Santino Fantana, photo by Nathan Johnson
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) recently added Tony Award-winning actor and television star Santino Fontana to its artistic line-up for this year's Princeton Festival. Known for his star turns in Broadway productions of Tootsie and Cinderella, and on television in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Sisters, as well as the voice of Prince Hans in Disney's animated film Frozen, Mr. Fontana is sure to delight fans of all ages in his Saturday, June 22 cabaret-style appearance at the Festival. The intimate performance includes Broadway songs and favorite melodies accompanied by pianist, interspersed with personal anecdotes revealing the stars natural charm and good humor.
Santino Fontana received the Tony Award, two Drama Desks, an Outer Critics Circle, a Lortel, an Obie, and the Clarence Derwent Award for his work in both plays and musicals. Most recently seen on Broadway in his virtuosic Tony-winning turn as “Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels” in Tootsie. The NY Times wrote, “Santino Fontana [is] one of the most promising actors to emerge in the New York theater.” New York Magazine heralded him as an “indispensable stage star.” He is widely known for lending his voice to the villainous ‘Prince Hans’ in Disney’s Academy Award winning animated feature, Frozen. On TV, Santino was seen on the Emmy winning “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He starred on CW’s comedy “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” as fan favorite, ‘Greg’ and NBC’s drama “Shades of Blue,” opposite Jennifer Lopez, simultaneously. A critically acclaimed narrator of dozens of audiobooks, he was the original voice of ‘Joe’ in Caroline Kepnes’s cult hit You and all its sequels. He received the Audie award for Stephen King’s The Institute and was chosen to read Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
The Princeton Festival takes place June 7-22, 2024 with a state-of-the-art tented pavilion erected on the grounds of beautiful Morven Museum & Garden. Events range from an opening night concert featuring star soprano Angel Blue to a comic opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a tribute honoring Tina Turner, plus dance, a Juneteenth celebration with Black choral music, a Family Day with Latin American music, and genre-defying ensembles. Baroque and chamber concerts take place at nearby Trinity Church.
Complete Festival Listing:
Friday, June 7 – Opening weekend begins with Metropolitan Opera superstar soprano Angel Blue with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Blue comes fresh off a season of performances in major houses both at home and abroad, joining the PSO for a program of favorite arias.
Saturday, June 8 – The mainstage is devoted to The Music of Tina Turner, a tribute honoring the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Three prominent artists including Broadway star and American Idol finalist LaKisha Jones, plus guest conductor Lucas Waldin and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra perform some of the trailblazing artist’s mega hits including “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” “Simply the Best,” “Proud Mary,” and “River Deep, Mountain High.”
Sunday, June 9 – Family Day – Offers child-centered activities culminating in a concert of Latin American family music featuring musical storytelling by Latin GRAMMY® nominee Sonia De Los Santos. De Los Santos and her band invite audiences to enjoy a delightful collection of original songs sung in Spanish and English.
June 14, 16, & 18 – The centerpiece of this year’s Festival is a fresh production of Mozart’s comedic opera Così fan tutte sung in the original Italian with English subtitles. The opera will be directed by James Marvel, with scenic design by Blair Mielnik and costumes by Marie Miller. This is the creative team hailed for last year’s rollicking version of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Performing the roles of the lovers are Aubry Ballarò as Fiordiligi, Alexis Peart as Dorabella, David Walton as Ferrando, and Benjamin Taylor as Guglielmo, with Calvin Griffin as the freewheeling Don Alfonso and Zulimar López-Hernández as the crafty maid Despina. Rossen Milanov will conduct all three performances.
Thursday, June 13 – Across the way at Trinity Church, Festival attendees can take in the award-winning sound of the Abeo Quartet. In its debut Princeton Festival performance, the quartet presents works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Esmail.
Saturday, June 15 – Dance and orchestral worlds combine in Interwoven: American Repertory Ballet + PSO Strings, a program of dance works performed by ARB dancers with string ensemble conducted by Rossen Milanov. The evening features choreography by Arthur Mitchell and Meredith Rainey, with music by Glass, Grieg, Scripp, and Sibelius.
Wednesday, June 19 - Juneteenth – Concert Honoring Black Choral Music led by choral conductor Vinroy D. Brown, Jr. of Westminster Choir College, features a choir drawn from the community and anchored by the Capital Singers of Trenton. The program will feature Robert Ray’s iconic Gospel Mass with additional choral selections highlighting the joy and spirit of Black music.
Thursday, June 20 – The Sebastians: Brandenburgs and More will take place at Trinity Church. The acclaimed Baroque ensemble The Sebastians returns for its third Princeton Festival appearance with an exciting program featuring three of J.S. Bach’s beloved “Brandenburg” concerti along with classic works by Telemann and Vivaldi.
Friday, June 21 – Genre-bending, Juilliard-trained trio Empire Wild takes over the pavilion stage with a captivating program featuring two cellos and piano, with vocals. The group brings its signature mix of original music, inventive covers, and twists on the classical canon.
Saturday, June 22 – Anchoring the Festival is An Evening with Santino Fontana. Broadway star Fontana (Tootsie, Cinderella, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Importance of Being Ernest), comes to the Princeton Festival with an intimate, cabaret-style solo concert featuring Broadway tunes, favorite songs, and charming banter.
2024 Princeton Festival tickets are available now, and range in price from $10 - $135. While most performances take place in the pavilion at Morven Museum & Garden, some are located inside at Trinity Church. For dates, times, program information, and tickets, visit princetonsymphony.org/festival.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra is committed to ensuring all programming is accessible for everyone, working with venues such as Morven Museum & Garden and Trinity Church to provide needed services. Contact ADA Coordinator Mika Godbole for questions about available services at mgodbole@princetonsymphony.org or (609) 905-0931. Note: some services require at least two weeks’ notice to arrange.
Programs, artists, dates, and times are subject to change.
Founded in 2004, the Princeton Festival quickly established a reputation for artistic excellence and innovative programming in the performing arts. Every year in June, thousands of people from the mid-Atlantic region and beyond come to the Festival to enjoy the quality and variety of its programs. Offerings include opera, musical theater, dance, and a constantly evolving selection of other genres, including jazz, world music, orchestral pops, choral concerts, country music, chamber recitals, and an annual piano competition. The Festival has long-standing partnerships with public libraries and local churches, and promotes life-long learning in the arts through free educational lectures presented to a wide and diverse community.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey’s finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Its flagship summer program the Princeton Festival brings an array of performing arts and artists to Princeton during multiple weeks in June. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending a live orchestral performance. The PSO receives considerable support from the Princeton community and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, regularly garnering NJSCA’s highest honor. Recognition of engaging residencies and concerts has come from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the PSO’s commitment to new music has been acknowledged with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.
