synopsis.

September 1991, New York City. The Golden Girls and Arsenio Hall are duking it out for ratings supremacy, and stonewashed jeans and sideways ponytails are making everyone look hilarious. Matthew Berry was the greatest sports journalist his college had ever seen. Unfortunately, he's finding adult life to be not nearly so forgiving. It turns out that simply a comprehensive knowledge of all sports statistics is not enough to land his dream job: SportsCenter anchor on ESPN.

Meanwhile, his old pal Bill Simmons is running a small, underground gambling operation that is too small to keep up with the prop-based betting economy gamblers to which gamblers are migrating.

The two of them try to put both of their lives back together when they stumble upon the idea for fantasy football, the ultimate sports fan experience.

You'll meet Stoner, the frat boy bowling enthusiast with crystallizing moments of insight. You'll get to know Jacko, the bro-turned-lawyer who still knows how to loosen his tie and have a good time. You'll get down with Skip, Matthew's nerdy younger brother, who is trying to get his hardcore rapping career off the ground. And there may just be a certain policeman, Officer Greg Kilborn, snooping around to bring down the whole gambling ring.

Songs titles include "Sports Is My Religion," "Man Friends," and "The 1980's-Style Movie Montage Song About the Rules of Fantasy Football."

history of the show.
written by, david ingber

Prior to the start of the '08-'09 NBA season, ESPN.com's "The Sports Guy" Bill Simmons and the "The Talented Mr. Roto" Matthew Berry announced their plans to organize a fantasy basketball league with eight fans. The application was simple: a one-paragraph email stating what you would do in order to get into this league. The applications, many of them hilarious, ran the gamut from the rights to name a first-born child to sob stories about how depressing it is to be a Seattle sports fan nowadays.

My application stated that I would write and compose an original piece of musical theater that paid homage to the fantasy culture, with Bill and Matthew as the main characters. The real Bill and Matthew spent a couple minutes on their podcast/XM radio show discussing the idea, pushing me through to the "final round." Ultimately, however, they decided to go with what they admitted had shades of affirmative action: one Seattle fan, one member of the US Military, one female fan, etc. My application was excluded on the grounds that they did not know me, and that it was entirely possible my musical would be an absolute train wreck. Fair enough, I suppose.

Well, having been locked out of the "SimmonBerry Fantasy League," my motivations changed. I no longer cared about joining the celebrity league. My aspirations instead became three-fold:
1. To create a piece of theater that would celebrate the world of sports fandom I am proud to be a part of
2. To invite sports fans who do not consider themselves "theater-goers" to a show they would legitimately be excited about
3. To introduce many in the theater world to the reasons why being a sports fan is just so fantastic

When people ask, "What's your show called?", the response is either mild confusion or wild excitement. I encourage people with either reaction to come and check it out. You'll have a good time. And there are gonna be hot chicks.

To find out more about the New York Musical Theater Festival, hailed the “Sundance of Musical Theater” by Time Out NY check out www.nymf.org