New York Musical Festival Announces 2017 Winners for NYMF Awards for Excellence

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) announced today the winners of the 2017 NYMF Awards for Excellence, which were awarded on Sunday, August 6, 2017 at Hudson Terrace (621 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036). The 2017 NYMF Award for Best Musical Sponsored by Play-by-Play was awarded to GENERATION ME, with the Show-Score Best of Fest Awards for Readings, Concerts/Events and Productions, going to CHRISTMAS IN HELL, DORIan Gray, and ERROL AND FIDEL, respectively. GENERATION ME took home the most awards, with GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS, ERROL AND FIDEL, and FREEDOM RIDERS taking home multiple prizes as well.

Show-Score.com, a new website for audiences to discover live theater in New York City, partnered with NYMF to present the Show-Score "Best of Fest" Audience Prize, an award determined by audience vote. Show-Score joins returning award sponsors Play-By-Play and Stage Rights.

The 2017 NYMF Awards for Excellence were designed by Kevin Lee Allen and generously commissioned by Hugh Hayes, a longstanding NYMF Board Member and founder of Play-by-Play. A full list of nominees and winners can be found below.

2017 NYMF AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

OUTSTANDING OVERALL DESIGN

Winner: Jason H. Thompson, Whitney Locher, Scott Neale, Ann Wrightson, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Nominees:

Starlet Jacobs, Heather Carey, Isabella Byrd, Shannon Slaton, ERROL AND FIDEL

Nick Solyom, Caitlin Ward, Josh Liebert, THE FOURTH MESSENGER

Lauren Mills, Vanessa Leuck, Jamie Roderick, Patrick LaChance, THE TIME MACHINE

OUTSTANDING MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS AND ORCHESTRATIONS

Winner: Doug Oberhamer, ERROL AND FIDEL

Nominees:

Jonathan Ivie, A WALL APART

Conor Keelan, GENERATION ME

Max Gordon, THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY

Winner: Justin Boccitto, ERROL AND FIDEL

Nominees:

Jacob Montoya, GENERATION ME

Billy Griffin, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

Enrique Brown, TEMPLE OF THE SOULS

OUTSTANDING BOOK

Winner: Julie Soto, GENERATION ME

Nominees:

West Hyler and Matt Schatz, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Emilie Landmann and Carrie Morgan, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

Jason Jacobs, MISS BLANCHE TELLS IT ALL

OUTSTANDING LYRICS

Winner: Matt Schatz with Additional Lyrics by Jack Herrick, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Nominees:

Richard Allen and Taran Gray, FREEDOM RIDERS

Julie Soto, GENERATION ME

Julie Dunlap and Sara Stotts, MOTHERFREAKINGHOOD! (MATERNAL DISCRETION ADVISED)

Tanya Shaffer with Additional Lyrics by Vienna Teng, THE FOURTH MESSENGER

OUTSTANDING MUSIC

Winner: Richard Allen and Taran Gray, FREEDOM RIDERS

Nominees:

Will Finan, GENERATION ME

Matt Schatz with Additional Music by Jack Herrick, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Artie Sievers, THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winners:

Randy Blair, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

George Psomas, ERROL AND FIDEL

Nattalyee Randall, THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

Nominees:

Casey Erin Clark, PLAY LIKE A WINNER

Max Crumm, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVL

Ciaran McCarthy, FREEDOM RIDERS

Nygel D. Robinson, FREEDOM RIDERS

Lorraine Velez, TEMPLE OF THE SOULS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE

Winners:

Nancy Anderson, THE FOURTH MESSENGER

Milo Manheim, GENERATION ME

Brian Charles Rooney, MISS BLANCHE TELLS IT ALL

Nominees:

Anthony Chatmon II, FREEDOM RIDERS

Jillian Louis, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Lesli Margherita, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

Lauren Patten, THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

Brynn Williams, FREEDOM RIDERS

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Winner: GENERATION ME. Cast includes Addyson Bell, Jenna Bergman, Laila Drew, Ian Ferrell, Mateo Gonzales, Brett Hargrave, Celia Hottenstein, Milo Manheim, Will Meyers, Julia Nightingale, Anthony Norman, Dante Palminteri, Oscar Revelins, Anabella Ronson-Benenati, Deandre Sevon

Nominees:

FREEDOM RIDERS

Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION

Winner: West Hyler, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Nominees:

Michael Bello, ERROL AND FIDEL

Ryan Warren, GENERATION ME

Matt August, THE FOURTH MESSENGER

Tom Caruso, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

BEST MUSICAL SPONSORED BY PLAY-BY-PLAY

Winner: GENERATION ME -Book by Julie Soto; Music by Will Finan; Lyrics by Julie Soto; Story by Julie Soto & Ryan Warren

Nominees:

ERROL AND FIDEL

GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL

THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND

THE FOLLOWING RECEIVED OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE AWARDS:

Janet Aldrich, BEN, VIRGINIA, AND ME (THE LIBERACE MUSICAL)

Sydia Cedeño, ERROL AND FIDEL

Ian Ferrell, GENERATION ME

Julia Nightingale, GENERATION ME

Anabella Ronson-Benenati, GENERATION ME

PJ Griffith, GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS

Harriet D. Foy, MOTHERFREAKINGHOOD! (MATERNAL DISCRETION ADVISED)

