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Junior Theater Festival Productions (Founder and CEO, Timothy Allen McDonald) has unveiled special programming and the lineup of performers, adjudicators, playwrights, songwriters and educators who will take part in the 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta & 2026 Junior Theater Festival West.
The 2026 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta will take place in Atlanta, GA from January 16-18, 2026; and the 2026 Junior Theater Festival West will take place in Sacramento, CA from February 6-8, 2026.
Tony Award® nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical) will headline the JTF Atlanta Sunday Night Concert. Rogers previously attended JTF Atlanta as a student with Inspiration Stage.
Michael James Scott (Aladdin) will headline the JTF West Sunday Night Concert, which will be performed at Sacramento’s historic Memorial Auditorium.
“Our 2026 North American Junior Theater Festivals will unite more than 10,000 young people, educators, and families in celebrating the extraordinary skills of emerging theatre makers,” said Timothy Allen McDonald. “Many of these students will go on to define the future of the entertainment industry. But, regardless of their career paths, the future is sure to be brighter thanks to the community created by these remarkable young people.”
Additional appearances at JTF Atlanta will include Isaiah Bailey (The Phantom of the Opera), DB Bonds (Kinky Boots), Frank DiLella (NY1), Tyler Joseph Ellis (Shucked), Adam Faison (“The Venery Of Samantha Bird)”, Katy Geraghty (Into the Woods), Max Antonio Gonzalez (Huzzah!), Morgan Siobhan Green (Hadestown), Beau Harmon (“So You Think You Can Dance”), Briga Heelan (Once Upon a One More Time), Cori Jaskier (Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile), Taylor Iman Jones (Hamilton), Kelly Lomonte (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), Brittney Mack (Six The Musical), JTF alum Nicholas Matos (Smash), Jodi Picoult (NYT Best Selling Author), JTF alum Amanda Reid (Hell’s Kitchen), Matthew Lee Robinson (Atlantis), Rob Rokicki (The Lightning Thief Musical), Darian Sanders (The Lion King), Kay Sibal (Six The Musical), Jacob Ryan Smith (Shelter Me), Mark Sonnenblick (KPOP Demon Hunters), and Brion Marquis Watson (MJ The Musical).
For the past 23 years over 100,000 musical theatre students, their teachers, and families have made the annual pilgrimage to this epic event celebrating musical theatre. JTF Atlanta 2026 is once again sold out, with attendance topping 7,500 people representing 31 US states. The International All-Stars group will be in attendance with members from Australia, England, France, Malta, New Zealand, Scotland, USA, and Wales. 64 groups representing 21 states, as well as Canada and New Zealand, will attend JTF West 2026, making this the largest JTF West ever.
At both festivals, each group will perform 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior® musical for adjudicators. In addition to mainstage performances featuring powerhouse Broadway and West End guests, the groups will enjoy the New Works Showcase of Once Upon A One More Time JR., Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory JR., Disney’s The Little Mermaid KIDS, Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon JR., and Dreamworks’ Trolls JR., plus a weekend of professional development workshops and panels presented by internationally recognized educators.
ABOUT JTF
Exclusive to organizations performing MTI’s 30- and 60-minute Broadway Junior® musicals and One-Act musicals, the Junior Theater Festivals bring together the best musical theatre professionals from Broadway and beyond with the largest audience of artists and arts supporters. The JTF team also produces, hosts, and supports one-day Junior Theater Celebrations and Junior Theater Festivals in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. In 2019, nearly 15,000 people worldwide attended a Junior Theater Festival or Junior Theater Celebration.
Past festival attendees have included Ahrens & Flaherty, Sebastian Arcelus, Skylar Astin, Joshua Bassett, Shoshana Bean, Stephanie J. Block, Sierra Boggess, Nicholas Christopher, Darren Criss, Zac Efron, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Barth Feldman, Megan Hilty, Adam Jacobs, Arielle Jacobs, Mykal Kilgore, McKenzie Kurtz, Kenny Leon, Caissie Levy, Kara Lindsay, Brittney Mack, Ryan McCartan, Lindsay Mendez, Alan Menken, Luca Padovan, Pasek and Paul, Jodi Picoult, Ben Platt, Olivia Rodrigo, Samsel & Anderson, Steven Schwartz, Joe Serafini, Michael James Scott, Ali Stroker, and Jeanine Tesori.
Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
