In 2025, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre was proud to serve as a Producing Sponsor of the 37th 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 eight extraordinary new works and the artists who created them.
Alice Bliss
2007, Upstate New York. When Alice’s dad gets deployed to Iraq, she’s furious, with no one to hate but her mom. Alice valiantly shoulders her way through tenth grade – driving lessons, first love, and all – trying to keep Dad safe by acting perfect at home. A heartstopping, richly harmonic score buoys this fresh, surprisingly funny look at girls and women on the frayed edge of America, taking the heat of war.
Finn is a young shark who doesn’t fit in with his dull grey pack. When he’s introduced to the colorful world of fish, Finn realizes that he may be a fish at heart. FINN is a heartwarming coming-of-age adventure for the whole family.
The King of Harlem follows the story of Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prize fighter who is boxing his way to glory at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, but after a chance encounter with Federico García Lorca, all of the plans Mercy made begin to collapse in the name of desire.
Love Is Dead is a new comedy about a heartbroken woman and a sexy ghost. Her life is falling apart; his already did. Maybe together they can overcome the existential horror of dating and romance in the modern age.
PARTICLE is a multi-dimensional coming-of-age story set in the world of elite gaming. Will Cora help her team win the high-pressure Interglow championships — and what about her twin brother Seth, the one left behind? At its heart, PARTICLE is a story about connection and the transcendent power of love.
With graduation in the rearview mirror, Bus is desperate to run away from her Minnesota hometown and everyone in it. The only problem? She can’t outrun herself. LIGHTHOUSE is a sweeping pop-country musical that celebrates the idea that maybe, just maybe every version of yourself is worth being.
Fusing traditional, Mexican folk music and Mestizo folklore, ROJA is a new twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story. At the edge of the desert in Northern Mexico, Roja rescues a mischievous, magical coyote who offers her the chance to see her father again — what follows is a miraculous journey for all ages.
Three brothers have a magical ability: to conjure images and sounds into the air. But what good is that in a hard, unmagical world? Soft Magical Tofu Boy(s) is a colorful journey through a queer Asian fantasia brimming with pop divas, anime princesses, disapproving ancestral spirits and more.