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Founders Joshua Saltman and David Schwartz tell PEOPLE how an inspired idea became an ambitious new event featuring Audra McDonald, Christopher Jackson, Kelli O’Hara, the original cast of ‘Rent’ and dozens more Broadway stars
NEED TO KNOW
- The Festival is a new three-day Broadway-focused event debuting in Kingston, New York, from August 14-16
- Performers include stars like Audra McDonald, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson and Kelli O’Hara, plus a reunion of the original cast of Rent in honor of the show’s 30th anniversary
- Creators Joshua Saltman and David Schwartz open up to PEOPLE about the immersive outdoor experience which will feature concerts, sing-alongs, comedy shows and local food and artisan vendors
For decades, theater fans have flocked to Broadway hoping to catch their favorite performers onstage. But what if, instead of seeing one show, they could spend an entire weekend surrounded by stage stars — watching concerts under the stars, singing show tunes around a campfire, dancing at a Broadway rave and stumbling upon surprise collaborations that could only happen in one place?
That’s the dream behind The Festival, a new three-day event taking over Kingston, New York’s Hutton Brickyards from Aug. 14-16.
Billed as the first music festival built entirely around Broadway, it will feature performances from Audra McDonald, Christopher Jackson, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patti Murin, Andrew Barth Feldman, Lena Hall, Adrienne Warren, Alex Newell, Tommy Bracco, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada and dozens more, alongside cabarets, sing-alongs, comedy shows and a special 30th anniversary reunion of nearly the entire original Broadway cast of Rent.
The idea came from longtime friends Joshua Saltman and David Schwartz, two former Disney lawyers who bonded over their love of musical theater before Schwartz eventually made the leap into Broadway producing. Together, they wondered whether the sense of community they’d experienced at festivals like Coachella could exist for theater fans, too.
Ahead of the inaugural festival, PEOPLE spoke with Saltman and Schwartz about turning that idea into reality, why they believe Broadway fans are ready for a destination event of their own and what surprises attendees can expect when they arrive.
PEOPLE: How did you all dream this up?
JOSHUA SALTMAN: It actually started in a pretty simple way. I lived in New York for a long time and was a huge Broadway fan. Then I moved back to Southern California and became a big music festival guy, especially Coachella. I loved the communal, immersive experience of it. One day I remember saying to a friend, “What if we did Coachella, but for Broadway?” Because Broadway already has this incredible community, these amazing performers and this songbook everyone knows by heart. For years, I sat with the idea because I thought it would have to be massive to work. Then I went on a Broadway cruise and realized, ‘Maybe it doesn’t have to be for 10,000 people? Maybe it can be for two or three thousand?’ That’s when I called David.
DAVID SCHWARTZ: Josh pitched me the concept over coffee, and what spoke to me most wasn’t just the performances, it was the community. My wife and I moved back to New York because we missed being part of the theater world. The idea of creating a place where fans from all over the country — and really all over the world — could come together and celebrate this art form felt incredibly special.
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There have been events to bring Broadway fans together in the past. BroadwayCon, Darren Criss’ Elsie Fest, those Broadway cruises you’ve mentioned. What did you feel was still missing that made you think, ‘There’s room for this?’
SALTMAN: That’s a great question because we absolutely looked at all of those, and I think they’ve all been moving in the right direction. But when David and I started talking about this, one of our guiding principles was that if we were going to do it, it had to feel like something Broadway fans had never experienced before. It had to have a scope and a level of talent where, if you’re a true Broadway fan, you feel like, ‘I can’t miss this because I won’t see this anywhere else.’ And it had to be at a destination. Because a great music festival isn’t just about who’s onstage; it’s about where you are. Coachella is as much about being in the desert as it is about the lineup. So we wanted to create that same feeling in the Hudson Valley, where you’re spending the weekend surrounded by this beautiful landscape, seeing shows, running into performers and connecting with other theater fans.
SCHWARTZ: Josh and I kept coming back to the idea of community. This isn’t just about seeing a concert. It’s about people coming from all over the country — and really all over the world — to celebrate an art form they love together. We want people to leave the real world behind for three days and step into this immersive Broadway universe. I don’t think anything has existed quite like that before.
When people hear “Broadway festival,” they may picture one concert after another. But you’ve built something much bigger than that. How is the weekend actually organized?
SCHWARTZ: One of the biggest challenges has actually been helping people understand what this experience is going to be, because nothing quite like it has existed before. Think of it less as buying a ticket to a concert and more like stepping into a Broadway campus for the weekend.
Let’s start orientation, then! Give us the campus tour.
SCHWARTZ: Well, we have a main stage that’s really the centerpiece of the weekend, but then there are multiple other performance spaces running throughout the day and into the night, each offering something completely different. There’s the New 42 Stage, which overlooks the Hudson River and will feature outdoor performances all weekend. Then there’s the Campfire Stage, where artists will gather at night for sing-alongs and stripped-down performances you just wouldn’t normally get to see. We even have an indoor fourth stage that transforms each night into experiences like Club Cumming or Don’t Quit Your Night Job, the beloved Broadway comedy improv show that’s reuniting for the festival.
So it’s basically a Broadway Choose Your Own Adventure.
SCHWARTZ: Exactly. There will be performances happening all day and into the night across four different stages, so everyone can create their own experience.
SALTMAN: You’re going to have to make some tough choices. And one thing that’s common at music festivals but might be completely new for Broadway fans. Maybe you spend the first part of the afternoon at “The Festival Sings Disney,” then head over to hear artists perform the songs that inspired them to pursue Broadway? Or maybe you’re dancing under the stars at Broadway Rave, roasting s’mores by the campfire while Adam Pascal or Lauren Patten sings an acoustic set, or hoping a surprise guest drops into Don’t Quit Your Night Job? The possibilities are endless here.
