Works We’ve Supported: 2023
In 2023, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre was proud to serve as a Producing Sponsor of the 35th Annual Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages in New York City. Presented by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Festival has helped introduce hundreds of new musicals to audiences and the industry. We were honored to support these eight extraordinary new works and the artists who created them.
Fallout
A family of Ukrainian immigrants flees anti-Semitism of Soviet Russia in the aftermath of Chernobyl to settle in Brighton Beach, where the son grows up to pursue the burgeoning tech world of the early 2000s in this new American musical inspired by the life of its composer/lyricst Dmitry Koltunov; book by Motown’s David Goldsmith.
Fountain
When her grandfather’s memory begins to fade, twelve-year-old Andi must brave a looming hurricane and embark on a perilous odyssey through the oddities of Florida in search of the one thing that might save him: the Fountain of Youth. A raucous folk-rock celebration of the healing power of family folklore, Fountain looks at love and loss through the eyes of a child—and encourages us all to find the wonder in the weird.
Fountain of You
When a thirty-something actress is suddenly aged out of the industry, she undergoes an unconventional spa procedure to get her old life back. But it sets her on a whole new path to achieve true power and equality… at a cost. Fountain of You is an irreverently funny take on our preoccupation with youth, beauty, and the patriarchal system underlying it all.
Mija
Inspired by a true story, Mija is a new bilingual musical about survival, identity and the complexity of family, following characters between continents, decades, and across generations. When Luisa leaves behind her sheltered life in the U.S. for Guatemala, she’s blindsided by a life-threatening pregnancy. In Oregon, Gabriela aches for grown-up life to start, but first she seeks to uncover secrets the adults around her deny.
Never Be King
Henry of Navarre never dreamed of being the King of France–until everything around him started mysteriously falling into place. Never Be King is a baroque meets pop-punk musical that asks how far we would go to be a footnote in someone else’s story. After all, history’s just a he-said she-said.
The Oscar Micheaux Project
From silent pictures to the talkies, groundbreaking cinematic pioneer Oscar Micheaux battles the racism of Hollywood to bring Black stories to the silver screen facing down censorship boards, financial ruin, and family betrayal. Micheaux’s legacy as America’s first major Black filmmaker comes to syncopated and soulful life in this jazz musical.
Wonder Boy
Jackson is recovering from a break up, growing apart from his twin sister, and attempting to find a new normal in his identity as a transgender man. When he ingests an experimental drug and transforms into a superhero, he learns that protecting others is more complicated than he thought.
Yoko's Husband's Killer's Japanese Wife, Gloria
Did Yoko Ono really break up The Beatles? Was Gloria Abe Chapman somehow responsible for John Lennon’s murder? Why do all these egotistical white guys marry Asian women? That’s weird, right? These questions keep Ruby Okamoto up at night. She‘s getting answers—even if she has to summon all of Asian America into her insomniatic fever dream.