Welcome to the musical theatre writers’ Resource Center.

This is a FREE page hosted by New Musicals Inc.
As of September 1, 2024, we are NO LONGER maintaining a list of Producers and Theatres, or a Contests Listing. We have found we are no longer able to keep those lists properly up-to-date.
BUT we encourage you to check out the offerings from our friends at MusicalWriters.Com who have a wealth of resources for musical theatre writers!
What you can still find on this page is:
  • an idea library of thousands of royalty-free public domain stories and plots
  • a glossary of musical theatre terms (with audio/video examples)
  • access to short videos filled with tips and advice from NMI staff
  • access to critical feedback options and format guidelines from NMI

Enjoy!


FORMAT LIKE A PRO


Watch this FREE video to learn how to implement the FORMAT GUIDELINES specifically designed by New Musicals Inc. Make sure your script and score look professional and are ready to go into development.

Want more tools to help you get your formatting right?

*** VISIT OUR FORMATTING PRODUCTS PAGE ***



LIBRARY OF IDEAS (Royalty Free)

FREE ACCESS to a library of 1000+ downloadable royalty-free stories, plays, plots and other inspiring indeas we’ve found in the public domain for you. There’s a brief excerpt of every item in the library, so you can take a quick glance to see whether or not you want to read the whole text. In addition, the NMI staff has made annotations and recommendations for many of the titles in the library about their potential to become musicals. Save hundreds of hours of research and reading!


Here are some random samples from our listings of story ideas in the public domain:

      • The Fool who Sold Wisdom (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • Ball-Carrier And The Bad One (by Andrew Lang)
      • The Boy Will (by Robert Emmons Rogers)
      • The Two Goats (by Jean de La Fontaine)
      • The Snake and the Swallow (by Ambrose Bierce)

      *** LINK TO COMPLETE LIBRARY OF IDEAS ***


IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT


New Musicals Inc. offers a whole series of professional online LABS for bookwriters, lyricists, and composers who are serious about improving their craft. This video is a FREE sample of one of the lecture videos from the all new Lyric Lab 1 - Fundamentals.

FREE PROGRESSION HANDOUT


NEED SOME FEEDBACK?


Have you written a musical? Are you working on one? NMI has smart, professional, detailed dramaturges who will help you make sure you are on the strongest path to fulfilling the promise of your work. From video and audio feedback packages to one-on-one dramaturgical sessions, we have what you need to take the next step forward. We even have an annual contest that results in a workshop and concert reading in Los Angeles.

"We really did appreciate all your help - you’ve got just the right tone to critique. It’s a matter of 'A Spoonful of Sugar Helps The Medicine Go Down'!”
                    ~~George Stiles
          (Mary Poppins, Honk, Soho Cinders)

*** Check out NMI's Feedback options ***


MUSICAL THEATRE ARCHIVES


Here's a sample of items from our vault of historical photos, and musical theatre trivia about events that happened THIS month in the past:

      • November 7, 1946     Eartha Kitt made her Broadway debut in 1946 in the revue Bal Negre.
      • November 22, 1965     Man of La Mancha began its original 6-year Broadway run today.
      • November 18, 1909     Four-time Oscar winner and lyricist for L’il Abner, St. Louis Woman, and Top Banana, Johnny Mercer, was born today. Mercer teamed with some of Hollywood’s top composers, including Harold Arlen, Henry Mancini, Harry Warren, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern, and Marvin Hamlisch, among others.

      *** Click to access the full archives. ***


INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE


Here is one of our videos with insider tips and advice:


GLOSSARY OF TERMS


Here are some samples from our Glossary of definitions of musical theatre terms. We will be adding to this over time - as well as adding actual sample scores and sound recordings. Check back often!

      • Anthimeria:

        The substitution of one part of speech for another. (using nouns as verbs, or adjectives as nouns, etc.) Such as:

        Can you text my cellphone with directions to your house?
        Google the restaurant to find their address.
        He encyclopediaed me all evening until I felt like an idiot.
        Summer me, winter me.
        The buffalo nooned in the shade, switching flies.

      • Ballad:

        A ballad is a song with a serious lyrical intention that is characterized by the legato feeling of the melodic line. That is, the content of the song is usually something we take seriously and the music is smooth and flowing. It is the legato feeling of the music that really defines the song. In other words, a bouncy tune with serious words isn’t a ballad, whereas a smooth, flowing melody with a lighter content very well could be a ballad.

        Ballads are used for many dramatic reasons, but the most common is probably a love song of some kind or other. Examples abound, and you can select your favorites. “If Ever I Would Leave You” is a typical ballad of the love song variety. Although the song is performed in the show Camelot with a very strong rhythmic pulse, the melody is very legato in style. Notice, also, how the words are arranged to make this possible. The only consonant that could be considered harsh in the opening title phrase is the “v” in ever and leave, and neither sound prevents the easy motion of the lyric. Say the phrase, “If ever I would leave you.” One word blends into the next effortlessly – making this very easy to sing in the legato style of the music. Also, the phrases tend to end with round, open sounds – “Knowing how in spring I’m bewitched by you soooooooo” – so the singer can sustain the ends of phrases with an attractive sound. If a ballad is defined by the character of the music, the definition must be supported by the sound and content of the words.

        Certainly not all ballads are boy-meets-girl love songs. One of the most interesting is from Oklahoma! The song “Lonely Room” is used to humanize a character. Jud is the villain, but rather than the evil, leering gent of earlier melodramas, he’s characterized as a psychologically disturbed murderer who craves physical love. Here the song really helps the audience understand and even fear the character. The words are effective, and the music is sometimes balladic and legato, other times abrupt and staccato, reflecting the schizoid nature of both the song’s content and the character.

        Another interesting use of a ballad is the song “Far From The Home I Love” in Fiddler On The Roof. This song explores the drama with a simple eloquence and causes the central character to re-examine his priorities when his daughter sings it. Again, the lyrics support the style of the music with soft consonants – “Far from the home I love/Yet there with my love, I’m home.”

      • Writing a Musical:

        by Richard Andrews. London, Robert Hale, 1998.

      • Baritenor:

        The baritenor is a made-up word used to describe musical theatre leading men with a rich sound in their lower voice, but also an easy sound in their upper voice. Comfortable range extends from about B2 to F4.

      • The Making of a Musical:

        by Lehman Engel. New York, Limelight Editions, 1986.

      *** Click to access the full glossary. ***


Edwin Latell (vaudeville) . Location: The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts / Billy Rose Theatre Division .


My romance
Doesn’t have to have a moon in the sky.
My romance
Doesn’t need a blue lagoon standing by.

--Lorenz Hart