Theater News

New York Musical Festival Announces Pedro Pan as 2017 Award Winner

Rebecca Aparicio and Stephen Anthony Elkins’s musical is the recipient of the NYMF Developmental Reading Series Award.

Kenji Fujishima
New York City
From left to right, Amanda Castaños, Rebecca Aparicio, John Ryan Del Bosque, and Joey Lozada in the 2017 New York Musical Festival production of Pedro Pan, which features a book by Aparicio.
Amanda Castaños, Rebecca Aparicio, John Ryan Del Bosque, and Joey Lozada in the 2017 New York Musical Festival production of Pedro Pan earlier this year.
(© Eduardo Aparicio)

The New York Musical Festival announced that Pedro Pan is the recipient of the 2017 NYMF Developmental Reading Series Award, given out at this year's gala on November 12. The musical features a book by Rebecca Aparicio, and music and lyrics by Stephen Anthony Elkins.

"Based," according to a press release, "on the real-life events of Operación Pedro Pan, a young boy is sent to the U.S. to escape the growing dangers of post-revolutionary Cuba. To survive, Pedro must learn a new language and a new culture — while hoping to someday be reunited with his parents. With a score featuring the percussive rhythms of Havana to '60s New York soul, Pedro Pan examines what it means to be a displaced immigrant in America."

As a result of the award, Pedro Pan will be automatically accepted into NYMF’s Next Link Project next season and receive a $5,000 subsidy toward their participation, entrepreneurial training, and networking opportunities. The writers also benefit from several months of ongoing dramaturgical support from NYMF’s programming department.