It has been announced that the inaugural Festival Internazionale del Musical (International Festival of Musical Theatre), a global celebration showcasing the creativity of the world’s most talented contemporary musical theatre artists and productions, will be held in Milan, Italy in summer 2022.

Academy and Tony Award winner Whoopi Goldberg can be seen in a special video introducing the Festival (see below), with appearances by Tony Award winner Ben Vereen and musical theatre stars from around the world performing the iconic song “Magic to Do” from Pippin by Academy and Grammy Award winner Stephen Schwartz. Participants also include Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes, Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, Tony Award nominee Jarrod Spector; Olivier Award winner Janie Dee and Layton Williams; musical theatre stars Lorella Cuccarini from Italy; Kim Young Sook from South Korea; Yingfei Liu from China; Luz Angèlica Herrera Vàzquez from Mexico; Eleonora Barbacini Ibrahim from Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Anastasia Styazhkina from Moscow, Russia.

For the inaugural event, several acclaimed musical productions will be invited to perform in prominent theatres in Milan and the Lombardy region over a two-week period in summer 2022. The Festival will include a Gala Event, featuring performers and presenters honouring a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The honoree will be announced in Autumn 2021.

With strong support from the city government of Milan and the Lombardy Region, the local arts industry and Italian fashion icons, the Festival will embrace the hubs of Broadway and London’s West End, as well as musical theatre art and artists around the globe, from Europe to Asia to Latin America and beyond.

The Founders of the International Festival of Musical Theatre have assembled a prestigious group of international theatre artists and professionals from around the world to join the Creative Advisory Board to support the Festival’s efforts. They include: performers: Lorella Cuccarini, Whoopi Goldberg, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, Ben Vereen; and theatre professionals: Renato Balestra, Steve Baruch, Joshua Bergasse, Ken Billington, John Breglio, Julie Boardman, Nica Burns, Warren Carlyle, Theodore S. Chapin, Drew Cohen, Michael Curry, John Doyle, Tan Dun, Wendy Federman, Sean Flahaven, Richard Frankel, David Gallo, Dan Hinde, Rod Kaats, Sophy Kim, Stan Lai, Colin Law, Tom Leonardis, William Ivey Long, Joe Machota, Roy Ofer, Jon Platt, John Rando, Evan Shapiro, Matthew Byam Shaw, Edward Snape, Olivier Sultan, Victoria Traube, Sergio Trujillo, Tom Viertel and Kumiko Yoshii.

Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala said: “Milan is the natural home for all expressions of creativity and beauty. We wish this team all the best on this first edition of the International Festival of Musical Theatre, and we’ll see you in Milan in 2022.”

More specifics including rules regarding eligibility and further logistic details will be announced in October 2021, including the Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient.

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