Theater News

Christopher Ashley, Victoria Clark, et al. to Direct at NAMT Festival of New Musicals

Victoria Clark
Victoria Clark

The artists who will direct the pieces in the 2010 National Alliance for Musical Theater’s Festival of New Musicals has been announced. The event will be offered October 21-22 at at New World Stages, with limited seating open to the public.

Tony Award nominee Christopher Ashley will stage a musical adaptation of the movie Heartbreakers, written by Robert Cary, Benjamin Feldman and David Gursky, which will have music direction by Eric Stern.

Will Aronson and Daniel Mate’s The Trouble With Doug, about a man who wakes up one day to find himself transformed into a slug, will be staged by Tony Award-winning actress Victoria Clark.

Peter Flynn will stage John Jiler and Georgia Stitt’s Big Red Sun, which is a post-World War II tale about a teen boy who discovers a family secret.

Dominic Missimi will direct The Bowery Boys, by David H. Bell, Jeremy Cohen and Aaron Thielen, which will have music direction by Brad Haak and centers on a 19th-century gang of street kids who attempt to to reunite a young English girl with her grandfather.

Other pieces to be showcased in the event are Nathan Christensen and Scott Murphy’s adaptation of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, directed by Pam Berlin, with music direction by Vadim Feichtner; Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner’s musical about murderess Lizzie Borden, staged by Victoria Bussert, with music direction by Matt Hinkley; the jazz-fueled Play It Cool, to be helmed by Sharon Rosen, with music direction by Joe Baker; and Scott Ethier and Jeff Huges’ look at the months leading up to Rosa Parks’ bus ride, Red Clay, which will be co-directed by Daniella Topol and Jerry Dixon.

Casting for all shows will be announced at a later date.