The curtain is just about to rise on the ninth annual New York Musical Theatre Festival. NY1’s Frank DiLella filed the following report.

From Oliver Twist with a Brazilian twist to a musical involving late civil rights leader Harvey Milk or even singing donuts, the ninth annual New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is a smorgasbord of everything musical theater.

With a mission dedicated to nurturing and presenting new musicals, NYMF has been a New York theater tradition for nine years. Since its inception, the festival has helped cultivate a variety of Broadway shows including "Next to Normal," "Title of Show" and the upcoming "Chaplin."

“It’s not just traditional music theater, it is the theater of the world,” says Issac Robert Hurwitz, executive director and producer of NYMF.

The musical "Arnie: The Doughnut," about a loveable chocolate treat, is set to play the festival. Broadway alum Tom Deckman stars as the title character.

“It's really for all ages. It's got so much heart,” Deckman says.

Also playing on the NYMF boards is "A Letter To Harvey Milk." In this new work, Broadway favorite Leslie Kritzer plays a writing teacher who bonds with a butcher over the late activist Harvey Milk.

Kritzer, who took part in the festival back in 2009, said NYMF is an essential outlet for up-and-coming musical theater artists.

“NYMF provides an atmosphere where they present these new shows by a lot of writers that would probably never have the opportunity to be produced on this kind of level,” Kritzer says.

For the first time ever, NYMF has an official center on 42nd Street. Billed as "The NYMF HUB," theatergoers can purchase tickets, attend free concerts and talk everything musical theater.

“It's a way for us to interact with the city and to provide more community building,” Hurwitz said.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival opens on July 9. To find out more about NYMF 2012, visit www.nymf.org.