New ‘The Festival’ Aims to Be a ‘Coachella for Broadway’ This August

A new Broadway festival launching in August aims to bring the immersive, destination experience of Coachella to theater fans. According to Billboard, the event, simply called The Festival, will take place in mid-August at the Hutton Brickyards in Ulster County, New York.

Co-founders Joshua Saltman and David Schwartz conceived the idea after Saltman attended Coachella about six years ago. “I was with some of my friends who were big theater people also, and we said in kind of a joking way, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be fun if there was a Coachella for Broadway?’” Saltman told the outlet.

Who is performing at the Broadway festival?

The lineup is packed with major Broadway stars. Headliners include six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and Tony winner Kelli O’Hara. The roster also features Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alex Newell, Christopher Jackson, and Eva Noblezada.

A major highlight will be a 30th-anniversary reunion of the original Broadway cast of Rent, organized by alums Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. Pascal told Billboard it will be a “proper” reunion featuring 13 original cast members, calling it “a really intimate experience for our fans.”

What is the format of the event?

The Festival will feature programming across three stages during the day, adding a fourth for evening performances. While some shows are self-contained, many are built around themes like ‘80s Jukebox, TikTok Ya Don’t Stop, and The Disney Songbook.

Each day will culminate in a mainstage “Big Show,” which co-founder Joshua Saltman described as fully-realized productions. “They really are fully-realized shows, from the opening number to the closing, and they all deliver a headliner,” Saltman explained. The schedule also includes campfire singalongs, one hosted by singer Betty Who.

Where and when is it happening?

The Festival will be held at the Hutton Brickyards in Kingston, New York, a venue chosen for its location within two hours of New York City. The founders wanted a site that felt like an urban escape. “At a really good music festival, the place becomes part of the experience,” Saltman said.

General admission and reserved ticket options are available, with the co-founders acknowledging they may need to teach some Broadway fans how to embrace a more festival-like, non-assigned-seat mindset.

Sources

• Billboard