Melody Beck. Image by Blueprint Studios
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced its 2014 program and this year features its largest ever line-up of Australian artists.
Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered hundreds of new musicals – 90 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York and in over 20 countries worldwide. Twenty shows have enjoyed Off-Broadway runs and three NYMF shows have gone on to Broadway productions, including Chaplin, [title of show] and the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal.
The festival, which this year runs in New York City from July 7 – 27, will happily feature several full productions starring Australian artists including 2012 NYMF Next Broadway Sensation winner Alexis Fishman, performing her one-woman show Der Gelbe Stern (The Yellow Star), co-written by fellow Australian and WAAPA graduate, James Millar. Recent Melbourne Cabaret Festival sell-out Oprahfication, penned by Shanon Whitelock and Rachel Dunham will be presented by producer Adam Lowe, and composer Kevin Purcell will present his show The Mapmaker’s Opera. Paul Hodge’s Clinton The Musical is also featured, along with the Developmental Reading Series offering, House Warming, by Belinda Jenkins and William Hannagan.
Aussie-centric events will include annual favourite Australian Cabaret Sensations featuring 2014 winner of the Your Theatrics International Cabaret Contest Melody Beck in a one-night only double bill concert with Evan Lever. Both artists, supported by The Ron and Margaret Dobell Foundation, will present biopic cabarets featuring the lives of Marni Nixon and Charles Aznavour respectively.
The New York Music Theatre Festival’s General Manager Jeremy Youett is also an Australian native and a graduate of WAAPA’s music theatre course, and is thrilled to be bringing such a large Aussie contingent to the festival. “I’m proud to be engaging NYMF’s largest ever contingent of Australian works as part of the 2014 Festival line-up. It’s a strong and eclectic body of Australian work and will give some incredible Aussie talent the opportunity to perform in New York as part of the world’s largest musical theatre Festival at some of off-Broadways’ most esteemed venues.” The 2014 Festival’s productions will take place on 42nd Street at the following venues: The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre The Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Centre (480 West 42nd Street) PTC Performance Space (555 West 42nd Street) The Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street) The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row The 11th annual New York Music Theatre Festival exists to promote and discover new musical theatre artists, producers and projects and to nurture a vibrant and innovative artistic community. www.nymf.org
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Correction: actually, The Mapmaker's Opera (A New Musical) is presented by Stella Entertainment & Quill & Quaver Associates LLC, not Kevin Purcell, who is the composer. Also, the musical's book/lyrics were written by Victor Kazan.