative process. In keeping with this mission, SOUND BITES' goal is to seek out and cultivate new writers and composers and develop new musicals.

For more information on Theatre Now New York, visit www.tnny.org.

For more information about SOUND BITES, go to www.tnny.org/soundbites

SOUND BITES 5.0 SPONSORS:

SOUND BITES is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement/Creative Learning Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Lower Manhattan Cultural Council empowers artists by providing them with networks, resources, and support, to create vibrant, sustainable communities in Lower Manhattan and beyond. www.LMCC.net