NMI’s RESOURCE CENTER for musical theatre writers

insider tips

glosssary of terms

FREE format video

public domain ideas

FREE curriculum video

theatre archives

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 Ineffective Rooter (by Ambrose Bierce)
      • The Making of Mac’s (by P.G. Wodehouse)
      • Fortune And Men’s Eyes (by Josephine Preston Peabody)
      • Paul and Virginia (by Michel Carr)
      • Baron de Trenck (by Clemence Robert)

      *** 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 5, 1987     Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s adaptation of familiar folk tales, Into the Woods, opened today on Broadway.
      • November 14, 1996     Twenty years after it originally played on Broadway, Chicago opened in an incredibly successful revival production which preserved Bob Fosse’s style and vision for the original, but jettisoned the sets, the costumes, and any sense of period. Walter Bobbie (director) and Anne Reinking (choreographer; she also starred in the revival production, having also been a replacement for Gwen Verdon in the original production) won their first Tony for the show.
      • November 7, 1946     Eartha Kitt made her Broadway debut in 1946 in the revue Bal Negre.

      *** 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!

      • Rhythm Uptempo Song:

        Note: We used to call this kind of song a “charm” song; many composers still do. We have found, however, that the commodity “charm” has gone out of fashion in musical theatre, and songs which used to be considered charming are now rather old-fashioned and approach parody. The artistic elements of a rhythm/uptempo remain the same, however.

        Rhythm/Uptempo songs are defined by the rhythm – not merely the rhythm in the accompaniment, but also and especially the rhythmic syncopation of the melodic line.

        The lyrics to a rhythm/uptempo song are usually optimistic and not as serious or ambitious as those of a ballad, and the words will contain lots of good, hard consonants and rhythmic phrases that lend themselves to syncopation.

        The quintessential rhythm/uptempo song must surely be “The Surrey With The Fringe On Top” from Oklahoma!. The lyric is narrative and percussive, the tune is rhythmic and reflects the content of the words, and the effect in the theatre is uptempo beyond belief.

        Rhythm/uptempo songs are not hard to find. They are the mainstay of a score, outnumbering ballads and comedy songs by at least two to one. Consider just a couple and examine how the words and music work together to create the rhythmic unity that produces such a high degree of charm in the theatre.

      • The Making of a Musical:

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

      • Words with Music: the Broadway Musical Libretto:

        by Lehman Engel. New York, Schirmer Books, 1982.

      • Vocal range:

        Refers to the highest and lowest notes sung by each character.

      • 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.

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


Duke McHale as Peter, Mitzi Green as Billie Smith, and the Nicholas Brothers as Irving and Ivor de Quincy in rehearsal for Babes in Arms . 1937. Photographer: Tucker, Richard, 1895-1958. From Richard Tucker photographs, 1934-1951. From the Digital Gallery Collections of the New York Public Library.


It’s lucky, maybe,
That there’s a baby
Grand piano coming.

--Anne Caldwell