Winners of the prestigious international Search for New Musicals were announced today at New Musicals Inc. in Los Angeles.
First Prize goes to Off The Wall with book & lyrics by Sarah Rebell, and music by
Danny Abosch.
Second Prize goes to The Anarchist Girl, with book and lyrics by J. Linn Allen and music by Cris Wo.
Third Prize goes to Invisible, with book by David Hollingsworth, and lyrics and music by
David Orris.
The Search for New Musicals accepts entrants from around the globe; winners receive awards worth up to $25,000 in workshop productions, concert readings, feedback, and developmental support.
'We are thrilled to sponsor the Search,' says Elise Dewsberry, Artistic Director of NMI. 'We love seeing what writers are creating; and of course our mission is to nurture the folks who are writing musicals, so announcing the winners of the Search is one of my favorite things to do all year!'
Off the Wall is a musical comedy loosely inspired by the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. In this ninety minute, original musical, the Mona Lisa is brought to life when Vincenzo, a museum worker who idolizes the famous painting, kisses her. Much to Vincenzo's dismay, Mona Lisa immediately starts causing chaos all over Paris. This fresh, tongue-in-cheek musical may take place in the Belle Époque, but it whimsically explores contemporary themes, including the glorification of celebrity, the obsession with physical beauty and the importance of taking a second glance at preconceived notions of love and art.
The Anarchist Girl takes place In a time of political chaos, when a sexy, gun-waving radical invades the home of a famous philosopher-poet, intending to kidnap him to promote her anarchist group. But he is mute from a stroke, so she conceals her plot and sets out to help him speak again. She also seduces his suicidal math-genius son while battling the great man's bitter wife and party-girl daughter. Once her plan is revealed, the lives of the entire family change.
Invisible is the story of high school nerds Griff and Kemper, who are determined to get popular enough to take the hot girls to the prom, despite warnings from their under-appreciated goth friend Hemlock. When their scientific experiment goes horribly wrong, Griff needs to figure out who is really standing by him, and whether or not being popular is all its cracked up to be.
For the first time in the seven year history of the annual Search for New Musicals, all three finalists will receive a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company, feedback from the NMI staff, and will be presented as part of the STAGES 2015 Festival of New Musicals this summer in Los Angeles.
NMI is committed to an ongoing search to find and nurture promising new musical theatre. If you've written a musical, and you would like some honest, constructive, detailed feedback on how to make your musical better, you can submit your musical to NMI for dramaturgical feedback at levels from evaluation to analysis to table reading to workshop to concert reading.
Past winners of the Search have included: The Water by
Jeff Hylton, Tim Werenko, and
Georgia Stitt (2008); Greenbrier Ghost by
Susan Murray and
Clay Zambo (2009); Gilbert & Sullivan on Wall Street by Charles Veley and
Arthur Sullivan (2010); Emerald by Chris Burgess and Denise Wright (2011); Mad Bomber by Charles Monagan and Richard deRosa (2012); and It Happened in Roswell by Terrence Atkins and Jeffery Lyle Segal (2013).
All musicals submitted (at any level) to NMI by July 15, 2015 will be automatically entered in the Search for New Musicals for next season. Winners of the 2015 Search will be announced by November 15, 2015. The winner of the Search receives a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company, detailed feedback from the NMI staff, and a concert reading in Los Angeles.
Information on submitting to the Search is available by
CLICKING HERE.
