New York Musical Festival

Energetic and innovative, 'The Shakespearean Jazz Show' reinvigorates and recontextualizes Shakespearean performance. Experience how the loose, improvisatory nature of jazz music can free Shakespearean text, allowing the feeling and intent of the words to be expressed in a completely new way. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy the playful antics and soulful music live in 'The Shakespearean Jazz Show.' This event is part of the NYMF Concert series.

At age 15, Milo Reynolds had it all: a seat at the popular table, the perfect girlfriend, the “coolest” parents, and friends who worshiped him. So when Milo takes his own life on Monday morning, his friends and family are left questioning everything they thought they knew about him. Told in flashbacks that open Milo’s story like a mystery, 'Generation Me' identifies a generation more privileged, self-interested, oblivious...and lonelier than ever. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

Rachael, wide-eyed and optimistic, is elated to finally put her party days behind and become a mom...#YAY! Angie has pre-enrolled her unborn child in the most exclusive all-girls preschool (definitely a girl, she already has a boy). After three kids, Marcia thought she was done. Is it bad that she doesn’t want to cancel her wine of the month club or stop having sex on her back? With a soundtrack ranging from rock to pop to funk and more, join these three unlikely friends as they bond in the trenches from pregnancy tests to empty nests, dominating the diapers and tackling the teens with unmotherly charm, one bottle at a time! An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.

When a rowdy birthday party ruins his clothes, a pair of persuasive tailors convince him to try a vibrant new outfit of patterned trousers, a colorful coat, and a pig. Now the fearsome pirate must face his greatest challenges—winning the acceptance of the Pirate Council, the townspeople, and even his own crew—in a high-spirited story of courage, acceptance, and standing up for who you are. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

New kid Kylie Carson is "different"–which can make middle school a very scary and unfriendly place. So she cooks up a sweet solution: form a cupcake club that's open to anyone seeking friendship and a place to belong. But the popular clique turns bitter with jealousy and vows to destroy the club's efforts. Kylie is now faced with a tough choice: stoop to the mean girls' level or take the higher road. The pop-infused score by Rick Hip-Flores brings the children's book of the same name to life, and drives home a message of empathy, love, and the power of young people to change the world. This production will support NoBully.org and is best for ages 6 to 12.

Banvard was the most famous living painter in the world and the first millionaire artist, world-renowned for his three-mile long moving panorama celebrating the majesty of the Mighty Mississippi. Today, an examination of reference books will not turn up a single mention of his name. John Banvard, the greatest artist of his time, has been utterly obliterated by history. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.

As the owners of Party City Now rebrand their wedding business to embrace marriage equality, Dave, their gay music director, has never felt more alone. Doomed to a life of playing weddings, Dave longs for a love of his own. But when he’s forced to sing a duet with human rights attorney Harris, sparks ignite and hope is born.

This is a Beta Musicals at NYMF. Beta Musicals are new musicals that are further along in their development process than readings, but not produced with all the elements of a full production. Often, Beta Musicals will focus on a few keys elements they are interested in exploring through the NYMF process, such as choreography, puppetry, or specific design components. As Beta Musicals are still in active development, there will be a feedback form available to audiences to share their thoughts.

The six band members teach themselves music from behind bars and earn a slot on a prison-based radio program. Through sisterhood, determination, and a little bit of luck, these women work (and play) together to fiddle their way to freedom. Inspired by a true story, 'The Goree All-Girl String Band' is a tale of redemption that features an ensemble of actor-musicians performing a brand-new country score. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

1969 New Orleans: it’s standing room only. The band starts the opening number for Miss Blanche, the hottest act in the Quarter–but Miss Blanche is missing in action. Instead, a fiery young man takes the stage. Relaying tales from his brutal childhood, he reveals a mysterious trunk, filled with clues about his past and the key to his future. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.

Stinging from old and recent loss, childhood neighbors Sam and Lindsay reunite by chance on Seattle’s light rail. As they begin to fall in love, they slowly learn that healing can be found in the most unusual places, and in other people just as broken as themselves. This event is part of the NYMF Concert series.

'Numbers Nerds' is an almost all-girl high school math team from Waukesha, Wisconsin. The team has won the Regional Math Competition and is chosen to compete in the National Math SUM-IT. These smart and funny whiz kids must unite to solve difficult math problems without getting distracted by teen drama and pressures. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

This show recounts how the rom-com-starring stoner became an A-list award winner. Matthew has his loyal agent Penny, his best friend Woody Harrelson, and his beloved bongos. Now all he needs is to be taken seriously in his art. Enter a demon with a deal too good to be true. Friendship, love, and loyalty are all tested in this hell-raising adventure to win Matthew the Oscar...and save his soul. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

In the fiercely competitive world of girls’ soccer, how far would you go for your child? At curtain, Coach Nick lies dead at center stage, impaled by a corner flag, while a chorus of soccer players sings in his honor. Kathy, a soccer mom, steps forward to tell us the story of how all this began… An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

Follow Ahn’s journey as the harrowing becomes habitable, and hope and humanity triumph in a dangerous city. Based on the real-life Kowloon Walled City just outside of Hong Kong, this uniquely Chinese/American musical offers a timely exploration of the refugee experience. This event is part of the NYMF Concert series.

Mama Sid is a modern-day “awakened one” with a worldwide following. But a determined young woman seeks to unearth Mama Sid’s mysterious past, exposing secrets that could change everything. Epic and intimate, comic and profound, 'The Fourth Messenger' investigates what it means to be both enlightened and human. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

Two worlds collide in this mythical tale when Amada, the beautiful daughter of a Conquistador, and Guario, a young Taíno, meet in the magical rain forest of Puerto Rico. To escape the intolerant world below, our young lovers run away to the Temple of the Souls where nightmares and dreams come true. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

Spirit-soaked and hormone-charged, this comically subversive piece of theater celebrates teenage love with pulsing EDM beats and lush orchestral arrangements. A surprising and refreshing take on the coming-of-age musical. This event is part of the NYMF Concert series.

What Fidel craves is fame, and who better than Errol to show him how? At the height of the revolution an explosive encounter beckons—fueled by envy, lust, and vanity—with a mysterious woman calling the tune. Or could the CIA really be pulling the strings? Who knew revolution could be so much fun? An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.

With music by Graham Russell of Air Supply, this epic story examines three generations of family ties, brotherhood, love, and marriage. What is the price of liberty, and will the Wall divide or unite? An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival Next Link Project.

Extraordinary events force him to venture underground where he must face the demons that control his future. An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.

Gray's dashing looks are captured in a single portrait that allows him to remain young and untouched as he spirals into a lifestyle of dark secrets and dangerous indulgences. Featuring a haunting and romantic score, 'Dorian Gray' begs the question: Do our sins define our true nature or are we damned by ignorance and mediocrity?

This is a Beta Musicals at NYMF. Beta Musicals are new musicals that are further along in their development process than readings, but not produced with all the elements of a full production. Often, Beta Musicals will focus on a few keys elements they are interested in exploring through the NYMF process, such as choreography, puppetry, or specific design components. As Beta Musicals are still in active development, there will be a feedback form available to audiences to share their thoughts.

Follow the legendary friendship of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Through the mystery, action, and cleverness woven throughout Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, 'My Dear Watson' looks beyond the realm of narrative and into the heart of the man himself...that is, if he has one at all. Is there a man in the machine? An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival.