Several Broadway stars have joined the casts of the new works that will be showcased in National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT)'s 36th Annual Festival of New Musicals. The event will be held October 24 and 25 at New World Stages.
Preliminary casting for the festival includes Renee Albulario (Here Lies Love), Joan Almedilla (Miss Saigon), Julie Benko (Harmony), Emily Borromeo (School of Rock), Jane Bruce (Jagged Little Pill), Sydney Carmona (Ragtime), Gabi Carrubba (Dear Evan Hansen), Adante Carter (Here We Are), Emy Coligado (Malcolm in the Middle), Red Concepción (Chicago), Bobby Conte (A Bronx Tale), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Andrew Faria (Dead Man Walking), Stephanie Gibson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Diana Huey (The Little Mermaid), Amy Jo Jackson (Dirty Laundry), Kiana Kabeary (Empire: The Musical), Elizabeth Ward Land (Scandalous), Jose Llana (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Jaygee Macapugay (Suffs), Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), Mackenzie Meadows (RENT), TJ Newton (Spamilton), David Scott Purdy (Merrily We Roll Along), Aaron Michael Ray (Ghost of John McCain), Molly Samson (Come From Away), Allie Seibold (Footloose), Graham Stevens (Spamalot), Reuben Uy (The Great Leap), and Tatiana Wechsler (Mr. Saturday Night). Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Musicals selected for this year's festival include The Brass Teapot (book by Tim Macy and Ramaa Mosley, music and lyrics by Chaz Cardigan, co-conceived by Erik Kaiko), Dear Ex (book, music, and lyrics by Be Steadwell), Helsinki (music and lyrics by Barrett Riggins, book and lyrics by Graham Techler), In Clay (music and lyrics by Jack Miles, book and lyrics by Rebecca Simmonds), Lewis Loves Clark (book and lyrics by Mike Ross, music by Dylan MarcAurele), Lighthouse (book, lyrics, and story by abs wilson, music and story by Veronica Mansour), Medusa (book, music and lyrics by Parisa Shahmir), and Proud Marys (book and lyrics by Jennifer Paz, music and lyrics by Anthony Fedorov).
As previously reported, directors for this year’s festival include May Adrales (Vietgone), Catie Davis (Beetlejuice), Ryan Dobrin (Merrily We Roll Along), Miranda Haymon (Resident Director, Roundabout Theater Company), Ellie Heyman (Space Dogs), Arpita Mukherjee (The Kite Runner) and Sarah Rasmussen (Artistic Director, McCarter Theatre Center).
Music directors include Simone Allen (Octet), Steven Cuevas (The Notebook, Days of Wine and Roses), Rick Edinger (The Visitor), Andrea Grody (Suffs, The Band’s Visit), Remy Kurs (Lempicka), Nehemiah Luckett (Porgy and Bess, Scottsboro Boys), Anessa Marie Scolpini (Cabaret) and Jacob Yates (Hadestown).
The festival is overseen by NAMT New Works Director Frankie Dailey. The leadership team also includes producers Joey Monda and Skye Cone Ivey, and general manager Greg Kamp. The festival casting director is Michael Cassara, CSA.
NAMT has also announced it will introduce the Festival Roadtrip to this year's programming, which will highlight musical theatre festivals at NAMT Member Organizations from across the country. This year's lineup will include Theater Latté Da's NEXT Festival, Village Theatre's Festival of New Musicals, Goodspeed Musicals' Festival of New Musicals, and Red Mountain Theatre's Human Rights Festival.
The Festival Roadtrip will feature works from David Darrow; Michael Holland; The Kilbanes; Kit Yan and Melissa Li; Sam Salmond, Malika Oyetimien, and Jenny Stafford; Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond; Joriah Kwamé; Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie; Andrew Lippa; and Nathan Brewer and Matt Webster. Performers will include Paige Faure, Shawna Hamic, David Darrow, Tatiana Lofton, Jae W.B., Diana Huey, Kate Baldwin, Adi Roy, Audrey Cardwell, Kwamé, Gilmour, and McKenzie.
The Festival of New Musicals was created to celebrate the new musicals that were being produced and presented around the country, and has introduced musical theatre producers to 300 musicals and 575 writers from around the world. Past festival shows include Come From Away, Lempicka, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lizard Boy, Teeth, Gun & Powder, King of Pangea, Benny & Joon, Darling Grenadine, Ordinary Days, It Shoulda Been You, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, and more.
Visit NAMT.org for more information.
