Performances of the festival’s many offerings continue through August 5.
The 2018 New York Musical Festival opened on Monday, July 9, with a celebration for the companies of its 12 fully staged musicals, 10 readings, and eight concert productions. Check out photos from the red carpet in the gallery below.
Tony Award nominee Ethan Slater (SpongeBob SquarePants) is the festival's honorary chair. Performances continue through August 5 at various theaters on West 42nd Street.
Now in its 15th year, NYMF provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical-theater fans. More than 90 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 20 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."