Manhattan's Musical Theatre Factory Will Develop 25 New Shows; Andrew Lippa Event Held Tonight | Playbill

News Manhattan's Musical Theatre Factory Will Develop 25 New Shows; Andrew Lippa Event Held Tonight Musical Theatre Factory (MTF), under the leadership of founding artistic director Shakina Nayfack and managing director Danny Abosch, announced its 2015 season supporting the development of 25 new shows.

Musical Theatre Factory's first showcase production, Boys Who Tricked Me, is described as "a song-cycle, party-game, sleepover-style musical" that is written by Ben Bonnema and was workshopped last summer in a MTF development residency.

Billed as The Factory's "big, gay, slumber party," the show features songs of "love gone wrong, lust gone right, and that nagging fear that you will die alone," according to press notes. Performances are Feb. 5-14.

Musical Theatre Factory development residencies will each culminating with a public showing of new material.

They include Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat (book and lyrics by Benjamin Halstead, music by Nikko Benson) Jan. 26; Shades of Wayne (words by Christopher Staskel, music by Lisa Whitson Burns) Jan. 26; A Strange Loop (book, music and lyrics by Michael R Jackson) March 1; The Greenwood Tree (music and concept by Will Reynolds, text by William Shakespeare) March 9; Lysistrata, The Vaudeville (translation by Ranjit Bolt, adaptation by Mary Jo Duprey, music by Jeremy Mann) March 23; Junk: A Rock Opera (music and lyrics by Brainpool, book and additional lyrics by Shakina Nayfack) April 6; 5th Republic (music and lyrics by Dana Levinson, book by Stacey Weingarten, additional story/direction by Donna Drake) April 13; and Echo (book, music and lyrics by Anna Jacobs) April 27.

The company's 4x15 program selects four new musicals monthly and offers each writing team a cast, creative staff and five hours of rehearsal space to stage 15-minute excerpts of their shows. The selections are presented together in one evening before a panel of industry guests and a public audience. Round 7 of 4x15 (held Jan. 18) includes Rent a White Guy (book, music and lyrics by Anna Grace Carter); Look (music and lyrics by Andrew J. Hanley, book by Jessica Bedford); The Severed Hand of Neverland (book, music and lyrics by Erik Ransom); and One Night in New York! (book, music and lyrics by Eric Tipler).

Round 8 of 4x15 (held Feb. 18) includes Newtons Cradle (music and lyrics by Heath Saunders, book by Kim Saunders); Vox Pop (book, music and lyrics by David Davila); Gumbo (book and lyrics by Christina Quintana, music by Brett Macias); and Open Road (book, music and lyrics by David J. Berg).

Round 9 of 4x15 (held March 15) includes Playing With Matches (music by Salomon Lerner, book and lyrics by Laura Kleinbaum); Deployed (book, music and lyrics by Natalie Lovejoy); The Awakening (music by Teresa Lotz, book and lyrics by Sarah Rebell); and The Daguerreotype (music by Sooyeon Lee, book and lyrics by EllaRose Chary).

Round 10 of 4x15 (held April 19) includes Crossing Borders (music by Tidtaya Sinutoke, book and lyrics by Ty Defoe); Trivøya Gold (music by Scotty Arnold, book and lyrics by Alana Jacoby); Drella (music by Micah Joel, book and lyrics by Laura Lancaster); and Wait! (music by Sujin Kim, Book and lyrics by Daphny Maman).

Factory Salons, where new and established musical theatre writers are invited to share previously unheard songs, are offered Jan. 13 (with guest host Andrew Lippa), Feb. 26 (with guest host Shaina Taub), March 26 (with guest host Adam Gwon) and April 16 (with guest host Joel Waggoner).

Musical Theatre Factory is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to "helping musical theatre artists develop and present new work in a collaborative environment free from the pressures of critical or commercial success."

The Factory is located at 250 W. 40th Street on the 4th floor. For more information, visit MTF.nyc or call (347) 871-4615.

 
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