National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 2005 Fest Commences Sept. 25

By Robert Simonson
September 25, 2005

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals will begin its two-day run, open to alliance members and industry professionals, in Manhattan Sept. 25.

In recent years, the festival has developed a reputation as a pathway to production. According to an festival spokesperson, last year's event directly led to five of the eight shows securing productions. They were: The Drowsy Chaperone (to be done at the Ahmanson Theatre, November 2005), The Flight of the Lawnchair Man (Goodspeed Musicals, May 2005), The Girl in the Frame (Goodspeed Musicals, November 2005), Striking 12 (TheatreWorks Palo Alto, December 2004) and Winesburg, OH (The Arden Theatre Company, October 2005).

This is perhaps why the cast of this year's shows feature Broadway and Off-Broadway-bred talent such as actors Fyvush Finkel, Hunter Foster, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Terrence Mann, Will Chase, Julia Murney, Christiane Noll, Donna Lynne Champlin, Billy Porter, Michael Rupert, Matt Farnsworth and Jodie Langel.

The directors trusted with piloting the lucky octet of shows are Lonny Price, Susan H. Schulman, Will Frears, Joe Calarco, Steve Minning, Lee Summers, Daniel Kutner and Lee Sankowich.

The eight selections for this year’s festival, with casting, are: