Amas Musical Theatre is a non-profit, multi-ethnic theatrical organization located on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. Founded in 1968 by Ms. Rosetta LeNoire, the Amas mission is grounded in non-traditional, multi-ethnic production, education and casting. Amas Musical Theatre is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals, the celebration of diversity and minority perspectives, the emergence of new artistic talent, and the training and encouragement of inner-city young people.
For 38 years, Amas ("you love" in Latin) has engraved its unique trademark on the world of musical theatre. We produce quality musical theatre presenting different cultural viewpoints (African-American, Latino, European, and Jewish) while reaching out to underserved audiences. Amas attracts actors and artists of distinction and reputation, while offering opportunities for new talent to learn and develop.
Amas celebrates its impact in pioneering multi-ethnic casting in the American Theatre and reiterates its commitment to this reflection of our diverse society.
Amas Musical Theatre commits its work to:
- Contributing to the vitality of the American Musical Theatre - a unique American esthetic expression - through the creation, development and professional production of original musicals.
- Bringing creative, musical theatre to the American education system, and enhancing the experience of students.
- Encouraging tolerance and civility among people of our diverse society by bringing them together through the art of musical theatre.
Audiences are built by bringing both children and other community members into Amas with free performances and free ticket programs. Amas actively combines artists and audience members from every possible racial, ethnic and religious background, bringing them together to work and learn from each other.
PROGRAMS
Amas Musical Theatre programs provide opportunities for writers, composers, and lyricists to create new work. Amas employs experienced directors, musical directors and choreographers to work with fledgling creators, allowing the veteran artists to guide and encourage the rookie creative staff. Musical Theatre programs include the Amas Six O'Clock Musical Theatre Lab, Amas Workshop Program, and Amas Mainstage Productions.
Amas works to create both new performers and new audiences through its educational and outreach programs. Performers are recruited and trained through The Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, and our in-school and after school education programming, as well as through the original works developed and produced in the Amas Lab, Workshop and Mainstage programs.
AWARDS
In June 2005, Amas Chairman Eric Krebs received the Encore Business Volunteer of the Year Award, given by the Arts and Business Council of New York for his work with Amas.
Lone Star Love, or the Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas, Amas' Fall 2004 Mainstage production, received two Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Choreography and an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Off-Broadway Musical. The director Michael Bogdanov and the choreographer Randy Skinner were nominated for the 2005 Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Awards for "Excellence in the Craft of Direction and Choreography."
The Off-Broadway run of Zanna, Don't! was singled out by The New York Times as the Best Musical of the Season, won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Choreography, and the 2003 GLAAD Award for Best Production of the Year.
The 2003 Amas Mainstage Production of From My Hometown received eight Audelco Awards nominations, including Best Musical Production.
Actors Equity Association acknowledges Rosetta and Amas' contribution to the American theatre by bestowing a yearly award in her honor, making her the first recipient. Producers and theatre companies who exemplify Rosetta's commitment to multicultural production and casting in the theatre are annually given the treasured Rosetta LeNoire Award.
"For her pioneering work with Amas Musical Theatre," Rosetta was awarded the 1999 National Medal of Arts, cited by President Clinton as "an individual deserving of special recognition by reason of her outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States."
