National Alliance for Musical Theatre begins its two-day 34th Annual Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages October 20. Eight new musicals take the stage in 45-minute concert formats with Broadway favorite-studded casts.
Starring are Arica Jackson (Caroline, or Change), Darius Jordan Lee (Ain’t Too Proud), Shereen Pimentel (West Side Story), Herman Sebek (Miss Saigon), Mariand Torres (Hadestown), Will Blum (Beetlejuice), Kayla Davion (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Diana DeGarmo (Hairspray), Jacob Dickey (Aladdin), Michelle Dowdy (Hairspray), Bre Jackson (Six), Olivia Kaufmann (Mean Girls), Tamika Lawrence (Caroline, or Change), Zonya Love (Beetlejuice), Wade McCollum (Wicked), Judy McLane (Mamma Mia!), Sam Primack (Dear Evan Hansen), Graham Rowat (Meteor Shower), Nora Schell (Jagged Little Pill), Kristen Sieh (The Band’s Visit), Mary Testa (Oklahoma!), Ching Valdes-Aran (The Wild Party), Timothy Warmen (Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark), Lenny Wolpe (Wicked), Jared Goldsmith (Dear Evan Hansen), and Amra-Faye Wright (Chicago).
Casting also features Liana Sta. Ana (Miss Saigon), Alan H. Green (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory), Fay Ann Lee (Miss Saigon), Mary Kate Morrissey (Mean Girls), Darron Hayes (Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat), Benai Alicia Boyd (Bronco Billy), Kai An Chee (Mr. Holland’s Opus), Genesis Adelia Collado (Notes from Now), Nadia Dandashi (Love/Sick), Lauryn Hobbs (Life After), Diana Huey (Disney’s The Little Mermaid tour), Jade Jones (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), Rachel Kay, Angel Lin (Mr. Holland’s Opus), Jacob Louchheim (Petrified Lighting), Michelle J. Rodriguez (East o', West o'!), Helen J. Shen (Man of God), Nicole Weiss (Octet), Audrey Rose Young (Fiddler on the Roof tour), Tsebiyah Mishael Derry (SKiNFoLK: An American Show), Timothy Huang (Shanghai Lil's), Steven Huynh (Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas), Matilda Luz Concha Pearson (Runaways), Nacho Tambunting (Felix Starro), Max Wilcox (Gigantic), Sumi Yu (Greater Clements), Benjamin Camenzuli (As You Like It), Michel Castillo (Swimming While Drowning), Megan Masako Haley (Wicked National Tour), Asher Edgecliffe Johnson (ABC's For Life), Terran Scott, Nick Bruno, Was Garlington, and Nicole Vanessa Ortiz.
The musicals chosen for this year's festival are Baked! The Musical (book, music, and lyrics by Jord Liu and Deepak Kumar), Blackout (book by Steven Gallagher, music and lyrics by Anton Lipovetsky), Get Out Alive (book and lyrics by Nikki Lynette, music by Lynette, Matt Hennessy, Clay Bail, Malcom Fong, Slavic Livins, and Zeke Macumber), King of Pangaea (book, music, and lyrics by Martin Storrow), Perpetual Sunshine & the Ghost Girls (book and lyrics by Sara Cooper, music by Lynne Shankel), Pup! A Chew Story (book and lyrics by Marcus Terrell Smith, music by Robin Schäfer), The Female Pope (music by Heather Christian, lyrics and libretto by Shannon Burkett), and The Pelican (book and lyrics by Will Lacker, music and lyrics by Dylan Glatthorn).
Directing the presentations are May Adrales (Vietgone), Roger Ellis (Fun Home), Asher Lloyd Ehrenberg (Trans Theatre Collective, New York City Center), Richard Israel (Violet), Rachel Klein (Red Roses, Green Gold), Alan Muraoka (Falsettoland), Mei Ann Teo (Where We Belong), and Ann Yee (Caroline, or Change). Paired with them will be music directors Alexander Tom (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Andrea Grody (The Band's Visit), Lily Ling (Hamilton), Deborah Abramson (Broadbend, Arkansas), Adam Brenner Laird (The Book of Mormon), Adam Cole Klepper (Titanique), Kris Kukul (Beetlejuice), and Julie McBride (Moulin Rouge!), respectively.
Michael Cassara serves as casting director.
The festival also features NAMT's Songwriters Showcase comprised of three new musical in development. A Strange Loop's John-Andrew Morrison and James Jackson host the event which will spotlight How To: You with book, music, and lyrics by Joriah Kwamé; Afterwords with a book by Emily Kaczmarek, music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak, and direction by Adrienne Campbell-Holt; and In Pieces with book, music, and lyrics by Joey Contreras.
Rounding out the festival's programming will be Midday Cabaret sets in the Green Room Lounge during the lunch break, with Deborah Abramson, David Davila, Andrea Grody, and Rona Siddiqui comprising this year's songwriters to be featured.
Registration for industry members is free and now open at NAMT.org/festival. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a direct donation to NAMT. Day-of standby tickets may be released depending on availability.
