Academy for New Musical Theatre announces Search fo New Musicals winners

The Academy for New Musical Theatre is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2009 Search for New Musicals.

First Prize goes to Greenbrier Ghost, book by Susan Murray, lyrics & music by Clay Zambo.

Second Prize goes to Emerald, book & lyrics by Chris Burgess, music by Denise Wright.

Third prize goes to Dula, book by Paul Elliott, music by Jeanie Cunningham, lyrics by Cunningham & Elliott.

Special Merit goes to Girl Detective, book & lyrics by Alan Gordon, music by Mark Sutton-Smith.

Greenbrier Ghost, in which a dead woman's ghost comes back from the grave to accuse her husband of her murder, will receive a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company in May of 2009, and a concert reading as part of the 2009-10 Concert Reading Series at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.

Emerald tells the story of an Irish-American woman who returns to the land of her ancestors, only to find herself haunted by the famed Black Pig. Emerald will receive an ANMT staff table reading and feedback session in May of 2009.

Dula is a fresh look at the story behind the infamous ballad of Tom Dooley and will receive an ANMT Analysis.

Said one very satisfied entrant about the Search, "I would say that the work that you are doing is the most helpful I have ever received from any arts organization. I only wish that more organizations were able to do as much for the field of musical theater. I think that your entire approach is great, serving a wide number of artists at many different levels in their careers. An incredible process really."

"ANMT is committed to an ongoing search to find and nurture promising new musical theatre," says Elise Dewsberry, the Academy's Associate Artistic Director. "If you've written a musical, and you would like some honest, constructive, detailed feedback on how to make your musical better, you can submit your musical to ANMT for dramaturgical feedback at levels from evaluation to analysis to table reading to workshop to concert reading."

All musicals submitted (at any level) to ANMT by December 15 of 2009 will also be entered into the Search for New Musicals for next season. Winners will be announced by March 15 following the annual deadline. The winner of the Search receives a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company, detailed feedback from the ANMT staff, and a concert reading in Los Angeles. For more information about the Academy, or its process of developing musicals, please visit www.anmt.org.


Academy for New Musical Theatre, 5628 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA, 91601
818-506-8500 academy@anmt.org