NAMT Announces The Winners Of The 15-Minute Musical Challenge

National Alliance for Musical Theatre (Betsy King Militello, Executive Director), with the generous support of the Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation, is excited to announce the winners of NAMT's 15-Minute Musical Challenge.

In all times, but especially during challenging times, NAMT believes that musical theatre has the power to elevate the human experience and uplift each other. In March, NAMT put out a call for submissions of 15 minutes of brand-new material, inviting writers to use the first two months of social distancing as an opportunity for musical theatre creativity, with the Challenge winners receiving a cash prize generously supported by the Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation. Over the course of the application period, 269 projects of both self-contained, 15-minute musicals and 15 minutes of new full-length works were submitted.

NAMT's Executive Director Betsy King Militello stated: "We were amazed by the passion and talent across the nearly 300 submissions we received. The selected award recipients displayed work that was inventive, challenging, humorous and heartfelt. We will be thrilled to see what happens for them in the future."

Out of the 269 pieces submitted, 12 were selected to receive an award in recognition of their work and artistry; awards were given at two different levels, with six pieces recognized at each level. The selected recipients are:

First Award Level:

Dragons & Dungeons the Musical

By Kennedy Kanagawa

Holo

By Nico Juber

Mimosa

Book & Lyrics by Lauren Taslitz

Music by Danny Ursetti

Monster on the Lawn

By Obed De la Cruz

PERPETUAL SUNSHINE AND THE GHOST GIRLS

Music by Lynne Shankel

Words by Sara Cooper (NAMT Festival '09 Alumna, The Memory Show)

White Man's Burden

Book & Lyrics by Eric C Jones

Music by Joshua Davis

Second Award Level:

Fanny & Stella - The Westminster Hall Trial

Book by SEVAN
Music & Lyrics by Eamonn O'Dwyer

Femmebodys, or: the way we leave

By Eamon Boylan

Obscene, Lewd, Lascivious, and Filthy!

Music & Additional Text by Adam J. Rineer

Text from Case 241 F.2d 772

Rodeo Clowns

Book & Lyrics by Dale Sampson

Music by Marc Campbell (with Sampson, NAMT Festival '17 Alumni, Sam's Room)

Sanctuary: An American Musical (In Fifteen Minutes)

Book & Lyrics by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj

Lyrics & Music by Paul Edward Wilt

We Love

Book, Music & Lyrics by Ronve O'Daniel

Music by Jevares Myrick

Book by J Kyle Manzay

The recipients were selected by a distinguished panel, including Marleen and Kenny Alhadeff, commercial producers and founders of the Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation; Victoria Bussert, Director of Music Theatre at Baldwin Wallace University; Susanna Gellert, Executive Artistic Director at Weston Playhouse; Jim Joseph, Arts Manager; Eric Keen-Louie, Producing Director at La Jolla Playhouse; Brian Moreland, Independent Producer; and Arpita Mukherjee, Freelance Director and Artistic Director at Hypokrit Theatre Company.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. Our mission is to be a catalyst for nurturing musical theatre development, production, innovation and collaboration. Our 250 members, located throughout 33 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.

NAMT thanks the following foundations, government agencies and organizations for their ongoing support of our programs: The Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York Creative Space Grant, ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund, The Austin Community Fund, BMI Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, The Hargrove Pierce Foundation, The Hollywood Pantages, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Lucille Lortel Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, The Ted Snowdon Foundation, and Anonymous donors.

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