ABSTRACT
New musicals and operas travel through a number of developmental steps before production, from In-house Readings of the book or libretto to partially or fully staged Workshops. While many of the same guidelines for Play Reading apply, because of all the components and the expense developing musicals and operas impose additional demands. The York Theatre Company, Prospect Theater Company, The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, and Walt Disney Imagineering, among many other organizations, are committed to the development of new musicals. Many theatres develop both musicals and plays. New opera development is more recent trend, American Opera Company, Opera Fusion, New Works at Cincinnati Opera, and American Lyric Theatre provide valuable resources for the creation of new operas. Traditionally, musicals premiered outside of New York before moving to Broadway. A new musical would open in New Haven or Philadelphia; during this out-of-town tryout, songs were added and eliminated.
