Works We’ve Supported: 2026
In 2026, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre took time to reflect on where we have been—and, more importantly, where we can make the greatest difference in the years ahead.
Since our founding, our purpose has been rooted in a simple belief: new musicals need champions. But supporting new work can take many forms. It can mean helping an individual musical reach an audience. It can mean giving writers the time and space to create. And it can mean investing in the organizations and artistic communities that make the development of new musical theatre possible.
As we looked toward the future, we began shifting our focus toward support that can have a lasting and catalytic impact: helping promising new work move forward while also strengthening the organizations and opportunities that allow artists to create, experiment, and take risks. Rather than measuring our impact simply by the number of projects we support, we want to be thoughtful about where our resources can make something possible that might not otherwise happen.
That thinking also led to the creation of the Peter J. Hengel Award, a new annual award designed to make a meaningful investment in the development of an exceptional new musical. The first recipient will be announced in 2027, marking an important next chapter in the Foundation’s commitment to helping ambitious new work take the next step toward the stage.
That direction shaped our work in 2026. We continued our partnership with the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, supporting the residency of the writing team behind SPANGLISH SH!T, while also providing support for an exciting new work, Magpie’s Song, written and composed by Zeph Siebler and presented by the Lincoln Community Playhouse.
Together, these investments—and the creation of the Peter J. Hengel Award—reflect the direction we see for the National Foundation for Musical Theatre: supporting the people, projects, and organizations that are creating what comes next.
Rhinebeck Writers Retreat
Supporting the Development of New Musicals
The National Foundation for Musical Theatre continued its partnership with the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat in 2026, supporting a residency for Samora la Perdida, Josiah Handelman, Mobéy Lola Irizarry, and Matthew Zwiebel as they developed their new musical, SPANGLISH SH!T.
Rhinebeck’s fully funded residencies give musical theatre writing teams something that can be extraordinarily difficult to find: uninterrupted time together to create. Free from the demands of everyday life—and without surrendering ownership or future royalties—writers are able to experiment, take risks, and discover where their work can go.
SPANGLISH SH!T
Brujita, the new Puerto Rican student at Suburban High, cooks enchanting meals with her magical Spanish. In the cafeteria, classmates make fun of her “smelly” packed lunches while gobbling down hot lunch hamburgers. When the burger flipping Lunch Lady offers Brujita a recipe for instant assimilation, Brujita must decide if brewing up popularity is worth losing what boils over.
Theatre Now New York
Moving New Musicals Toward the Stage
Theatre Now New York supports emerging and mid-career musical theatre artists in developing new work and bringing it closer to production. Through developmental productions, artistic collaboration, and opportunities for future production and licensing, Theatre Now helps promising musicals make the important transition from early development to life on the stage.
In 2026, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre provided funding to support Theatre Now’s development of Montgomery, continuing NFMT’s commitment to helping new musicals move forward at critical stages in their development.
Montgomery
With a blues, gospel and rock-infused score, Montgomery puts you on the ground at the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1955 Alabama, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. Civil rights leaders want to organize a city-wide bus boycott, but they fear Claudette is too young, too poor, and too dark-skinned to be the face of the movement. When Rosa Parks, the older, disciplined NAACP secretary, is arrested 9 months later, the boycott is on. Claudette is pushed to the side, but a new court case gives her one more chance to make history.
Helping New Musicals Reach the Stage
Magpie’s Song
In 2026, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre was proud to support Magpie’s Song, an original operatic pop musical written and composed by Zeph Siebler and presented by the Lincoln Community Playhouse.