TarA Martinez, NIGHT TIDE

Sharon Sachs, NUMBERS NERDS

Carrie Berk, PEACE, LOVE, AND CUPCAKES

Zoe Wilson, PLAY LIKE A WINNER

SPECIAL CITATIONS

Building a Movement Through Musical Theater: Sheryl Berk, Carrie Berk, Jill Jaysen, and Rick Hip-Flores of PEACE, LOVE, AND CUPCAKES for their partnership with NoBully.org

Theatre for Young Audiences: Matthew McElligott, Tuxbury, Brian Sheldon, and Michael Musial, BACKBEARD

Extraordinary Festival Costume Design: Kurt Alger for BEN, VIRGINIA AND ME (THE LIBERACE MUSICAL)

Social Relevance and Impact: Richard Allen and Taran Gray, FREEDOM RIDERS

Festival Achievement in Projection Design: Kevan Loney for his work on BEN, VIRGINIA AND ME (THE LIBERACE MUSICAL); GENERATION ME; NUMBERS NERDS; and THE CADAVER SYNOD

2017 SHOW-SCORE BEST OF FEST AWARDS

SHOW-SCORE BEST OF FEST: READING

CHRISTMAS IN HELL

SHOW-SCORE BEST OF FEST: CONCERT/EVENT

DORIan Gray

SHOW-SCORE BEST OF FEST: PRODUCTION

ERROL AND FIDEL

AWARDS PER SHOW:

Generation Me - 8

Georama: An American Panorama Told on 3 Miles of Canvas - 5

Errol and Fidel - 5

Ben Virginia And Me - 3

Freedom Riders - 2

Numbers Nerds - 2

Peace, Love, And Cupcakes - 2

The Goree All-Girl String Band - 1

The Fourth Messenger - 1

Miss Blanche Tells It All - 1

Motherfreakinghood - 1

Night Tide - 1

Play Like A Winner - 1

Christmas In Hell - 1

DorIan Gray - 1

Backbeard - 1

The Cadaver Synod - 1

The of productions, readings, concerts and events for the 2017 NYMF include A WALL APART; BACKBEARD: A NEW MUSICAL; THE BODY POLITIC; THE FOURTH MESSENGER; FREEDOM RIDERS: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MUSICAL; GENERATION ME; GEORAMA: AN AMERICAN PANORAMA TOLD ON 3 MILES OF CANVAS; PLAY LIKE A WINNER; TEMPLE OF THE SOULS; THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND; BEN, VIRGINIA AND ME (THE LIBERACE MUSICAL); MOTHERFREAKINGHOOD! (MATERNAL DISCRETION ADVISED); ERROL AND FIDEL; NIGHT TIDE; NUMBERS NERDS; MISS BLANCHE TELLS IT ALL; MY DEAR WATSON; THE TIME MACHINE; ECO; FIREFLY IN THE NIGHT; KILLER WIGS FROM OUTER SPACE; PAINTING FAYE SALVEZ; PEDRO PAN; THE HOUSE OF Edgar Allen POE; WOODY - A NEW FAIRY TALE; THE CADAVER SYNOD: A POPE MUSICAL; PEACE, LOVE AND CUPCAKES; 2000 NICKELS: A VIETNAM LEGACY; CHRISTMAS IN HELL; FORA; #BLACKGIRLJOY: STAR JOHNSON IN CONCERT; CAMP WANATACHI: IN CONCERT; HAPPILY: THE MUSICAL; HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN: AN EVENING OF NEW AMERICAN MICRO-MUSICALS WORKS; QING CHENG/DARK CITY; THE LIGHT RAIL; THE SHAKESPEAREAN JAZZ SHOW; UNITED WE STAND (STUDENT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM); WOMEN OF NOTE; DORIan Gray; I AM, I WILL, I DO; THE DEMISE, Matthew McConaughey VS. THE DEVIL: AN AMERICAN MYTH and more.

For a full list of productions, events, and concerts, visit NYMF.org.

In 2017, The Village Voice joined as an Elite Level Sponsor, and NYMF partnered with Sobieski Rye Vodka as Official Liquor Sponsor, and Finca Hispana as Official Wine Sponsor of the 2017 Festival. NYMF is also working with Treehaus MiMA (470 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036), as the Ticket Services and Audience Hub for the 2017 Festival.

Show-Score.com, a new website for audiences to discover live theater in New York City, will continue its partnership with NYMF in 2017, presenting the Show-Score "Best of Fest" Audience Prize, an award determined by audience vote. Show-Score.com is joined by returning award sponsor Play-By-Play.

In 2016, the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment joined as Partner, joining Elite Festival Sponsors, PRG, TheaterMania and Clear Channel Outdoor. In addition, global brand experience agency Jack Morton Worldwide partnered with NYMF in 2016 to provide pro bono branding support for the organization.

To keep up with NYMF, visit the NYMF website at NYMF.org where you can also subscribe to the NYMF Newsletter.

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New York Musical Festival (NYMF) nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater.

Now in its fourteenth year, the Festival is the premier musical theater event in the world. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 97 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 20 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

New York Musical Festival is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.