The New York Musical Theatre Festival (or NYMF) is an annual event dedicated to providing artists with affordable ways to stage professional theatre productions for fellow actors, industry leaders, and audiences. Currently in its 10th year, NYMF is renowned in this City as a launching pad for new musical theatre productions, styles, and talents.
For the most part, NYMF productions are staged in theatres along 42nd Street. Tickets are usually around $25 each, so they're much less expensive than a mainstream show. There is so much variety on offer too, so for producers and audiences alike, the NYMF is an excellent festival to experience.
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| The cast of "Rescue Rue" |
I went along to my first NYMF production yesterday, the second-to-last performance of a great little musical called
Rescue Rue, showing in the
Pershing Square Signature Theater on West 42nd Street. I've been to this theatre before and I've always really liked the venue, because there isn't a bad seat in the entire building. The shows are usually short-runs but they're always thought-provoking and impressive productions.
Not that I needed any further incentive to see "Rescue Rue", but it is being stage-managed by my friend,
Caskey Hunsader. Caskey has worked on a lot of theatre productions in the past, both behind the scenes and onstage, but he is also the creator and star of the fantastic web series called
"Fat Guy" and he also hosts the Broadway interview series,
"Standing By". It was great for me to be able to support Caskey's latest project in person.
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| Rue finds her "furever" family |
"Rescue Rue" is inspired by a true story, and is a musical fairytale that features a little dog named Rue who is abandoned by her human owners and left to fend for herself. In her lowest moments, Rue meets her Fairy Dogmother and makes a special wish to live happily ever after, whatever it might take to get there. Rue's search for her "furever family" leads to a stint in the dog pound/shelter, where she meets some new canine friends who encourage her to stay optimistic and to keep her eye on the big prize.
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| Squish and Rue |
What I especially loved about "Rescue Rue", and as you can see from these photos, is that the show borrows from the style of
"Avenue Q" and has live actors doing puppeteering on stage. The performances are so seamless that you find yourself watching the puppets and actually forgetting about the human performers. The puppets are beautiful though - really great quality - and the 7 human actors who bring the show to life are all amazingly talented - excellent voice actors and singers, energetic dancers, and a great ensemble cast.
You might get the sense from this description that "Rescue Rue" is a show for kids, and you wouldn't be wrong. But like most kids shows, the dialogue and humour works on two levels, so adults have just as much to gain from seeing the production. Indeed, there were only a couple of kids in the audience yesterday, and even though you could hear them fidgeting in some parts, they were totally engaged in the plot, the songs, and they loved all the characters.
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| Real Rue meets Puppet Rue |
And at the end of the show, the cast gathered just outside the theatre to meet the audience, and particularly to have photos with the kids. The real-life Rue, who inspired the whole story, was also there and she was an absolute hit. Such a placid and beautiful dog, quite content to meet her adoring fans.
I was also really pleased to learn that "Rescue Rue" staged a performance this morning particularly for kids with autism, for whom going to the theatre can often be an overwhelming experience. That the production company and the cast made a special effort to make "Rescue Rue" accessible to these kids and their families is a real gift and makes the show all the more special. This was part of the
Autism Theatre Initiative and it's such a wonderful way to encourage kids and adults on the autism spectrum to get along to the theatre and enjoy a great performance.
I'm not sure what the future holds for "Rescue Rue" beyond the NYMF, but I thought it was a great show that deserves every success.
[With many thanks to the "Rescue Rue" team for letting me share these photos with you.]
