The eleventh annual New York Musical Theater Festival just concluded, and named geek-friendly musical Academia Nuts as the Most Promising New Musical.
NYMF stages an assortment of brand-new musicals for several weeks every year, and is generally seen as one of the best venues in the U.S. to debut new musicals. NYMF alumni musicals have seen a lot of success, with two dozen of them having had off-Broadway productions, and three eventually ending up on Broadway. Notably, the Tony-and Pultizer-winning Next to Normal first premiered at NYMF in 2005 as Feeling Electric.
NYMF gives out awards for Excellence every year, which are voted on by a jury of theater professionals and people in the industry. The Most Promising New Musical went (deservedly so) to Academia Nuts, a musical about a high school Quizbowl Championship that is really a celebration of all things geek. The closing number is actually called “I Speak Geek” – if and when Academia Nuts stages another production, I am sure most Hypable readers will enjoy it immensely. There are references aplenty to Star Trek, Harry Potter (I counted four), Hunger Games, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Les Miserables, Evita, and more. It is also one of the most diverse musicals I’ve seen, with main characters who are Latino, Asian, African American, and Trans. Academia Nuts also received awards for Excellence in Direction, two awards for Outstanding Individual Performance, and honorable mentions for writing (book and lyrics).
Most of the awards were swept by The Gig and Bayonets of Angst. “The Gig” (which this writer did not manage to see) is about a motley crew pursuing their shared passion of jazz; it won awards for Excellence in Writing (both Music and Lyrics), Outstanding Orchestration, Outstanding Musical Direction, and one Outstanding Individual Performance.
Bayonets of Angst is a comedic behind-the-scenes look at the Civil War. It’s a rather odd choice, since it did not really resonate with audiences – though the second act was good, quite a few people left at intermission after an atrocious first act. Bayonets of Angst won awards for Excellence in Writing (Book) and Outstanding Ensemble Performance, and two awards for Outstanding Individual Performance. One of those performances was Abraham Lincoln as played by J. Robert Spencer’s (the Tony-nominated father in Next to Normal).
Other winners were The Snow Queen for Excellence in Overall Design, and a tie between Propaganda! and The Mapmaker’s Opera for Excellence in Choreography. Several other musicals also saw their actors rewarded for Outstanding Individual Performances.
The coveted Best of Fest Award (voted on by the audience) went to Cloned! It’s a comedic musical about a genius who tries to invent a teleporter but accidentally clones himself. It’s a solid choice, but I voted for Clinton, an absolutely hilarious and NSFW look at the Clinton presidency, with the two sides of Clinton’s personality played by two separate actors.
For a list of winners, go to NYMF’s website.
Did you manage to see any NYMF musicals?
And which ones do you hope will have future productions so you can see them?
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