July 21, 2026 — Marist University and New York Stage & Film will host an exclusive in-process presentation of Boom For Real, a new musical project featuring music by EGOT winner John Legend, on Saturday, July 25, at 4 p.m. in Symphonic Hall on campus.

Presented as part of New York Stage & Film’s 2026 Summer Season at Marist, which is already underway, Boom For Real features music by Legend, a book by Obie Award winner Marcus Gardley, and direction by Kamilah Forbes. Audience members will experience the next chapter of Boom For Real before anyone else, hearing never-before-heard demos by Legend, seeing selected scenes from the musical, and joining Gardley (The Color Purple, 2023) for a behind-the-scenes look at the highly anticipated musical about Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Marist’s partnership with New York Stage & Film supports new artistic works and gives students interested in a variety of performing arts disciplines the ability to work with acclaimed artists and emerging productions before they hit Broadway and theaters across the country. Tickets are currently sold out but click here to stay tuned for updates.

For over 40 years, S&F has developed over 1,000 stories that have won every major award including the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Obie Award. S&F’s Summer Season audiences experience stories in their earliest stages before they go to Broadway, Off-Broadway, resident theaters and international theaters, movies theaters or TV.

In addition to the creative teams with public-facing projects, the 2026 Summer Season will host a range of artists-in-residence including individual artists and groups such as the Indigenous Voices of the Northeast and The Drama League. This season will also celebrate the recipients of the Founders’ Award, Pfaelzer Award, and the Dasha Epstein Award, all to be announced at a later date.

Performances will be held at:

• Locations: Performances are being held at:
• Symphonic Hall at Marist University
  Murray Student Center
  3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY
• The Bardavon
  35 Market Street
  Poughkeepsie, NY

Tickets and Information for all shows: Visit www.newyorkstageandfilm.org/2026-summer-season for complete performance details and ticket purchases.