Newport NewWorks Musical Theater Festival to Launch in August

Newport NewWorks Musical Theater Festival, a non-profit organization dedicated to the creative development of original musicals, will launch in Newport, RI, August 3–17. The festival was founded by Academy Award-nominated producer Peilin Chou (Over the Moon) and theater and film producer Jeanne Hagerty (Ragtime).

During two weeks of workshops, rehearsals, and public presentations of new musicals, festival participants will be housed in residence in Newport.

The inaugural Newport NewWorks Musical Theater Festival will feature the two new musicals, Ink & Paint (August 16) and Peripheral (August 15).

Ink & Paint, featuring music, lyrics, and concept by Danielle Moore (Audrey) and book and additional lyrics by Marjorie Duffield (Over the Moon) is about the women behind Disney’s golden age of animation. Directed by Liz Carlson, with music direction by Josh Kight, this midcentury America documusical focuses on six pioneering female artists who fought for recognition in a male-dominated studio system.

Peripheral by Mark Aaron James (co-book, music, lyrics) and Sarah Elizabeth Grace (co-book), with direction by Sean Daniels (The White Chip) and music direction by Andy Collopy,  looks at history’s famous photographs from the edges. The musical tells the stories of people captured just outside the frame.

Casting for the festival will be announced soon.