Awards season is wrapping up, and there are only a few more announcements to make before the summer. This season alone, we’ve watched new musicals break through, unheard voices rise, and creative communities stand taller than the structures trying to contain them. There’s real movement happening—often quietly, often against the odds—but it’s happening. And it reminds us why we do this work, even when the climate turns.
But, there’s a difference between hard times and hostile ones. Lately, it feels like we’ve crossed a line.
The news hasn’t just been frustrating, but personal. Grants revoked. Partnerships stalled. Decisions made behind closed doors that impact what you’re building in real time. And underneath it all, the subtle ache of wondering whether the work still has a place. No institution is immune to this moment—not even ours. The storm has beat upon the NAMT doors, too. And while we’re not in freefall, we are adjusting, absorbing and rerouting just like many of you. That doesn’t mean we’re shrinking back. It means we’re getting clearer on what matters, and how we show up.
So let’s name this season for what it is: destabilizing. And in that same breath, let’s also name what doesn’t change.
At NAMT, we believe in the long game. We believe in systems that hold. In infrastructure built for collaboration, even in chaos. In artists who don’t quit when the conditions sour, but instead adapt, document, reimagine. Our survival is bound up in each other, in the stories we insist on telling, and in the futures we refuse to surrender.
Paralysis is not our native state. Creation and Community are.
We’ve never pretended this work is easy. But we’ve also never pretended it’s not worth doing. The truth is, the pressure we’re feeling? It’s a signal. What we’re making matters—enough that people are trying to shut it down. So don’t step back. Double down: On your work. On your values. On each other.
So no, this isn’t business as usual. But it is still our business.
If the world is going to keep testing the resilience of this field, we’re going to keep meeting the moment—with rigor, with care, and with you.
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| Frankie Dailey
NAMT New Works Director
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Stay in the loop! Check out announcements from the NAMT Network:
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PIPELINE WINNERS: Pipeline Arts Foundation announces 2025 Winners including new musical by Tommy Newman (Fests '07, '09, '13) and Jaime Lozano (MTSC '25) and many more! Congrats Winners!
MAESTRA DIRECTORY: Maestra Music launches new Directory of Shows to showcase and elevate original musical works created by Maestra members.
MICHAEL RUBINOFF: NAMT Member The Musical Stage Company announces Michael Rubinoff as next Artistic Director.
TONY FOR THE MUNY: Mike Isaacson & Kwofe Coleman take the stage as NAMT Member The Muny is honored with Regional Tony Award.
WANTED ON BROADWAY: Ross Baum & Angelica Chéri (both Fest '18) reveal WANTED (fka GUN & POWDER) is headed to Broadway in 2026!
GROUND FLOOR: Berkeley Rep announces 2025 Summer Residency Lab featuring 24 projects and over 120 artists including NAMT writers Jord Liu (Fest '22) and Sara Porkalob (FYFNM '17).
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The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, returns to the stage with CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!, a concert celebrating the winning songs by high school songwriters from across the country. Musical theater fans will have the chance to see these fully orchestrated arrangements performed by Broadway artists on June 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET at New World Stages in New York City. The concert will also be available through a livestream at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge.
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Excerpts of the winning song submissions and more information about the winners are available at namt.org. Winning students will come to New York City this weekend where they will work with mentors and musicians to hone their orchestrations while learning about process, technique and production.
At the June 16 concert, each student songwriter and their mentor will premiere the winning songs, which will then be performed by a cast featuring:
⭐️ Gabi Carrubba (Dear Evan Hansen)
⭐️ Florencia Cuenca (Real Women Have Curves)
⭐️ Michelle Dowdy (Hairspray)
⭐️ Amina Faye (SIX The Musical, Nat’l Tour)
⭐️ Claire Kwon (Maybe Happy Ending)
⭐️ Carson Stewart (The Notebook)
⭐️ Luke Islam (America’s Got Talent)
The concert casting director is Michael Cassara, CSA. (Read More)
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2024 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge. Photo Credit: Rebecca J. Michelson
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We are excited to announce the mentors for the winning student songwriters of the 2024-2025 Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students, a joint initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT). This prestigious program provides high school students with an unparalleled opportunity to develop and showcase their musical compositions, that could potentially become part of full-scale original musical theatre productions.
The 2025 Music Team includes Music Supervisor Dylan Glatthorn, Music Director Anessa Marie Scolpini, Mentors Andrea Daly, Timothy Huang and Jaime Lozano. The winning songs will be orchestrated by Faye Chiao, Teresa Lotz and Anessa Marie Scolpini. The final compositions will be performed by Broadway artists in a concert on Monday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET, available to watch live and on-demand at arts.gov/songwriting and namt.org/challenge. In addition, each winning student will receive a scholarship of $2,500, provided by the NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation. (Read More)
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| New@NAMT: The Next Wave of Musical Theatre Writers is a bite-sized series dedicated to spotlighting the emerging voices in musical theatre.
New@NAMT is hosted by Jean-Paul Yovanoff in partnership with Musical Theatre Radio, and each episode features interviews with key figures at NAMT and provides a unique glimpse into the creative minds behind the next big musicals. Season 3 of New@NAMT turns the spotlight toward the decision-makers shaping the future of new musicals.
This season, we sit down with Artistic Leaders from NAMT’s Member Theatres across the country to uncover how new work gets chosen, developed and launched into the world. From regional powerhouses to incubators of innovation, each episode offers a candid look into the creative and curatorial philosophies of those championing the next generation of musical theatre writers.
Episodes out now! Listen to the first airing on Mondays at 7pm ET on Musical Theatre Radio and weekly on your favorite podcast platform.
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| ELISSA ADAMS
Associate Artistic Director & Director of New Work,
Theater Latté Da (MN)
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| | DEV BONDARIN
Associate Artistic Director,
Prospect Musicals (NY)
Coming soon! June 23rd
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NAMT’s Songwriting Resource Center is back for a second season, serving as both a hub for student songwriters revising their work and a resource for any musical theatre writer looking to sharpen their craft. With the motto “Writing is Rewriting (& Rewriting),” this year’s center expands with new tools, events and insights designed to support the creative process. Find more at namt.org/rewriting.
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A hub for everything above and more, NAMT Staff are excited to announce a new page on our website at namt.org/recommended. We hope this becomes a useful and fun resource for discovering new musicals and a means of creating awareness for successes in all corners of NAMT’s New Works community.
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Pearl Studios is the official rehearsal studio for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals. Pearl Studios is conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan on 8th Avenue between 35th & 36th Streets, and offers two floors of clean, bright and flexible rooms fit for all your rehearsal needs. For bookings, call 212-904-1850 or email contactus@pearlstudiosnyc.com.
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