Butler, Champlin, Foster, Fowler, Hoty, Mann, Skinner, et al. to Participate in New York Musical Theatre Festival

A host of notable theater actors will appear in various New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) productions. The third annual festival, which will run September 10-October 1 in a number of different venues, spans a range of genres from rock, hip-hop, and avant garde. Participating stars include Ron Bohmer, Kerry Butler, Donna Lynn Champlin, Darius de Haas, Hunter Foster, Beth Fowler, Kaitlin Hopkins, Dee Hoty, Terrence Mann, Deven May, Marla Schaffel, Emily Skinner, Mary Stout, Max Von Essen, and Nick Wyman.

Bohmer, Fowler, Hoty, and Stout star in The Night of the Hunter, based on Davis Grubb’s 1954 best-seller, and featuring music by Claibe Richardson and book and lyrics by Stephen Cole. Bohmer is currently appearing Off-Broadway in I Love You, You’re Perfect Now Change. His Broadway credits include The Woman in White, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Les Misérables. Fowler was nominated for Tonys for her performances in The Boy From Oz and the 1990 revival of Sweeney Todd. Hoty (who replaces the previously announced Carolee Carmello in the musical) received Tony nominations for her performances in Footloose, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, and The Will Rogers Follies. Stout’s Broadway credits include Jane Eyre, Beauty and the Beast, and My Favorite Year.

Butler, Foster, Hopkins, and Mann star in Party Come Here, a musical comedy by Daniel Goldfarb (book) and David Kirshenbaum (music & lyrics) that takes place during a tropical storm on one magical night in Rio. Butler is currently starring in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of The Opposite of Sex and was Hairspray‘s original Penny Pingleton. She starred with Foster (whose Broadway credits include Urinetown and The Producers) in the 2003 Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Hopkins is also in Williamstown’s Opposite of Sex, and co-starred with Butler in Bat Boy Off-Broadway. Mann’s numerous Broadway credits include Les Misérables, Cats, and The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Champlin stars in Flight of the Lawnchair Man, reprising the role she played in the musical’s 2005 outing at Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. Directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor Corbett, the show features a book by Peter Ullian and music and lyrics by Robert Lindsey-Nassif. It is inspired by the true story of a man who used hundreds of helium balloons to launch himself and his lawn chair into the air.

De Haas stars in the solo R & B musical, The Man in My Head, featuring a book by Thomas F. DeFrantz and music and lyrics by Michael Wartofsky. The actor’s Broadway credits include Marie Christine, The Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. He won an Obie for his performance in Running Man.

May and Schaffel star in Warrior, about Native American Olympic athlete Jacobus Franciscus “Jim” Thorpe. Book, music, and lyrics are by Grammy Award winner Marcus Hummon. May is best known for his starring role in Bat Boy Off-Broadway. Schaffel won a Drama Desk Award and received a Tony nomination for her performance in Jane Eyre.

Skinner stars in Have a Nice Life, a musical comedy about participants in group therapy, shocked into examining their own dark secrets by a new member in the group. The show is based on an original idea by Conor Mitchell, who wrote the music and lyrics and contributed to the book, which was written by Matthew Hurt. Skinner’s Broadway credits include Side Show, The Full Monty, and James Joyce’s The Dead.

Von Essen and Wyman appear in Desperate Measures, a rewriting of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, set in the old west. The show features book and lyrics by Peter Kellog and music by David Friedman. Von Essen’s Broadway credits include Dance of the Vampires and Les Misérables. Wyman has appeared in the Broadway productions of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sly Fox, and Phantom of the Opera.