The National Alliance for Musical Theatre will hold its 27th annual Festival of New Musicals on October 15 and 16 at New World Stages. We caught up with Andrea Daly (music) and Jeff Bienstock (book/lyrics) about Legendale, one of eight new musicals at the festival.

My show would be the child of these two musicals:

Jeff: Avenue Q and Wicked. The former is probably my favorite modern musical, and the latter is Andrea's, so it works out.

Pitch your show in 3 sentences:

Jeff: Andy is a 29­-year­-old introvert who spends his spare time immersed in "Legendale," a fantasy role­-playing video game, to escape from his humdrum life. When a high stakes online competition is announced, Andy is stuck competing as his least favorite character, a milkmaid named "Zelayna." Just when he's about to quit the game in disgust, Zelayna suddenly reveals she has a mind of her own, and isn't ready to give up just yet...

How open are you to changing what you’ve written during the rehearsal process?

Jeff: Very open. Thanks to input from the NAMT team, we've already changed quite a bit, and it only seems to improve the material.

Andrea: I always want the material to be the best that it can be, whether that means sticking to my guns or completely throwing away a song I've just written. I'm always open to new ideas that come up in the room. I get excited about those!

What is your earliest musical theater memory?

Andrea: That's tough. My mom sang along to musical theatre tapes when I was a little girl. But it was my sophomore year of high school when I saw a production of Into The Woods, and that material took my breath away. I started hanging out with all the musical kids, and I started singing in choirs. I became deliciously nerdy (or, perhaps I was already), and I found a lot of joy in music. Today I'm singing and writing full time, so I guess it stuck. Along the way I've also been strongly affected by the shows Wicked (saw it twice and sat in the pit once), In The Heights (saw it three times), and Ragtime (never got to see it but I love the score). I often feel like I've learned more by listening to cast albums on repeat than by attending classes.

Jeff: Probably watching the Hollywood version of The Music Man with my grandparents. Though he was the son of immigrants, my grandfather grew up in Iowa, and always claimed that the show reminded him of his childhood. At the time, most of the jokes went over my head, and I usually fell asleep before the ending, but no matter; if I didn't understand exactly what was going between Harold Hill and Marian Paroo, I still enjoyed how happy it made my grandfather. He adored Broadway showtunes and even penned his own original songs for special occasions -- despite being noticeably tone deaf.

When did you realize that you wanted to make musical theater?

Jeff: In High School, when I played in the pit orchestra for several musicals. I knew I was no performer, but I still wanted to be a part of the experience somehow.

Andrea: Believe it or not, this is my first show! I said yes to it on a lark, because I loved the idea. I am a pop writer, and a classical composer. But I have always loved musical theatre, too.

How did pursuing an education in musical theater help to shape your voice?

Jeff: Before I was accepted to grad school at NYU, I was attempting to score for films and TV in my hometown of Los Angeles -- ­­and was getting nowhere fast. When my private teacher in New York heard the first song I wrote for him, he told me I had a obvious knack for music and lyrics. "But don't get too cocky," he added, "because what you don't know about musical theater could fill a book." He was right then, and in a way, he still is: I'm getting more confident in my work all the time, but I'm always aware there's plenty more to learn -- by listening, as well as by doing.

Andrea: I pursued an education in classical music, actually. I have a PhD in classical Composition from Stony Brook University. And that has shaped my voice a great deal. But I am also a pop singer-songwriter full time, and that has shaped the other half of my voice. Somewhere in between classical music and pop songs lies musical theatre, and that duality is what I try to bring to my theatre writing. I want to create musical theatre arrangements that are complex and interesting, but with pop hooks, melodies, and style. I want you to leave the theater singing, and then go home and pick up a hairbrush and sing it in the mirror.

Who is your favorite classic musical theater composer? And your favorite composer working today?

Andrea: Here are a range of favorites: Sondheim, Schwartz, Ahrens & Flaherty, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Jeff: Lin­-Manuel Miranda­­ -- probably a popular choice this year. He takes risks few others dare to, but he also seems to work harder than anyone else.

Considering that theater is often able to touch on important social issues in ways that Hollywood and TV haven’t, what kinds of stories would you like to tell through musical theater in the future?

Andrea: I'm fascinated by identity and relationships and technology and the mixture thereof, and Legendale intersects all of those. I like finding deeper meaning in simple stories. I'm open to writing about anything, though, as long as it strikes me!

Jeff: I want to tell the kind of stories that will appeal to everyone, not just Broadway aficionados.

What would you change about the current state of musical theater?

Jeff: Stop trying to adapt blockbuster movies into blockbuster shows. There are tons of original, audience-­friendly ideas out there -- ­­they just need a producer's confidence to bring to life.

Andrea: What I would change is something that others are already changing. With Hamilton, for example, Lin-Manuel Miranda is breaking down all kinds of traditional boundaries -- musical and otherwise. I love that.

What is more important to you: entertaining audiences, or making them think?

Andrea: I think a successful show does both equally well -- perhaps without the audience even noticing.

Jeff: In my experience, no one likes being lectured to by a writer. Sometimes, if you're really entertaining your audience, they won't realize they've actually learned something.

As a musical theater creator, do you think of Broadway as your ultimate goal?

Jeff: Yes, but­­ -- I'm friends with several writers who have thriving Off-­Broadway careers. If I can someday be as happy and successful as they are, that'll be good enough for me.

Andrea: I have a lot of ultimate goals. My philosophy is to keep working as hard as possible, and see what happens. Broadway would be amazing.

Do you have any wise words for people who may want to submit to NAMT next year?

Jeff: All I can say is: don't be afraid of submitting your work! With only two readings under our belt, I actually wasn't sure our show would even make it to the final round for another year. And after being informed we WERE finalists, I still couldn't help but worry -- ­­did a musical about a video game tournament even have a chance to make to the top, when there were so many other, more "sophisticated" subjects out there? You just never know.

Andrea: Good luck! And once the craziness begins, and the emails start flowing, try to keep your head on straight. It's a wild amazing ride.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals will be held October 15-16 at New World Stages.  For more information visit: https://namt.org/