A pop musical set in a boy’s boarding school, the discovery of the world’s last two surviving vampires, fantasy football set to music, a lonely embalmer looking for love, a boy and his Navy Seal father at a fat camp for kids, a dysfunctional family in a world where smoking is banned…..just a sampling of what is being offered up this year at the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. “This year, it’s a very strong group,” said Isaac Robert Hurwitz, NYMF’s Executive Director and Producer.
Anyone who has ever wondered where new musicals come from need only attend this year’s festival. Want to see the next big hit before it hits Broadway? Then, this is the place to be. The festival, now in its sixth year, begins on September 28 and will run through October 18. Performances are held at several theaters throughout the city. A big selling point? The seats are very affordable, $20 for all shows. Shows sell out fast, so choose your musicals and buy your tickets. Here’s information on some of the shows that are sure to draw the crowds.
Academy
Book, Music, and Lyrics by John Mercurio
Conceived and developed by Andrew Kato
At St. Edward’s Academy, two seniors make a harmless bet on whether they can influence an unsuspecting freshman to break a few rules to succeed. But when the transaction goes recklessly out of control, the boys become entangled in a fight for their own academic and personal survival. Inspired by Goethe’s Faust, Academy is a pop chamber musical about boys learning to become men-and remaining true to themselves.
Note: Academy’s director, John Carrafa, is the two-time Tony Award-nominated choreographer for Into the Woods and Urinetown The Musical, on Broadway.
Andy Warhol Was Right
Book by Sammy Buck
Music by Dan Acquisto
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli
Fame. Some want it. Some get it. And some reject it. Andy Warhol predicted it: everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes. Andy welcomes you into his world of pop art, dance, music, film and fleeting celebrity, as three different stories come together at a party that travels from The Factory scene of the 60’s to today’s world of reality TV and YouTube.
Note: Jeremy Davis (Andy Warhol) has appeared on Broadway in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, South Pacific, and, most recently, 9 to 5.
Cross That River
Music, Lyrics and Story by Allan Harris
Book and Direction by Andrew Carl Wilk
Cross That River depicts the sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous life and times of Blue, a run-away slave who escapes to Texas to become one of America’s first Black Cowboys. The story transports the audience to the unsettled West of the 1860’s through compelling storytelling and infectious music that ranges from country and bluegrass to soul, blues and rock gospel. An entertaining and personal story of hardship and perseverance, Cross That River is ultimately about our single most precious birthright - freedom.
Note: Donna McKechnie, the Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line, is the choreographer.
The Cure (above)
Story and Songs by Mark Weiser
In this rock ‘n’ roll fable, two friends stumble across the world’s last surviving vampires. Offered the chance to live forever, one man is seduced while the other barely escapes with his life, setting in motion an even greater fight for survival. At the crossroads of humanity and immortality, lies…THE CURE.
Note: This musical could ride the tide of popularity vampires seem to be enjoying these days.
Fantasy Football: The Musical?
Book, Music and Lyrics by David Ingber
September 1991, New York City. An unemployed stats geek and a small-time bookie realize that their passion for sports is keeping them from maintaining a job or a girlfriend. Combining forces, they set out to create the ultimate sports fan experience-and, in the process, pull their lives together-in this “bromantic comedy” of a musical. www.fantasyfootballthemusical.com
Note: Fantasy football is big, big, big. So this one could score.
Fat Camp (above)
Book by Randy Blair and Timothy Michael Drucker
Music by Matthew roi Berger
Lyrics by Randy Blair
Nothing is going to make rock-and-roll rebel Robert Grisetti stay at fat camp this summer. That is, except for one ex-Navy Seal father, two suspiciously cheery camp counselors, and a 12-foot barbed wire fence. Visit Camp Overton, a weight loss retreat for hefty teenagers, as secrets, sex, S’mores, and self-image collide in this new musical comedy exploring the trials and triumphs of being “the fat kid.”
Note: Blair and Drucker co-wrote and co-starred in the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival hit, Perez Hilton Saves the Universe, awarded outstanding musical by the Fringe.
The Happy Embalmer
Book, Music and Lyrics by Mark Noonan and Nick Oddy
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, count to three… Now picture a no-holds-barred steel cage match between Mel Brooks, Bruce Lee, Monty Python & Axl Rose. Wait…What? Edward Nando is a lonely embalmer. Emily is his lost love (unfortunately, she’s dead). But Ed has a special purpose… Enter a pistol-shootin’ Texan madman, A groovy Russian scientist, And one bad-ass Dalai Lama. Oh, yes - all hell is about to break loose.
Note: Kelly Devine (Director/Choreographer) choreographed the Broadway and off-Broadway productions of Rock of Ages (5 Tony nominations) and the star, Daniel Reichard, was the original Bob Gaudio in the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys.
The Last Smoker in America
Book and Lyrics by Bill Russell
Music by Peter Melnick
With book and lyrics by Tony nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), The Last Smoker in America is an original, four-character musical comedy about a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in a world where smoking has recently been outlawed. Pam, an English lit professor at a small college, is having an impossible time trying to quit smoking. Her husband Ernie dreams of being a rock star and relentlessly practices his electric guitar in the basement. Their teenage son Jimmy listens to so much rap music he’s convinced he’s black. Their nosy, anti-smoking zealot neighbor Phyllis lurks around trying to catch transgressors mid-puff. Will Pam kick the habit or fight for the right to light up as The Last Smoker in America?
Note: Producer Andy Sandberg brought the revival of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical to Broadway, while Music Director Fred Lassen is the conductor of South Pacific. Could catch fire.
Plagued - A Love Story (photo above and at top)
Book and Lyrics by Vynnie Meli; Music by Casey L. Filiaci
Cinderella marries Prince Charming and 20 years go by in a flash - or a flicker, this is the Dark Ages. Their curious daughter Dusty raises a lot of questions and more than a few eyebrows. Dusty’s diva Queen grandmother wants her married off as soon as possible, and she wants Cinderella to finally start acting like a princess. When sweet young Scoop collapses at the palace gates with news of the Plague sweeping the neighboring kingdoms, they have to hatch a plan. Is it too late for fairy godmothers?
Note: Natalie Bradshaw (Francine in the Las Vegas Jersey Boys, Broadway’s Urinetown, and the Wedding Singer) could be one to watch.
Whatever Man
Book, Music and Lyrics by Benjamin Strouse
For all his good intentions, Charlie Weiss just can’t get it together. But everything changes after his strong-willed girlfriend, Anna Pink, forces him into a self-help group where Charlie encounters disturbed Superheros–The Swan, Ice Man and the legendary Mr. Perfect—desperate to share their troubles. When their petty squabbles escalate, will Charlie choose to save the world, his relationship or himself? Whatever Man.
Note: Everyone loves superheroes, and they might love this show. While there are no household names among the cast, their experience on Broadway, Off Broadway, and regional theater runs deep. Someone could break out in this production.
To order your tickets for the New York Musical Theatre Festival, go to www.nymf.org
