Weather 
Yesterday, The Festival triumphantly concluded their inaugural weekend at Kingston’s Hutton Brickyards Riverfront Hotel + Venue. Produced by Joshua Saltman and David B. Schwartz, the first-of-its kind celebration of Broadway’s greatest hits and brightest stars welcomed 2,875 attendees from 48 of the 50 states and featured 165 on stage performers across more than 30 programs over three days, including 30 musicians, 14 ensemble members, and 13 apprentices. At the end of the weekend, it was revealed that The Festival will return in 2027. Additional details will be announced.
Check out photos from Day 1 and Day 2 and even more from Day 3 below!
In a statement, producers Joshua Saltman and David Schwartz said “We are absolutely thrilled with how The Festival went this weekend. Thank you to all of the amazing fans who came together as a community to celebrate this art form and each other, and to the incredible talent who absolutely blew everyone away. We couldn’t be prouder of the experience and the incredible team that put it all together. We can’t wait to see you in 2027!”
The inaugural line up featured Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Amber Ardolino, Denée Benton, Tommy Bracco, Jason Robert Brown, Norbert Leo Butz, Reeve Carney, Jenn Colella, Cara Rose DiPietro, Colin Donnell, Tyler Joseph Ellis, Andrew Barth Feldman, Lena Hall, Tom Kitt, Andrea McArdle, Javier Muñoz, JJ Niemann, Alex Newell, Eva Noblezada, Adam Pascal, Lauren Patten, Will Reynolds, Anthony Rapp, Matt Rodin, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Seth Rudetsky, Gianmarco Soresi, Tess Soltau, Nasia Thomas, Mitch Wood, and a 30th Anniversary RENT reunion featuring the original Broadway cast, and many more.
Designed as a true destination event, The Festival brought together an extraordinary lineup of Broadway artists and was choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell and Jon Rua; and directed by Mitchell and D.B. Bonds. The creative team also included musical supervision by Dan Lipton, musical direction by Julie McBride, creative direction and experience design by Michael Downs, lighting design by David Rees, sound design by Cody Spencer, video design by Caite Hevner, costume design by Ryan Park, and direction of The Festival Apprentices by Lana Schwartz. Chris Gratton serves as Production Manager, Technical Director, and Site Manager. Lisa Iacucci is the Production Supervisor.
The Festival is produced by A Weekend in the Country. For more information, please visit BroadwayFest.com.
