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Hoty, Heller, Testa, Kudisch, Sills, Dandridge, Spanger to Sing New Musicals in 2006 NAMT Fest
By Kenneth Jones
20 Sep 2006
The National Alliance for Musical Theatre's executive director Kathy Evans announced the casts and directors of the eight musicals selected for its 18th Annual Festival of New Musicals to be held Oct. 8-9 at New World Stages in Manhattan.
In addition to the eight festival shows, seen in excerpt form in staged readings, NAMT will present the Songwriter Showcase on Oct. 8.
The Songwriter Showcase introduces 10 new musicals with one song from each and brief interviews of the writing teams with hosts Beth Leavel and Richard Kind.
NAMT's Evans said in a statement, "We are thrilled to have such a stellar group of artists participate in our annual celebration of new work and writers. We look forward to presenting these musicals to theatre industry professionals from throughout the world."
Since 1989, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals has introduced theatre producers to more than 175 musicals and 300 writers. More than three-fourths of these shows have had further development, tours and licensing agreements, leading to thousands of subsequent productions.
The 2006 Festival of New Musicals is produced by Jayson Raitt. The eight selected shows, culled from a pool of more than 100 applicants, were selected by the NAMT Festival Committee, comprised of artistic directors and producers from NAMT member organizations.
The eight selected musicals and their respective casts and directors for the 2006 festival include:
Dangerous Beauty, book by Jeannine Dominy, lyrics by Amanda McBroom, music by Michele Brourman, adapted from the screenplay "The Honest Courtesan," written by Jeannine Dominy, released as the film "Dangerous Beauty," and inspired by the scholarly book "The Honest Courtesan" by Margaret Rosenthal. Directed by Sheryl Kaller, with Randy Blair, Christine Bokhour, Sean Elliot, Dee Hoty, Joe Kolinski, Megan McGinnis, Michael Minark, Charlie Pollock, Jenny Powers, Tim Smith, Paul Anthony Stewart, Havilland Stillwell.
Emma, music, lyrics and book by Paul Gordon, directed by Kent Nicholson, with Brian d'Arcy James, Lianne Marie Dobbs, Suzanne Grodner and Dani Marcus.
Jerry Christmas, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, book by Daniel Goldfarb, directed by David Warren, with Kim Bromwell, Stephen DeRosa, Tiffany Haas, Jenn Harris, Adam Heller, Leslie Kritzer, Janet Metz, David Reiser, Steven Rosen, Douglas Sills, Lillias White.
Julian Po, book and lyrics by Andrew Barrett, music by Ira Antelis. Directed by Coy Middlebrook, with Darius DeHaas, Pat Duke, Struan Erlenborn, Jeff Morrow, Jason Nettle, Peter Samuel, Judy Storey, Renee Veneziale, Cheryl Wilson, Lynne Wintersteller.
One Step Forward, music and lyrics by Leslie Arden, book by Berni Stapleton, with Leslie Arden & Timothy French, conceived by Timothy French. Directed by David Petrarca, with Ian Brennan, Kerry Butler, Merle Dandridge, Gregg Edelman, Marc Kudisch, Andrew Rannells.
Piece, music and lyrics by Scott Alan, book by Tara Smith. Directed by Schele Williams, with Amy Spanger, Tia Speros, Katie Thompson, Kate Wetherhead.
Sunfish, book and lyrics by Michael L. Cooper, book and music by Hyeyoung Kim. Directed by Stafford Arima, with Ma-Anne Dionisio, Ward Billeisen, Eric Bondoc, Mary Testa, Alton Fitzgerald White, Tommar Wilson.
Vanities – A New Musical, book by Jack Heifner, music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, based on the original play Vanities by Heifner. Directed by Jack Heifner, with Megan Hilty, Leslie Kritzer, Sarah Stiles.
The Songwriter Showcase will feature the performers Kathy Brier, Liz Callaway, Eden Espinosa, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jenna Leigh Green, Colin Hanlon, Adam Jacobs, Jeremy Kushnier and Sally Mayes. They will sing the work of Eleanor Albano, Anthony Barnao and Ron Abel, Barbara Anselmi and Carla Rose Arnone, David A. Austin, Neil Bartram, Margaret Dorn and Janie Barnett, Adam Gwon, David Howard and Bret Simmons, Scott Logsdon and Steve Marzullo, Robert Maddock and Reza Jacobs, Chay Yew and Fabian Obispo.
NAMT was founded in 1985 and is based in New York City. The National Alliance for Musical Theatre is the only national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. The Festival brings together leading theatre producers and writers, with the goal of furthering the development and production of new musicals. NAMT membership includes not-for-profit and commercial theatres, presenting houses, universities, and independent producers. Located throughout 33 states and six countries, the 144 member organizations "share a commitment to nurture the creation, production, and recognition of new musicals and classics." Last season, NAMT members cumulatively staged over 23,000 performances attended by over 17 million people and reached revenues of over $510 million.
For more information, visit www.namt.org.
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