NMI’s RESOURCE CENTER for musical theatre writers

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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 Umbrella (by Guy de Maupassant)
An Unspeakable Imbecile (by Ambrose Bierce)
The Hog, the Goat, and the Sheep (by Jean de La Fontaine)
Bargain Day At Tutt House (by George Randolph Chester)
Equipped for Service (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.

*** CHECK OUT ALL THE LABS ***

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 19, 1973 Savion Glover, the youngest person to win Best Choreographer Tony Award for his work on Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, was born today. Glover also appeared in The Tap Dance Kid, Jelly’s Last Jam, and the film Tap.
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 6, 1989 Maltby & Shire’s Closer Than Ever, a revue compilation of some two dozen of their “trunk” songs from the past 30 years, opened Off-Broadway today.

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

INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE

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

*** VIEW MORE INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE VIDEOS ***

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!

ASCAP:
A service organization which collects and distributes royalties on behalf of songwriters in film, television, theatre, etc. www.ascap.org
Lyrics on Several Occasions:
by Ira Gershwin.
Motif:
A short musical idea or succession of notes which gets repeated and/or embellished, usually with additional layers of meaning.
Stranger exposition:
Information exchanged between characters who know little or nothing about one another. See Neighbor exposition (above). Because strangers don’t know much about each other, they’re useful to the bookwriter to deliver information which neighbors/friends wouldn’t exchange. It makes perfect sense for a stranger to mention that he has a sister, Stella, who is the youngest daughter in his family; or to explain a custom or bit of history to someone who is unfamiliar with it.
Tessitura:
The range which comprises most notes of a vocal range; the general range of a character.

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

Souvenir postcard from the New National Theatre in Philadelphia. Early Musical The Black Crook – 1866. From the New York Public Library collections.

We two were sweethearts,
But we said good-bye,
One with a handshake
And one with a sigh.
We two were sweethearts
By a sacred vow.
What are we now?

--Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young