New York Musical Theatre Festival Announces 2009 Lineup

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the complete schedule for the 2009 Festival, which will begin September 28 and continue through October 18. Since its inception in 2004 NYMF has premiered more than 175 new musicals, including Next to Normal, [title of show] and Altar Boyz.

The 2009 lineup of shows is as follows; for venues and a complete performance schedule for the three-week festival, go to www.nymf.org.

FULL PRODUCTIONS
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.

All Fall Down
Book by Greg Turner; music and lyrics by Selda Sahin
Golden boy Ben Little is embarking on his next great adventure: college. Everything comes crashing down, however, when he inexplicably jumps from the window of his sixth story dorm room. Astonishingly surviving the fall, Ben returns home, where nobody will talk about what happened or ask questions that might tear apart their picture-perfect world.

Anjou: A Tale of Horror
Book, music and lyrics by Guillermo Mendez and Lupita Sandoval
Catalina d’Medici, queen of France, engages in bloody crimes and inexpressible cruelties against her own people in her quest to enthrone her son, Henry d’Anjou. Politics and passion are interwoven throughout one of history’s most sordid events in this Mexican pop opera musical tale of horrors set in 16th-century France. (Performed in Spanish with English supertitles.)

Cross That River
Music, lyrics and story by Allan Harris; book by Andrew Carl Wilk
The unsettled West of the 1860s provides a new life and new dreams for Blue, a runaway slave, who escapes to Texas to become one of America’s first Black Cowboys. This tale of freedom blends old-fashioned storytelling with a score that ranges from country and bluegrass to soul, blues and rock gospel in a sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous chronicle of hardship and enduring perseverance.

The Cure
Book, music, and lyrics by Mark Weiser
In this rock and roll fable, two friends set out for a night of revelry and 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.

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.

Fat Camp
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 tribulations of being “the fat kid.”

F#@king Up Everything
Book by Sam Forman and David Eric Davis; music and lyrics by David Eric Davis
Can Christian Mohammed Schwartzelberg stay true to himself and still get the girl? Or will he lose her to the guy in leather pants? Set against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s indie music scene with a gallery of hipsters, stoners, artists, cougars, songwriters and puppeteers, F#@king Up Everything is a rock musical comedy with heart. And ironic t-shirts.

Gay Bride of Frankenstein
Book by Dane E. Leeman and Billy Butler; music and lyrics by Billy Butler
A graphic novel comes alive on stage when Edna, Chloe, Harry and Thad stumble in to a night of rock music that can raise the dead! Will the girl get the girl? Never has there been a Halloween love story like this with mystery, magic and a cartoon caper that will scare you silly.

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, and all hell is about to break loose.

Hurricane
Book by Michael Holland and Eric Bernat; music and lyrics by Michael Holland
Napatree, Rhode Island, 1938: As the tourist season comes to a close, a young meteorologist’s unconventional prediction of impending disaster goes unheeded by his superiors, resulting in one of New England’s greatest natural catastrophes. With a vibrant score that incorporates elements of Depression-era pop, folk opera, and contemporary song, this epic musical portrait captures an all-but-forgotten moment in American history, one that ultimately emerges as a testament to hope, endurance, rebirth, and survival.

Judas and Me
Book and lyrics by Chad Beguelin; music by Matthew Sklar
It’s tough keeping up with the Joneses when your neighbor’s kid is the Messiah. Consumed by jealousy, Rheba Iscariot pushes her son Judas to be better than Jesus… and we all know how well that turns out. A new musical comedy by the Tony-nominated writing team behind The Wedding Singer, Judas and Me is a hilarious look at life with the ultimate biblical stage mom.

The Last Smoker in America
Book and lyrics by Bill Russell; music by Peter Melnick
In a world where smoking has recently been outlawed, Pam is having an impossible time trying to quit. 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?

Lighter
Book, music and lyrics by Monica Bauer
What would you sacrifice to get a killer body? Two diet-crossed lovers, Connie and Stevie, break up when Connie is humiliated searching for a wedding dress. Leaving her chubby would-be-hubby, she becomes a national singing weight-loss sensation on satanic Doctor Dan’s show, American Weight Loss Idol. With the help of his nutty friends, can Stevie save Connie before she becomes the ultimate Skinny Bitch?

