In 2006, we decided writing, staging, memorizing and performing new plays in 24 hours simply wasn’t enough of a challenge — and thus, The 24 Hour Musicals were born. Our musical event features marquee talent up close and personal, with singing, dancing and a live band on hand for musical theater’s most ambitious high-wire act.

Designed as an intimate, off-Broadway counterpart to The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway,  The 24 Hour Musicals launched in 2006 with a secret show, featuring a musical by the late great David Rakoff. Since then, we’ve regularly gathered to create and perform four brand new short musicals in a single day, rotating between various NYC venues including the Linda Gross Theater at Atlantic Theater Company, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, and the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at Classic Stage Company, among others.

The 24 Hour Musicals are a madcap night of theater, where anything is possible — you never know when you’ll see SNL’s Rachel Dratch as a musical theater star, or Jake Gyllenhaal in quarantine singing a love song by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire, or John Mulaney belting out a tune in a diaper as “Baby Onesie.”

Musicals Alumni

Past participants include Aimee Mann, Alex Moffat, Amber Ruffin, America Ferrera, Ana Gastyer, Annette O’Toole, Anthony Rapp, Ashley Nicole Black, Aya Cash, Bebe Neuwirth, Ben Folds, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, David Krumholtz, Bonnie Milligan, Edie Falco, George Salazar, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Javier Muñoz, Jesse Eisenberg, John Mulaney, Jonathan Coulton, Lea DeLaria, Merle Dandridge, Nat Wolff, Noah Galvin, Norm Lewis, Rachel Dratch, Retta, Savion Glover, Shoshana Bean, Tracie Thoms, Wayne Brady, Will Swenson and many more.