SCHWARTZ: We’re trying to create an experience of discovery. You’ll get all of the Broadway songs you expect to hear, but then you’ll stumble across completely unexpected moments — artists singing songs you’ve never heard them perform, surprise duets or collaborations. Those are the kinds of moments that can only happen when everyone is together in one place.
Even the food is part of the experience, with Hudson Valley favorites like Oyster Party Inc., The Hungry Traveler, Vonsalad’s Woodfired Pizza, Kogemeya Authentic Japanese Street Cuisine and Rolling Cones joining the festival. Why was that important?
SALTMAN: We wanted everything to feel local. The Hudson Valley has exploded with incredible restaurants, so we’ve been finding food trucks and vendors that people already know and love. We’re bringing together more than 15 vendors, all with a lot of variety. Maybe one day you want an amazing lobster roll, the next day you’re getting incredible wood-fired pizza.
SCHWARTZ: It’s going to feel like you’re constantly discovering something. You might be walking between performances and suddenly stumble across an incredible local vendor or something completely unexpected. That’s part of the fun of a music festival, and we wanted to bring that same sense of discovery to Broadway fans.
SALTMAN: We’re also bringing in local artisans because I always loved wandering through those booths between sets at festivals. That’s part of the experience, too. People are going to have things to discover all weekend — not just onstage, but throughout the grounds.
One of the biggest moments of the weekend has to be the Rent 30th anniversary reunion. How did that come together?
SCHWARTZ: I was a huge Rent fan when the show first came out. I probably saw the original cast 15 or 20 times, including sleeping on the sidewalk for lottery tickets at least once. Rent really redefined Broadway. It reinvigorated the industry and introduced so many people to musical theater, so when we realized this year marked its 30th anniversary, it felt like a no-brainer to make it one of the centerpieces of the festival.
You’re bringing back almost everybody. Adam Pascal, Aiko Nakasone, Anthony Rapp, Byron Utley, Daphne Ruben-Vega, Fredi Walker-Brown, Gilles Chiasson, Gwen Stewart, Kristen Lee Kelly, Rodney Hicks, Taye Diggs, Timothy Britten Parker and Wilson Jermaine Heredia.
SALTMAN: We keep joking every day, ‘Come on, Idina.’
SCHWARTZ: I think she’s our only missing piece right now.
SALTMAN: We’re really excited about reuniting the original Broadway cast. There are other celebrations coming later this year for Rent, but they involve alumni from the musical’s entire run. This is really the only chance to see the original company together again, and I think that’s going to mean a lot to fans.
SCHWARTZ: People are obviously going to hear the songs they love, but I also think they’re really going to enjoy hearing the stories that come with them. Being able to reunite this cast and celebrate the impact that show had on Broadway and on so many people’s lives is something we’re incredibly proud to be a part of.
What has been the biggest surprise about building something like this?
SALTMAN: Honestly? Bathrooms. [Laughs] Everybody thinks about the performers, but most of my day is spent talking about where the buses turn around, where the bathrooms go, security, transportation — all of those things that aren’t particularly glamorous.
SCHWARTZ: That’s really been one of the biggest challenges. We know the creative side is going to be incredible because we’re surrounded by people like Jerry Mitchell, D.B. Bonds, who are directing, and John Rua, who is choreographing with Jerry. Our job has been making sure everything else lives up to that, from how people get there to what happens between performances. It’s also been about helping people understand what this experience actually is. Because it’s the first one, there isn’t really anything to compare it to. We’re asking people to trust us that there are going to be these unexpected moments around every corner.
SALTMAN: The reality is we’re not just putting on concerts. We’re building a temporary city for a weekend. Every part of the guest journey matters. You can put on the greatest artistic event in the world, but if someone waits 30 minutes for a bathroom, that’s what they’re going to remember.
You’ve already expanded the event by adding single-day tickets after hearing from fans. Has listening to that community always been part of the vision?
SALTMAN: Absolutely. One of the biggest pieces of feedback we got especially from people in the Hudson Valley was that they wanted another way to experience the festival. A three-day pass isn’t realistic for everyone, and we heard that loud and clear.
SCHWARTZ: Single tickets gave us the ability to create another entry point so more people could be part of it.
SALTMAN: Ultimately, we’re building this with the Broadway community, not just for them. We want people to tell us what worked, what didn’t and what they’d love to see next. If this becomes an annual tradition, it’s going to be because the fans helped shape it. We really are doing this for them, and we’ll keep listening as it grows.
Last question! The last fans leave, the lights come down, Monday morning arrives: what’s the very first thing you do?
SALTMAN: Honestly? That’s all I think about. [Laughs] Because this has been a marathon, and I’m using Monday in my mind as ‘There is an end in sight!’ But my wife always jokes that while we’re flying home from vacation, I’m already planning the next one. So yes, we’ll all take a breath. But I can already tell you, we’ll probably be talking about 2027 by September, because we’re hoping this is something people come back to year after year.
SCHWARTZ: That’s just the nature of something like this. As soon as one festival ends, you start thinking about how to make the next one even better. So there are already ideas we’ve been kicking around for what this could become.
SALTMAN: Let’s just wait until at least Tuesday to start talking about them again, David.
SCHWARTZ: [Laughs] Deal.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tickets for The Festival are now on sale.
Read the original article on People
