Festival 56

Festival 56 started as a partnership between Princeton Theatre Group and The November Ten, a New York-based theatre company. In its first season, the festival offered five productions in four weeks during July and all 28 visiting artists stayed with host families in the Princeton community. The festival attracted about 2000 patrons the first year, proving that professional theatre could flourish in rural Illinois. Since its inception, Festival 56 has presented over 100 plays. We now welcome over 4000 patrons and 40 visiting artists to Princeton throughout the year and, in a testament to the warm hospitality of the community, all of the visiting artists still live with host families during their Festival 56 stay.