25 DAYS OF NAMT: We're All Ages!

DAY 11

Some of the most popular shows to come out of the Festival have been productions of Theatre for Young Audiences and family oriented shows. This includes the international sensation Honk! (Fest ‘99) by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, this year’s Festival show by the same authors The Three Little Pigs, last year’s Festival favorite Funked Up Fairy Tales, Andrew Lippa’s A Little Princess (Fest ‘05), and many, many more.

Watch this great video of the title song from another Festival TYA show, How Can You Run With a Shell on Your Back? (Fest ‘09), filmed in Chicago, the same city where the show was developed at NAMT member Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

And don't forget to attend SHOW OFF!, where one of the benefit honorees is Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Creative Producer  Rick Boynton.

25 DAYS OF NAMT: Ready to Perform

DAY 10

Becoming licensed for performance offers a musical the chance to reach audiences all across the world, through productions at professional and amateur houses from San Diego to Chicago and London to Seoul. This is Part One of a two-part series about all of the shows that have become licensed after participation in the NAMT Festival.

Today we look at the licensing houses Samuel French, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Dramatists Play Service have to offer:

Keep watching the blog next week to learn about the shows licensed by Musical Theatre International and Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Can you guess which of the shows listed above will have a number featured in SHOW OFF?

25 DAYS OF NAMT: The Gypsies of NAMT

DAY 9

No festival is complete without the talented performers who bring each show to life. Today we look at some of the repeat cast members in Festival history. See what they are up to now and check out pictures of them in rehearsal and performance over the years--and be sure to look around the NAMT website for more pictures of our talented casts.

Kenita Miller in Funked Up Fairy Tales

Alex Brightman - Currently on Broadway in Big Fish 
Kerry Butler - Performing in SHOW OFF! October 20.

Bryce Ryness - Currently on Broadway in First Date
Nancy Opel - Currently in Honeymoon in Vegas at Papermill Playhouse
Kenita Miller - Recently seen in many productions with City Center Encores!
Santino Fontana - Currently on Broadway in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Chris Hoch - Currently on Broadway in Matilda
Lindsay Mendez - Currently on Broadway in Wicked

Alex Brightman  & Kerry Butler

Lindsay Mendez in rehearsal for Band Geeks!

Chris Hoch (far left) and Santino Fontana (second from right) rehearsing Bonfire Night

Bryce Ryness (background) rehearsing Triangle

Nancy Opel (second from right) in Bleeding Love

25 DAYS OF NAMT: “I Love You” Around the World

Day 8

I Love You Because  by Salzman & Cunningham was featured in the 2005 NAMT Festival, received an Off Broadway run in 2006 and since then has lived on in countless productions at regional and international theaters. Some of the international production locations include Germany, the Philippines and England. Take a look at some of the artwork and photos from these cross-continental mountings! 

Left column: Repertory Philippines, Philippines 2009

Right Column: Landor Theatre, UK 2007

25 DAYS OF NAMT: They Just Can't Get Enough!

Day 7

This year’s 25^th Annual Festival of New Musicals features FIVE returning teams of  writers. Find out more about the history of each team at NAMT below and be sure to visit the 2013 Festival page to hear clips from their shows. 

* These authors have appeared at the Festival even more times than are listed above! Without Mr. Taylor, Robert Oberacker co-wrote In That Valley (Fest '99); without Mr. Greenberg, Tommy Newman penned Tinyard Hill (Fest '07); without Mr. Drewe, George Stiles was on the team for The Three Musketeers (Fest '99). We are thrilled to have them and their collaborators back!

25 DAYS OF NAMT: And the Kleban Goes To

Day 6

This year, it was Festival alumni author Daniel Maté!! He charmed audiences in 2010 with The Trouble With Doug (co-written by Will Aronson) an inventive musical that re-imagines Kafka’s Metamorphosis.

Here is Daniel and Will performing a song from The Trouble With Doug, and be sure to check out the other videos on Daniel’s YouTube channel for endless funny, smart, and poignant numbers like this. 

Congratulations Daniel! 

Some other recent Festival alumni-Kelban Prize winners include: Andrew Gerle (2012), Adam Gwon (2011), Michelle Elliott (2011), Peter Mills (2010), Laura Harrington (2008), Joe Iconis (2007) and Jeremy Desmon (2007).

25 DAYS OF NAMT: Remember When....

Day 5

The 2009 Festival featured Memory is the Mother of All Wisdom by Sara Cooper and Zach Redler. After the Festival, the show was a produced at Barrington Stage Company (a NAMT member theatre!), and with the help of a National Fund for New Musicals grant, Transport Group (another NAMT member theatre!) produced the show Off-Broadway this past year, now with the new title: The Memory Show.  Though the title changed, the cast stayed the same through all of these productions.   

Look below for images of Leslie Kritzer and Catherine Cox staring in this powerful piece—4 years apart!