On Sept. 10, NYMF will host “Opening Night: The Back-to-NYMF Fall Pep Rally.” The event begins at 8 PM at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street.

“Kick the Fest off right with NYMFettes on the megaphone and the casts and creative teams of all of our shows, concerts and special events in the house for good food, plenty of drink, a little dancing and some good old-fashioned spirit. Give us an N! Give us a Y! Give us an M! Give us an F! What does it spell?? PARTY.”

Other “NYMF at Nite” events will include the "Final Night Party" on Sept. 30, the "NYMF ’06 Gala Celebration" on Nov. 12, "An Evening with Duncan Sheik" on September 27, and the "Broadway Idol" series (Sept. 15, 22, 29).

An open call for "Broadway Idol" contestants will take place Sept. 11, 9 AM– 6 PM at The Gibson Showroom, 421 W. 54th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. (To be eligible, performers cannot have previously appeared in a Broadway show.)

Nine finalists will be chosen from the open call. Callback rounds, for which tickets can be purchased, will take place Friday nights at 11 PM on Sept. 15, 22 and 29. Celebrity judges from Broadway, film and television will include Stephen Schwartz, Lillias White, Marc Shaiman, Eden Espinosa, Denis O'Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, and Lonny Price. Seth Rudetsky will host.

Round One, 9/15: My Favorite Things: performers sing one Broadway song of their choice. Each performer will be critiqued by our panel of celebrity judges. At the end, the audience will vote for their favorite performer. The 6 with the most votes go on to Round Two.

Round Two, 9/22: Anyone Can Idol: performers sing one Sondheim song of their choice. The 3 with the most votes go on to Round Three.

Round Three, 9/29: A Star Is Born: performers sing two songs of their choice – one that made another performer famous and the on that's going to make them famous. The one with the most votes is crowned the first ever Broadway Idol and will be featured exclusively in a concert at Ars Nova to be produced by NYMF. br>
(Playbill.com is a media partner of the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2006.)