Lorenzo
Book by Judd Woldin and Richard Engquist; music by Judd Woldin; lyrics by Richard Engquist
Lorenzo DaPonte, libertine and librettist, was driven out of Venice by furious husbands, fled Vienna to escape a furious emperor, and snuck out of London to avoid furious creditors. His spirited rise to fame and subsequent freefall from grace is the stuff of operatic legend. An epic tale befitting Mozart’s most famous collaborator and the true love that saved him in the end.

Marrying Meg
Book, music and lyrics by Mark Robertson; based on the play The Lass wi the Muckle Mou by Alexander Reid
It’s 1603 and renowned minstrel Thomas the Rhymer has set out to write his masterpiece—a heroic ballad of mortal derring-do. But when he is cursed by the Queen of Elfland with a tongue (and a quill) that cannot lie, and confronted with a world that refuses to play by storybook rules, Thomas’ heroic masterpiece seems determined to remain unwritten in this rollicking Scottish musical comedy.

Max Understood
Book by Nancy Carlin; music by Michael Rasbury; lyrics by Nancy Carlin and Michael Rasbury
After Max escapes the apartment that he shares with his loving but overwhelmed parents, his world will never be the same again. This innovative “sound-scaped” musical is the transformative odyssey of a seven-year old autistic boy, exploring how the need to communicate can bridge an unintelligible chasm. Paving the way is a leaf-blowing philosopher, a string theorist, Pegasus, a mermaid, and all the presidents of the United States.

Mo Faya
Book and music by Eric Wainaina; additional music by Joshua Mwai, Morris Otis Omollo and Helen Akoth Mtawali
DJ Lwanda’s voice rings out daily on local radio, leading and inspiring the Nairobi community of Kwa Maji. But Anna Mali, an avaricious real estate diva, craves the land beneath their slum. She seduces the fiery young DJ away with a job at a top nationwide station, and organizes a violent campaign to terrorize the people of Kwa Maji. When the government and media turn a blind eye to the decapitated bodies in the streets, DJ Lwanda must return home to expose the truth. But at what cost? (Performed in English with Swahili.) [PAGEBREAK]

My Illustrious Wasteland
Book, music and lyrics by Tod Kimbro; based on a concept by Jason Bowles
Movie stars are sainted, anti-depressants are mandatory, and a tiny computer resides in every good citizen’s brain. Equal parts sci-fi epic, social satire, and high-energy rock show, My Illustrious Wasteland is a ride through a wildly imagined future America. Watch as virtual lovers Mogs and Sunny encounter ghoulish tabloid reporters, pushy pop-up windows, terrorist hippies, drug-pushing clergy, and a ruthless Hollywood bad-boy President who presides over his perpetually distracted public.

My Scary Girl
Book and lyrics by Kyoung-Ae Kang; music by Will Aronson
Dae-woo’s been saving his first kiss for someone like Mi-Na,but is she as perfect as she seems? Things get weird for a naïve professor when he realizes his new girlfriend may be a seductive serial killer. Based on the hit Korean film and featuring the cast of the award-winning Seoul production, this darkly unpredictable romantic comedy knows that love and trust should go hand in hand…even when there’s a severed limb hiding in the kimchi fridge. (Performed in Korean with English supertitles.)

The Dark Door
Book, music and lyrics by David Lefort Nugent
When the local executioner’s son, Skip, falls in love with the rebellious Luna, he and the other upstanding residents of Mortland, USA are shattered by a crisis of faith. Dangerous family secrets and festive beheadings are the norm in this haunting and darkly comic indie-rock musical examining a town crippled by fear and troubled by its past.

Plagued
Book and lyrics by Vynnie Meli; music by Casey L. Filiaci
Cinderella’s daughter Dusty just wants to study science and cure the Plague with the help of Scoop, a flirtatious chronicler, but her grandmother the Queen wants to marry her off to a rich old prince instead. Odds are against Dusty and Scoop, while Cinderella and Prince Charming fight the odds to stay in love. Will a fairy godmother come out of retirement to show them the way out of the Dark Ages?

