Mission

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to ensure the future vitality of America's greatest art form, by serving as the preeminent launching pad for a stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse array of new musicals, and by providing an affordable way for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders and musical theatre audiences.

We discover, nurture, and promote promising artists at all stages of development, and seek to inspire diverse audiences through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

EMPOWERING A NEW GENERATION

Inaugurated in 2004, NYMF's largest program is the annual festival that bears its name.  Inspired by the independent film movement, the New York Musical Theatre Festival blends the economy of scale and grassroots mechanisms of film festivals with a professional support network and technical framework designed specifically for new musicals, to provide an unrivaled showcase of new musicals and emerging talent.

The Festival gives artists the crucial chance to hone their craft and their musicals, by realizing their shows in three dimensions before a live and responsive audience — and it delivers greater production value and promotional reach than its participants could otherwise afford.  By consistently attracting the participation of well-known actors, directors and other established members of the theatre industry, the Festival has also created an environment rich with mentorship opportunities for newer artists, and made the festival a leading spot for the discovery of talented new performers, directors, choreographers, designers, and producers — as well as writers.

The largest annual musical theatre event in the world, the Festival presents 30 productions each fall in the heart of New York City's theatre district, alongside a dazzling array of readings, concerts, and other special events.  It is attended by an audience of more than 30,000 theater lovers and by producers, talent scouts, and other industry insiders.  Of the more than 300 new musicals presented at the Festival since its inception in 2004, more than 70 have gone on to successful productions on Broadway, off-Broadway, in almost every U.S. state and in more than a dozen countries around the world.

The Festival's work is fueled by partnerships with theater organizations around the world and by NYMF's other year-round programs:

         • The Next Link Project

         • The Student Leadership Program and ASCAP Educational Series

         • NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation

For more detailed information about the Festival's programming, click here.