Biggest Aussie Line-up Ever at New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced its largest ever line-up of events developed by Australian artists as part of its 2014 Festival. This year's Festival will begin July 7 and continue through July 27.
Aussie-centric events will include annual favorite 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.
Full productions featuring Australian artists will include 2012 NYMF Next Broadway Sensation winner Alexis Fishman, performing her one-woman show Der Gelbe Stern (The Yellow Star). Producer Adam Lowe, will present Oprahfication, penned by Shanon Whitelock and Rachel Dunham, while composer Kevin Purcell will present his show The Mapmaker’s Opera. Paul Hodge’sClinton The Musical is also featured, along with the Developmental Reading Series offering, House Warming, by Belinda Jenkins and William Hannagan.
NYMF General Manager and Australian native Jeremy Youett said of the large Australian contingent, “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 Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, and the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street), as well as the PTC Performance Space (555 West 42nd Street), The Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street), and The Studio Theatre at Theatre Row.
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, in regional theaters in almost every state, and in over 20 countries worldwide. Over 20 NYMF alumni shows have gone on to enjoy 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.
Memberships for the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival (July 7 - 27) are on sale now and members can book tickets beginning June 2. Single tickets will go on sale June 16. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member
AUSTRALIAN CABARET SENSATIONS
Unseen: The Voice of Hollywood, A Tribute to Marni Nixon- Written and performed by Melody Beck
You've heard her voice, now, hear her story. Winner of the Your Theatrics International Cabaret
Contest 2014 (YTICC) Melody Beck pays homage to the woman remembered as ‘the Voice of Hollywood’, whose dulcet tones memorialize some of the greatest music theatre tunes of our time. Featuring songs from hit films including West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The King and I and many more.
Aznavourian– Written and performed by Evan Lever
One of the world’s most influential and recognizable contemporary singer/songwriters, Charles Aznavour has composed over 1000 songs including 150 in English, 100 in Italian, 70 in Spanish, 50 in German, and sold over 100 million records. Featuring some of his greatest hits including ‘She’ and ‘Yesterday when I was Young’, don’t miss this delightfully theatrical exploration of the power of the music of Charles Aznavour.
DER GELBE STERN (THE YELLOW STAR)
Book by James Millar & Alexis Fishman; Music by Friedrich Hollander, Mischa Spoliansky, Rudolf Nelson, & more
It is 1933 in divinely decadent Berlin. Alexis Fishman (NYMF’s Next Broadway Sensation Winner 2012) is Erika Stern, darling of the crumbling Weimar Cabaret scene. Feisty, sassy, and always provocative, her show embodies the excess and daring of the time. But as the Nazis rise to power, tonight’s performance will be her last.
OPRAHFICATION
Book and Lyrics by Rachel Dunham; Music by Shanon D. Whitelock
In 2011, Oprah closed the book on 25 years of dominating global television to focus on building her new empire, the Oprah Winfrey Network. It's not been going so well. Now, OPRAHFICATION brings her back with a one-off retrospective episode to celebrate those years and present to you the ultimate interview! The laughs are constant. Oprah's journey through gospel, mo-town, doo-wop, rock ballads, love ballads, and lullabies is a celebration of all things ‘O’ from her earliest beginnings to her wildest dreams. You'll love it and join in. Dare you!
THE MAPMAKER'S OPERA
Book and Lyrics by Victor Kazan; Music by Kevin Purcell
Set in the Yucatán on the eve of the Mexican Revolution, THE MAPMAKER'S OPERA recounts the poignant story of Diego and Sofia – star-crossed lovers whose fate is sealed by a desperate quest to save two birds. The story takes place in and around Mérida, where local plantation owners ostentatiously enjoy vast wealth amassed from the toil of Mayans who from dawn to nightfall are forced to harvest the prized henequen. Inspired by Flamenco and Mariachi music, the show is certain to delight audiences of all ages.
THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Now celebrating its 11th year, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects, nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community, and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.