The Bridge, New Incubator for Original Musicals, Launches This Fall

The Bridge, an innovative new incubator for the development of original musicals, will launch this month, it was announced by its Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Molly Marinik (Beehive Dramaturgy Studio). The new company will provide musical theater creators developing original works with sufficient time, resources, and support to craft an intentional and effective path to production. Jenna Ready (Seaview Productions) joins The Bridge as General Manager, and Laura Been (New 42nd Street Studios) is Creative Strategist. 

"Original musicals are the backbone of musical theater, yet they're having a harder time than ever getting to production due to the very real and growing challenges our industry is facing,” Marinik said. “So many of us have been dreaming about what new models of development might look like. The Bridge is imagining new processes, putting them in action, and building conversations about what we're learning -- so we can move forward, together." 

Working directly with artists and stakeholders to provide assistance for shows that are midway through development, The Bridge serves as project manager for a show’s unique development needs. In addition to ongoing dramaturgical support, resources may include workshops, concerts, table reads, retreats, branding strategy, industry outreach, and more. The Bridge also seeks to explore the larger questions around the new musical development landscape with particular interest in resource sharing and expanding development opportunities in regions just outside of New York City.

The Bridge is also inviting arts advocates and musical theater lovers to join this growing community. Through outings to see professional productions and events that bring audiences closer to the process, The Bridge increases access to new shows before their world premieres and energizes audiences at an earlier stage.

During its first season, The Bridge is supporting the new musical The King of Harlem by John-Michael Lyles and David Gomez, directed and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly. The King of Harlem was recently featured in NAMT's 2025 Festival of New Musicals. This year, with The Bridge’s guidance, the show will participate in several strategic development steps leading toward a full workshop presentation this spring in collaboration with Musical Theater Factory.

The Bridge is proud to welcome an inaugural Advisory Board that includes Liz Carlson, Ken Cerniglia, Amanda Dubois, Katie Gamelli, Dmitry Koltunov, AriDy Nox, Sandy Rustin, Jeremy Stoller, Natasha Sinha, Charlie Stone and Arminda Thomas.

The Bridge is a fiscally sponsored project of Producer Hub, and is actively seeking partners and supporters to join the community and conversation. For more information, visit bridgemusicals.com or contact molly@bridgemusicals.com.