News and Media

THE GOLD Set for NYMF

June 23, 2015

THE GOLD, a new musical featuring a book by Andrea Lepcio & Philip Yosowitz and music and lyrics by Philip Yosowitz, will be presented in the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival Developmental Reading Series.

In this sweeping historical fiction, Joseph Cohen is a Jewish-German boxer whose ambition is to win the Berlin Olympics of 1936. His dreams are thwarted, and Joseph's fight for the gold becomes a battle for his family, identity, and country. Left with nothing, Joseph must reinvent himself in a new land. THE GOLD is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the journey of self-discovery that each of us takes as we search for purpose in our lives.

A celebration of the universal themes of love, loss, reconciliation and reinvention, THE GOLD began as a personal tribute to one family's story. In the 1930s, Joseph Yosowitz, a young Jewish Czechoslovakian, fled Hitler's brutal grip, traveling a perilous underground route to Belgium and stowing away on a cargo ship that carried him to the United States - and to safety. Of his six sisters left behind in Czechoslovakia, only one survived the Nazi terror. A half century later, one of his sons, Philip Yosowitz, a Houston plastic surgeon, musician and composer, embarked on a labor of love which became THE GOLD.

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Top 10 Musicals Not to Miss at 2015 NYMF

July 5, 2015

Everyone asks us: What's going to be the next Next to Normal? The next [title of show] or the next the next Altar Boyz?

Well, we'll tell you: No one knows.

That's the beauty of the New York Music Theatre Festival (NYMF), where all those shows got early showcases: You never know what you will find in the line-up, which this year will feature concerts, readings and special events—and almost two dozen productions of new stage musicals--July 7-27 at performing spaces in and around New York City's Theatre District.

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Real-Life Balloon Boy Hoax Inspires New Musical: More Highlights from NYMF

June 26, 2015

Kicking off July 27, the New York Musical Theatre Festival is set to feature a range of comedy, drama and genre-defying new works. This year's lineup includes Are You There, Morgan Freeman?, in which the familiar tones of actor Morgan Freeman's voice guide the story, and Balloon Boy: The Musical, written by Billy Recce when he was in the seventh grade. More details below.

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Spotlight On...Philip Yosowitz

July 11, 2015

Why theater?: As a young boy, my family went to NYC several summers. I distinctly remember seeing Most Happy Fella and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? with Jane Mansfield. I was hooked. Music, and musical theater, provided the perfect counterbalance to football and baseball.

Tell us about The Gold: The main protagonist, Joseph Cohen, is a Jewish-German boxer who is intent upon winning the 1936 Berlin Olympics. His dreams are thwarted by the Nazi regime, and his fight for the gold becomes the battle for his family, identity, and country. Left with nothing, Joseph must reinvent himself in a new land. The Gold is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the journey of self-discovery that each of us takes as we search for purpose in our lives.

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