About Us

Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival & Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Inc., known as "Broadway in the Finger Lakes," is a multi-venue, growing arts organization; the largest producing professional musical theatre organization in New York State outside of NYC. During its season, FLMTF offers main stage productions at the Preston H. Thomas Theatre in the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, new musicals in production at Theater Mack in downtown Auburn, and new this year, a production at the Callahan Theater at Nazareth College Arts Center in Rochester, NY.

During the school year, Merry-Go Round Youth Theatre travels to schools in 72 districts statewide, entertaining more than 125,000 children with their touring company- the nation’s largest resident touring youth education program. Over the summer, they travel to libraries, parks, state and county fairs, playgrounds, and all manner of recreation centers to provide free, live theatrical experiences to families across New York. And new this year, FLMTF and Absolute Dance have partnered to provide comprehensive, professional musical theatre training sessions to interested students, giving young performers the best educational opportunities possible.

Our Mission:

The mission of the Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival is to provide transportive theatrical experiences to a diverse audience at the highest levels of artistic integrity. Through the distinct individual components of our organization, we leverage the power of the arts as a tool for entertainment, education, social awareness and cultural development in our community. The Festival is committed to presenting quality productions of both classic and contemporary works, developing new musicals, delivering professional in-school arts education programming, training emerging artists and deepening an appreciation and understanding of the powerful role the arts plays in our community.