Performances will take place at New World Stages, located at 340 West 50th Street.

The previously announced lineup includes eight new musicals: Beautiful Poison, Cubamor, Great Wall, How To Break, Mary Marie, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, String and Stu For Silverton.

The Festival of New Musicals "attracts theatre producers from around the world for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute reading presentation over two days," according to press notes. "All production costs are underwritten by NAMT, at no cost to the writing teams. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions."

A limited number of free seats will be available to the public on a standby basis. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a donation to NAMT. Registration for industry members is free and open at NAMT.org/Festival.

The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works director and festival producing director Branden Huldeen and festival general manager Lisa Dozier King. A list of additional events follows:

The 46th Minute
Oct. 22 at 6 PM
Directed by Victoria Bussert (five-time director for the NAMT Festival)
"For many years, NAMT's Annual Festival of New Musicals' jam-packed schedule has required a compact 45-minute cut of each selected show, causing great songs to fall victim to the stopwatch. To kick off this year’s Festival, the writers behind the 26th Festival of New Musicals selections will share some of those amazing songs that will not be heard at the Festival this year. Part preview, part therapy...all new music. The 46th Minute is open to the public, with tickets starting at $25 and available for purchase at www.namt.org/46minute or telecharge.com."

2014 Songwriters Showcase
Oct. 23 at 2 PM
Directed by Branden Huldeen (Festival producing director)
"The 2014 Songwriters Showcase will highlight four exciting new musicals at varying stages of development. Each writing team will present two new songs and talk a bit about the project."
The lineup for the showcase includes:

Costs of Living
By Timothy Huang

The Hunter and the Bear
By PigPen Theatre Company

October Sky
By Michael Mahler
Aaron Thielen

Storyville
By Lisa de Spain
Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Julia Jordan

The 2014 Songwriters Showcase is part of the 26th Festival of New Musicals and is open to the public via a standby line. For more information, visit www.namt.org/festival.

The Songwriters Sessions
Oct. 23-24 (times vary)
Directed by Brandon Ivie (Jasper in Deadland)
"The Songwriters Sessions will feature four different songwriting teams presenting new material from their various projects in the intimate Green Room Lounge at New World Stages."
The lineup and schedule includes:

Oct. 23
Michelle Elliott and Danny Larsen
Rob Rokicki

Oct. 24
Will Aronson
Douglas Lyons and Ethan Pakchar

The Songwriters Sessions are open only to Festival Pass holders. For more information visit www.namt.org/festival.