As a professional, year-round musical theatre largely focused on producing lesser-known and new musicals, The Winter Park Playhouse believes wholeheartedly in the importance of fostering the development of new works. Thus the Playhouse created and launched The Florida Festival Festival of New Musicals in 2017.

The purpose of the annual international festival is to advance and elevate the original American art form of musical theatre by fostering the development of new musicals and the artistic growth of writers and composers.

The Florida Festival of New Musicals is a 4-day event that showcases six brand-new, never-before-produced musical works and brings together writers and composers with patrons, artists, press, producers and directors. The first act or one-hour version of each selected musical will be fully read and sung concert-style, without staging, by varying casts of professional actors and musicians.

The festival is led by Playhouse Artistic Director Roy Alan. It is the only one of its kind in the region, similar to musical theatre festivals featuring new works that take place in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. It provides a unique insight into how a new musical comes to life. Along with members of the artistic community, the general public is encouraged and invited to attend and be engaged in this unique and exciting theatrical experience.

New musical submissions from writers and composers around the country are accepted each year from July to September. Each submitted application is read, evaluated and critiqued by a panel of industry professionals. The panel makes their final selection of six musicals in early spring.

General admission
(single ticket for the reading of one new musical)
$10

Florida Festival Fun Pass
(Purchase 6 readings and only pay for 5!)
$50

To purchase festival tickets, click on the button above or call the box office at 407-645-0145. The online ticketing system will automatically apply the Festival Fun Pass pricing to your cart after you have selected a performance of each new musical.

Bats On The Moon

Book & Lyrics: Kenny D'Aquila (Vero Beach, FL)
Music: Joel Spineti (Old Lyme, CT)

When the editor of the Sun, a fledgling NYC newspaper, proclaims that a renowned astronomer has found proof of life on the moon, chaos ensues. Is it fact or fiction? Based on true events, Bats on the Moon is a fun and fanciful story about life in the early days of journalism - its twists and turns, drama, ambition and intrigue. How will this discovery impact the public and change life here and now?

A Beautiful Place

Book: Linda DeArmond Grady (Prescott, AZ) & Michael Grady (Prescott, AZ)
Music: Craig Bohmler (Phoenix, AZ)
Lyrics: Steven Mark Kohn (Chagrin Falls, OH)

A story inspired by the life of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis who taught art to the children of the Terezin ghetto during World War ll. In 1942, Friedl and her husband Pavel were a part of the thousands of Czech Jews deported to Terezin. A critically acclaimed Bauhaus-trained artist, Friedl packed her one suitcase she was allowed, with paints, paper and books on art. With patience and scarce resources, she taught the children to use their imaginations, rediscover beauty, and transform the world in which they now found themselves living.

The Couple Company, The Musical

Book, Music and Lyrics: Jeff Patrick Johnson (Boston, MA)

It's Hollywood, 1976. UCLA film school grads Sonny Wells and Chanelle Williams videotape bar mitzvahs while trying to get their screenplay produced. When Sonny's mother passes, he finds himself the new owner of her lonely-hearts matchmaking agency in Boston. His inheritance comes with a stipulation: in order to sell it, he and Chanelle must stall their film-making careers and operate the wacky singles service for one year. What have they got to lose? Plenty; they're about to learn that some dreams come true... at a price.

Gabriel, Blow Your Horn

Book & Lyrics: Bryan Leys (New York, NY)
Music: James Campodonico (Bloomfield, NJ)

A light-hearted fable of good, evil, and shades in between. It's Judgment Day and the Angel Gabriel is assigned to demolish the planet Earth at midnight. But his old girlfriend, Lilith, who is now working for the other team, is doing everything in her infernal power to stop him!

The Useful Citizen

Book, music & lyrics: Katya Stanislavskaya (New Paltz, NY / Odessa, Ukraine)

An intriguing examination of America 's relationship with poverty vis-à-vis morality. Set in post-Civil War New York State, this musical loosely follows historical figure Josephine "Effie" Lowell. A privileged Civil War widow, Effie dedicates her life to being a "useful" citizen and becomes a renowned charity reformer. As she claws her way up in a world ruled by men, she learns that some of her reforms actually hurt the people they were intended to help.

Young Dr. Jekyll

Book: Philip David Stern (Burlington, VT) & Lisa Hopkins (Burlington, VT)
Additional Book: Tim Wells (Burbank CA)
Concept, Music & Lyrics: Philip David Stern (Burlington, VT)

The infamous Dr. Jekyll never died. After he was committed to an asylum, his two young sons, Harry and Arthur, were left to fend for themselves in London. The young Dr. Harry Jekyll is on the verge of a mind blowing discovery - an "intelligence" elixir. He is confident this will earn him the notoriety of his heroes Newton and Copernicus and erase the stigma of his last name. The story gets tangled up with a besotted roommate, a meddling landlord, a Smart Tart that contains the potion, and a triple-threat French songstress. Science or will power? If you really believe something, can it come true?

The Winter Park Playhouse is deeply grateful to the following sponsors for their generous support to help make the Florida Festival of New Musicals possible!

PRESENTING SPONSORS

Dr. Judith Marlowe and Mr. Gordon Blitch

SPONSORS