Rainbow Around the Sun
Music and lyrics by Matthew Alvin Brown; book and additional lyrics by Tom Stuart
Local rock hero Zachary Blasto struggles with personal demons as he relives both painful and joyous memories during a radio retrospective of his career. Based on the album and film of the same name, prog-rock concert meets musical theater in this dissection of broken hearts, life through a liquor bottle, and rebirth through loss.

Seeing Stars
Book by Shelley McPherson; music by Don Breithaupt; lyrics by Jeff Breithaupt
Eddie “Bare Knuckles” McSorley and “Gentleman” Joe Sullivan are two rival boxers in love with Jean, a feisty reporter, in this tough and tender original musical set in Hell’s Kitchen in the 30s. A black-and-blue romance with a bruising climax and a colorful cast of pugs, thugs, and dames, Seeing Stars explores the world of “boys being boys” and the women who love them.

Street Lights
Book by Joe Drymala and Akin Salawu; music and lyrics by Joe Drymala
Monique is going to be the next Alicia Keys. Her brother is on track to be bigger than Thurgood Marshall. But none of this matters when their world is filled with violence, apathy, and broken promises. Can they keep faith when there’s no reason for hope? Street Lights mixes pop, R&B and hip-hop to crank up the volume on the voice of a new generation saying yes, we can.

The Toymaker
Book, music and lyrics by Bryan Putnam
When Sarah’s marriage falls apart after two failed pregnancies, stories of a childless toy maker of the past propel her on a desperate search that spans the globe and time itself. In this tale of enduring passion and hope, Sarah’s quest to find a missing toy and solve the mysteries of a village destroyed by war lead her to a destiny of fulfillment she once thought impossible.

Under Fire
Book and lyrics by Barry Harman; music by Grant Sturiale
Set in the late 1970s during the bloody revolution in El Mirador, a Central American country lies under the heel of the ruthless dictator Tacho. Russell Price, a young American photojournalist, is swept up in the maelstrom and embarks on a search for the mysterious rebel leader Rafael—whom no one has ever photographed. As Price makes his way into the heart of darkness, he encounters people working on both sides of the struggle, all with different and shadowy agendas.

Whatever Man
Book, music and lyrics by Benjamin Strouse
Charlie Weiss, an un-lovable loser, is stuck in his miserable life. But everything changes after Anna, his strong-willed girlfriend, forces him into a self-help group where Charlie encounters disturbed superheroes desperate to stick him with their troubles. When their petty squabbles escalate, will Charlie choose to save the world, his relationship or himself? Whatever Man.

DANCE SERIES
Andy Warhol Was Right
Concept by Melinda Atwood, Sammy Buck, Dan Acquisto, Daryl Gray, and Shea Sullivan; book by Sammy Buck; music by Dan Acquisto; directed by Giovanna Sardelli; choregraphed by Daryl Gray, Darren Lee, and Shea Sullivan
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 60s to today’s world of reality TV and YouTube.

Encore
Concept by Daniel Gwirtzman; music by various artists; directed and choreographed by Daniel Gwirtzman
A troupe of Broadway dancers prepares to go on the road under the pressure of a fastidious and demanding choreographer. During their final rehearsal, the cast goes through the paces of one show-stopping number after another, set to classic jazz recordings, working through the uncertainty, headaches and hilarity of the intense process of making art, and raising the age-old question: Will the show come together?

NYMF will also present more than a dozen special events, concerts and readings. Of special interest is a developmental series reading presentation of a new show with a score by the Passing Strange team of Stew and Heidi Rodewald:

Punk Princess
Book and lyrics by Yasmine Lever; music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald
When rebellious blue blood Clare can’t get accepted into the early 80s London post-punk music scene, she escapes to Manhattan with American hustler Andy. Together, they reinvent her past as a “Watford slumdog” and launch Clare into musical stardom. But as things spiral out of control, she risks losing everything when Andy finally threatens to expose the Punk Princess’s true roots.