The works will be showcased at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff Nov. 3-5 as part of the Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. The works are presented in 45-minute cuttings that are seen by musical fans, industry folk and potential producers. (Writers must get to the festival on their own if they wish to witness their shows there.)
For the Global Search, writers submit their works for consideration in a three-round blind evaluation process. There is a £60 pound submission fee. About 300 projects were submitted in 2006.
The Global Search for New Musicals "aims to present the best in new musical theatre writing from around the world." The six 2006 selections happen to all be from writers from the United States.
Writer Jeffrey Lodin is a collaborator on two of the 2006 selections. He is the first composer to have two shows to be presented in the Global Search.
The six new musicals are:
Over 300 entries were submitted from all over the world — from Australia to Austria, Scotland to Singapore, and Wales to Japan. "The high standard of entries made the task of selecting the final six musicals to be showcased a difficult one for the panel of six professional judges," according to the announcements. The panel included Julia McKenzie, Billy Rosenfield, Donna Soto-Morettini, Chris Grady, Caroline Underwood, Susie McKenna and Sally Rapier.
For more information, visit www.cardiffmusicals.com.