The Last Smoker In America is a new comedy currently under development at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. The musical, written by Bill Russell with music by Peter Melnick, is a satirical comedy and touches on topics of religion, adultery, white teenagers from the suburbs thinking their black, and the right to smoke cigarettes in a world where they are outlawed.

The play is a dysfunctional tale in which Pam (Felicia Finley) is literally the last smoker in America. Her husband Ernie (Marcus Neville) quit smoking but started having an affair with their next-door-church-lady-neighbor Phyllis (Natalie Venetia Belcon). Throughout the course of the show, Pam goes from housewife in a bathrobe sneaking cigarettes on the sly to running away from her family a total fugitive.

While the show does have clever writing in places, with lines such as “Four is a four-letter f-word,” it leaves the audience wanting to dig deeper. This is an issue that will most likely be ironed out.

The greatest moments of the show come from Alex Wyse who plays Pam and Ernie’s son Jimmy. Alex is a veteran to the festival and a graduate of Boston University. He plays his role with total abandonment, walking the stage in heels and rapping.

The music is the show’s greatest asset, giving a rock spin on traditional theatre music. Andy Sandberg produced the show.  He is currently one of the producers of the Tony Award-winning revival Hair. This is not his only project in the festival. He directed R.R.R.E.D. A Secret Musical that ran from October 1st-3rd.

R.R.R.E.D., written by Katie Thompson, Patrick Livingston, and Adam Jackman, is a paranoid secret meeting about the extinction of redheads due to the genetic melting pot. As a director, Andy pushes actors to the edge while allowing them artistic freedom.

Patrick Livingston, playing the role of G.J. Crockett, delivers the biggest laughs in the show. He and Victoria (Katie Thompson) have many duets, such as “As Long as It’s Red” and “The Same.” The musical is a witty attempt to save redheads from extinction by preaching a procreation plan that will preserve redheaded genes. With songs such as “What Good’s a Blonde Anyway” and “Saving the Luck of the Irish,” the show is clever and accessible.

These are just two of dozens of musicals that were shown in the festival between September 28th-October 18th. Many of the shows will persist to have a life afterward. While the future of many of the projects is uncertain, the knowledge that some of them will resurface again is fact.