The six new musicals will receive full productions during the seventh annual festival that runs Sept. 27-Oct. 17. They join a line-up of 12 Next Link Productions (NYMF subsidized works) and 11 previously announced Invited Selections.
Here's a look at the six new NYMF musicals:
Fellowship
Book by Kelly Holden-Bashar and Joel McCrary; music by Allen Simpson; lyrics and additional material by Brian D. Bradley, Lisa Fredrickson, Kelly Holden-Bashar, Joel McCrary, Edi Patterson, Steve Purnick, Cory Rouse, Allen Simpson, Ryan Smith, Peter Allen Vogt and Matthew Stephen Young
"Barefooted tap-dancing Hobbits! An ‘80s power ballad by the rightful heir of Gondor! A sequin-studded cabaret number by the Balrog, a dark creature of shadow and flame! And much more! This hilarious musical parody of 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic 'Lord of the Rings,' follows all of the events from the beloved epic adventure with one big difference: this time, it's funny."
My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding
Book, music, and lyrics by David Hein and Irene Carl Sankoff
"Claire’s new job gives her the opportunity to discover her sexuality, rediscover her faith, and find the strength to come out to her teenage son, her ex-husband, and her homophobic mother. Will same-sex marriage be legalized? Will Claire get to marry the woman she loves? MMLJWW is for every mother who has come out to her son as a lesbian… and a Jew. For every girlfriend who has met her future lesbian in-laws… at Hooters. And for anyone who’s ever been in love."
Petrouchka
Concept by Matthew Neff; music by Michelangelo Sosnowitz
Directed and choreographed by Matthew Neff
"The busy gray city streets disappear as a homeless man conjures a fantasy world where he becomes a carnival barker. All eyes are on him as he presents a trio of dolls: The Solider, The Ballerina and the jester, Petrouchka. As he commands their tale of love and jealousy to unfold, reality and make-believe blur tragically in this dramatic dance musical based on a 1911 Ballet Russe production." Therapy Rocks
Book by Kaethe Fine, Nat Bennett and Karen Bishko; music and lyrics by Karen Bishko
"Meet Leah. She’s a songwriter who’s inappropriate, talented, obsessed, loyal, habitually unrequited in love… and who can’t stop eating cake! When her best friend suggests she needs psychological help, Leah marches into a handsome therapist’s office only to discover she’s still looking for love in all the wrong places. Forced to revisit the hilarious and heartbreaking dysfunction of her past, one woman’s quest to find romance becomes a journey to find herself."
V-Day
Book, music, and lyrics by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen
"Josh Cohen wants you to know he hates Valentine’s Day. This year is no exception: he’s still unlucky in love, working a job he hates, and his apartment just got robbed of everything except a Neil Diamond CD. But when an unexpected treasure arrives in his mailbox, he’s forced to confront his biggest enemy: his own conscience. Woven with songs in the style of Neil Diamond, V-Day is about doing the right thing, even when it sucks."
The final production, Special Letter, is presented as part of NYMF's multi-year partnership with South Korea's Daegu International Musical Festival. NYMF and Daegu launched their partnership with the Korean musical My Scary Girl as part of the 2009 NYMF. The U.S. musical Academy took top honors at Daegu this summer.
Special Letter
Book and Lyrics by In Seon Park; music by Chang Wook Ma
"Sergeant Sangho doesn't bully his squad now that he's distracted by his flirty new pen pal, Eunhee. He doesn't know, however, that his dream girl is really a guy – the friend of Private Chuljae, who's tired of the sergeant's grumpy moods at boot camp. But when Eunhee's girlfriend is accidentally drawn into the deception, what started as a simple prank snowballs into a mess of heart-breaking proportions. It's a rambunctious comedy about mistaken identities, love, and the lengths to which a soldier will go for an extra ration of Choco-pie!"
Visit NYMF.
