BABY CASE, GROOVE FACTORY, et al. Added to 2012 NYMF Lineup

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the full slate of 34 musical productions and special events for its ninth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin July 9th and continue through July 29th. An additional slate of free events, including 12 staged readings and several educational panel discussions, will be announced shortly.

This year, the Festival’s main productions will be housed at the 45th Street Theatre, the Theatre at St. Clements, the PTC Performance Space (formerly the Peter Norton Space), and the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center. Developmental readings and NYMF at Night programming will be held at the Upstairs Theatre at 45th Street Theatre; and additional free events will be held at the first-ever NYMF Hub, a pop-up box-office, lounge, and performance space on 42nd Street that will open June 15th, the date single tickets go on sale for the Festival.

A full breakdown of this year's performances follows and a full list of performances, dates and venues can be found at www.nymf.org/daybyday

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 300 new musicals - more than 80 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters in almost every state, and in 16 countries worldwide. Twenty NYMF alumni shows have gone on to enjoy off-Broadway runs, including last season’s acclaimed The Blue Flower and The Shaggs, and this season’s Fat Camp and the upcoming The Last Smoker In America. This September, Becoming Chaplin (formerly Behind the Limelight) will be the third NYMF alum to open on Broadway, joining [title of show] and the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal. NYMF shows have played in 48 states and in more than 16 countries worldwide.

“It’s clear the musical theatre remains a vibrant, vital force – and we’re proud to have our upcoming season reflect that vitality,” said NYMF Executive Director and Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. “We’ve got an extraordinarily diverse array of topics and genres represented, from sixteenth-century romances, to twenty-first century club kids, from chamber oratorios to ska comedies, and everything from dancing Filipino prisoners to dancing donuts, born-again Christians, and Jack Abramoff.”

This year's Festival will run July 9 - 29. Memberships are on sale now and members can book tickets as of today. Single tickets will go on sale beginning June 15th. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member.

FULL PRODUCTIONS

A LETTER TO Harvey Milk

Book by Jerry James

Music by Laura I. Kramer

Lyrics by Ellen M. Stewart

Based on the short story “A Letter To Harvey Milk” by Lesléa Newman

What can a retired kosher butcher and a young lesbian writing teacher possibly have in common? More, perhaps, than either imagines. And it all begins when Harry writes an impassioned letter to his late friend Harvey Milk. With plenty of advice from his dead-but-combative wife – and surprisingly, from Harvey himself – Harry grapples with the hidden truths of his long-buried past and the promise of a surprising future in this deeply emotional and funny new musical.

ARNIE THE DOUGHNUT

Book by Frances Limoncelli

Music and Lyrics by George Howe

Based on the story by Laurie Keller

Arnie, a lovable chocolate-frosted doughnut with rainbow sprinkles, is the happiest pastry in the bakery when he’s finally selected to be taken home by a new owner. But when mild-mannered Mr. Bing tries to eat the unsuspecting Arnie, both are in for the surprise of their lives! Embark upon a hilarious quest to redefine human/doughnut relations in this unexpectedly original new musical that both kids and adults will enjoy.

BABY CASE

Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael Ogborn

In 1927, publicity-shy Charles Lindbergh, Jr. makes the first non-stop, solo flight across the Atlantic and becomes a great American hero, the envy of millions… until his infant son is kidnapped, setting off the first true media circus of modern times! A kaleidoscopic look at a nation gripped by gossip and hypnotized by the strobe of flash bulbs as one family’s personal tragedy spirals into a national obsession and a murder trial morphs into sensationalized, headline entertainment.

CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN

Book by Kevin Ray and Andrea Lepcio

Music and Lyrics by Kevin Ray

Additional Story by Suellen Vance

It’s 1940s Los Angeles and the hottest place to be seen is Central Avenue, in the shadow of Hollywood, where hot swing blows all night long at clubs like Jack’s Chicken Basket and the Club Alabam. Brothers Bill and Jim Marcel are sax players struggling to carve out their own legacies, but first they must overcome a destructive rivalry, addiction, and tragedy before it’s too late. The winner of the Daegu Production Award at NYMF 2011, a newly-revised Central Avenue Breakdown enjoys a special encore run at NYMF 2012 immediately following its production at NYMF’s sister festival in South Korea.

FLAMBÉ DREAMS

Book and Lyrics by Matthew Hardy

Music by Randy Klein

Joseph Christiansen wants to be a great Maitre d’ like his father who was tragically killed in a freak flaming Bananas Foster accident. Against the wishes and warnings of his pill-pushing psychiatrist mother, young Joe leaves the safety of his small hometown and journeys to New York City to make it big in the glamorous world of food and beverage service. Will Joe succeed…or will he end up flambéed like his father? Find out in this quirky tale of drugs, dreams and flaming desserts!

FOREVERMAN

Book, Music and Lyrics by Brett Boles

What if you could live forever? On New Year’s Eve in 1625, Will Timeson and Jack Mercer discover the secret of immortality – an elixir that will grant them the gift of eternal life. But is it a gift? When the two men fall in love with the same woman – a beautiful, young woman with a dark, painful secret – the stage is set for a grand, musical epic about friendship, love, betrayal and redemption spanning several tumultuous centuries and set to a sweeping, romantic score.

THE GROOVE FACTORY

Book by Chad Kessler and David James Boyd

Music and Lyrics by David James Boyd

It’s New Years Eve, 1999. With the entire country caught up in “Y2K Paranoia,” Chazz Goodhart decides it’s the perfect opportunity to escape his rural hometown of Redfield, Virginia. He leaves behind his Meth-dealing mother, and hops a Greyhound bus in hopes of getting into the Party Of The Century: “The Y2K Bootyquake Bash” at The Groove Factory. Set to an original score of pulsating Electronic Dance/Pop music.

HE’S NOT HIMSELF

Book, Music and Lyrics by Marc Silverberg

Mild-mannered police officer Gene Bauer is having a really bad day. His job is to protect a priceless diamond… the same one he’s apparently been hired to steal. He’s met the love of his life, and attempted to kill her several times. His fellow policemen are hunting him, and he keeps getting knocked unconscious. And to top it all off… he has no idea that any of this is happening! A new-fangled, crazy-tuneful, slapstick-wacky musical comedy about a man forced to face the most dangerous nemesis imaginable: himself!

HIMSELF AND NORA

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Brielle

One of the greatest romances of the 20th Century – Nora, a passionate chambermaid, becomes lover and muse to the brilliant and hard-drinking novelist, Mr. James Joyce… Himself! While his writings exile them from their beloved Ireland and bring the condemnation of the Catholic Church, their bawdy partnership inspires some of the most bubbling wordplay ever written in the English language. Directed by Michael Bush, this tuneful journey launches two soulmates through three tumultuous decades of laughter and art.

HOW DEEP IS THE OCEAN?

Book by Pia Cincotti

Music and Lyrics by Peter Cincotti

It's summer and the temperature's rising when suddenly every beach on the Jersey Shore is threatened with closure: The water is too polluted for swimming! That is until Rob -- a small town pool technician -- stumbles upon an opportunity that will change his life and save the sea. But when a local handy man's lust for power and revenge threatens Rob's world, the two rivals are thrust into battle to restore the ocean and win the heart of a woman they both love. A musical comedy about love, lust, and chlorine.