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Festival 56 is a repertory theater located in Princeton, Illinois, that was founded in 2004 as a partnership between Princeton Theatre Group and The November Ten, a New York-based theater company.

Producing Artistic Director
Tommy Iafrate is a stage director, musical director, arts educator, and musician who serves as the Director of Musical Theatre at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. He has been the Producing Artistic Director of the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, a professional summer-stock theater in Clinton, Iowa. He has also directed the world premieres of several musicals for young audiences, including Cinderella, Too! for Kaleidoscope Theatre, The Awesomeness of Me for Western Illinois University, and Jack vs. Rapunzel for Infinity Theatre Company. While at Infinity, Iafrate directed the Helen Hayes Award-recommended production of Million Dollar Quartet and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline.

Iafrate is a member of the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance, the Theatre Communications Guild, and an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He holds an MFA in Directing from Western Illinois University and a BA in both Musical Theatre and Physics from Rhode Island College.

History
In its first season, the festival offered 5 productions in 4 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 theater could flourish in rural Illinois.

Building on the strength and success of the first few seasons, the Princeton Theatre Group acquired the old Bureau County Republican newspaper building and, in 2007, renovated it into a 150-seat studio theater located in the heart of Princeton's historic downtown shopping district. The Grace Theater is home to Festival 56, which operates year round with an artistic director and a committed board of volunteers.

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.

== Past Productions ==

2004
Anything Goes, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Of Mice and Men, The Pirates of Penzance

Festival 56 Alumni

 * Jim Brigman
 * Dexter Brigham
 * Laura Brigham
 * Tim Seib
 * Jason Simon