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The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) was an annual three-week summer festival that operated from 2004 to 2019. It presented more than 30 new musicals a year in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
's midtown theater district. More than half were chosen by leading theater artists and producers through an open-submission, double-blind evaluation process; the remaining shows were invited to participate by the Festival's artist staff. The festival premiered over 447 musicals, which featured the work of over 8,000 artists and were attended by more than 300,000 people. More than 100 NYMF shows went on to further productions. By NYMF's county, alumni productions have been produced in all 50 US states and in 27 countries, and have been seen by roughly four million people. Over 20 NYMF shows have had cast albums recorded.


History

In addition to full productions, NYMF presented a wide range of special events, readings and concerts of new music, educational seminars, explorations of musicals in TV and film, and unusual collaborations with other New York-based arts organizations. In 2011, The Festival introduced NYMF meets NYMIF, partnering with the New York Musical Improv Festival in a weekly series in which NYMF performers were paired with performers from the Magnet Theater to create completely improvised musicals. In 2005, the Festival featured a series of co-productions with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater exploring the nexus of improvisation and musical theater. NYMF has also partnered with The Paley Center each season to present special screenings of Musicals on Television. Additionally, in 2005 the New York Musical Theatre Festival received the 21st Jujamcyn Theaters Award, a $100,000 prize given to a not-for-profit institution that has made an "outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre." NYMF also featured a Dance Series, celebrating the fusion of musical theatre and dance. Each series included one new musical commissioned by the Festival: ''Common Grounds'' (2006), ''Platforms'' (2007), ''Wild About Harry'' (2008), and ''Andy Warhol Was Right'' (2009). During the off-season, NYMF produced a number of concerts, from large star-studded evenings like "The Unauthorized Musicology of
Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...
", to intimate events like a salon with composer
Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single " Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has composed ...
. It also operated a year-round writer service program, The Next Link Project, which provided dramaturgical, professional, entrepreneurial and financial support to help writers bring their musicals to fruition as fully staged productions. The Next Link Project culminated with twelve writing teams each year receiving subsidized productions in NYMF's fall Festival. On July 17, 2008, the musical ''
title of show '' itle of show' is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and compos ...
'' became the first show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
production when it opened at the Lyceum Theatre. The show closed October 12, 2008 after playing 13 previews and 102 performances. It was produced by
Kevin McCollum Kevin McCollum (born March 1, 1962) is an American theatrical booking executive and producer of musical theater and plays, many on Broadway. During a producing career spanning over twenty-five years, McCollum has received three Tony Awards for ...
, the producer of
Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
and
Avenue Q ''Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of PBS' ...
, as well as Roy Miller, producer of
Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to pl ...
, the
Vineyard Theatre The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...
, Laura Camien and
Kris Stewart Kris Stewart (born February 9, 1967 in Portsmouth) is the founding chairman of English football club AFC Wimbledon and a left wing political activist. He was the club's chief executive and is also a CIMA past finalist management accountant. Unde ...
, founder emeritus of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. In 2009, ''
Next To Normal ''Next to Normal'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing ...
'' became the second show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial Broadway production. It became a smash hit at the Booth Theatre, winning three
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
, including Best Score and Best Leading Actress In A Musical. "Next To Normal" went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the ninth musical to be so honored in the history of that award. Additionally, in 2009, NYMF began a partnership with the Daegu International Musical Theatre Festival (DIMF), which shares its dedication to new musicals and new artists. The partnership includes a production exchange, which began with the hit Korean production of ''My Scary Girl'' at NYMF, and continued in the Summer of 2010 with the 2009 NYMF musical ''Academy'' at DIMF. NYMF's Korean production of ''Academy'' received awards for Best Musical and Best Supporting Actor at the annual Daegu Musical Theater Awards. In 2013, NYMF won a Special
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
"for a decade of creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form." ''Nerds: A Musical Software Satire'', from NYMF 2005, was meant to be the fourth Broadway transfer of a NYMF show when it opened at the Longacre Theatre in 2016. However, it lost a major investor a month before its scheduled opening, when the cast was already in rehearsal, and the opening was cancelled. On January 2, 2020, NYMF abruptly announced that it was shutting down, ceasing operations immediately.


NYMF Awards for Excellence

At the end of every festival starting in 2006, a jury of Broadway professionals gave out awards for excellence to the deserving productions in that year's festival. There is also a "Best of Fest" award that the public votes for.


References


Notes

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External links


The New York Musical Theatre Festival Official Site

New York Musical Theatre Festival
''Downstage Center'' XM radio interview at
American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
, 2006

''Los Angeles Times'' feature on the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival Theatre festivals in the United States
Musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
Musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
Musical theatre organizations