KINGSTON, N.Y.: A new outdoor Broadway musical festival, called simply The Festival, has announced seven new musicals to be showcased at its Previews of New Musicals program. Festival performers and performers attached to the projects will present selections from the musicals at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15 on the Broadway Direct Main Stage in this Hudson Valley city. The program will be hosted by NY1’s Frank DiLella. The Festival’s venue is the Hutton Brickyards Riverfront Hotel and Venue. 

This first-of-its-kind celebration of Broadway hits and stars will feature three days of non-stop musical theatre performances and activations on August 14-16. Headline performances include appearances from Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Christopher Jackson. A limited number of lottery tickets are available through The Festival’s digital lottery, which is open through 9 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 3. 

The musicals featured include:

• Autopilot, inspired by the true story of Betty Milstead, a TWA flight attendant in the 1950s, features a book, music, and lyrics by Lexi Weakley and additions by Jeremy Jacobs,
• BLUDLINE: A Hip-Hop Odyssey, with book, music, and lyrics by Fermin Suero Jr. and Pete White, reimagines Homer’s epic through live hip-hop and R&B as Trojan War hero Odysseus.
• Huzzah!, with book, music, and lyrics by Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe, follows two sisters working at Renaissance Faire working to save the family business from financial ruin. 
• Love Somebody, with a book by Rehana Lew Mirza and Mike Lew, and music and lyrics by Betty Who (also performing), is a reversal of the Cyrano triangle set within the drama of high school. 
• Regency Girls, with a book by Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan, music by Curtis Moore, and lyrics by Amanda Green, is about a pregnant, unmarried woman in 19th-century England who goes on a road trip to find the one woman who might offer a chance to change her fate.
• Someday Soon, with a book by Neena Beber and music and lyrics by Jeremy Lloyd-Styles and Jocelyn Mackenzie of the band Pearl and the Beard, is a new indie-rock musical inspired by the true diary of 14-year-old Rutka Laskier. 
• Star Machine, with a book by Hollee Temple and John Temple and music and lyrics by Hank Temple and Gideon Temple, is a new comedy with early 2000s pop energy by the Temple Family, which follows Jaz and Nikki, ambitious sisters who land on a TV talent show.

Friday’s programming will include the series “The Festival Sings Disney,” where performers, including Mandy Gonzalez and Alex Newell, will sing their favorite Disney songs. “Broadway Inspirations” will feature performances of songs that landed performers their dream roles, as well as Broadway classics. Also included is a Broadway comedy improv variety show called “Don’t Quit Your Night Job” and a campfire singalong hosted by Betty Who, featuring Christopher Jackson, Mandy Gonzalez, and more.

Saturday’s programming will include a 30th anniversary Rent reunion featuring nearly the entire original Broadway cast. Sunday programming includes Broadway’s Next Generation and “Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp: Celebrating Friendship and History,” featuring the Rent duo. 

Designed as a destination event, The Festival will be choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell and Jon Rua and directed by Mitchell and D.B. Bonds. The festival will feature three stages throughout the weekend, plus a fourth stage in the evenings. The Main Stage presenting partner and official ticketing sponsor will be Broadway Direct. The Broadway Direct Stage will serve as the centerpiece of The Festival weekend. Food will include local Hudson Valley restaurants and vendors.