Broadway star makes Tri-Cities hometown return to help find a ‘home for the arts’

Santino Fontana was 10 when he performed in the first-ever production to come out of Richland’s Academy of Children’s Theatre .

Now, he’s a Tony-winning Broadway performer, who has starred in various TV shows and movies.

Fontana will return to his hometown of Richland this fall to perform a benefit concert and masterclass.

It will help fund renovations of the Windermere Children’s Theatre, which will become the permanent ACT theater space.

Fontana is looking forward to giving back to the organization that helped instill his passion for acting and music.

The concert will be his first performance in the Tri-Cities since he graduated from Richland High School in 2000.

Tri-Cities homecoming

Fontana credits his grandfather for introducing him to movies by taking him on trips to the video rental store Blockbuster.

“He had a wide range of tastes in movies,” Fontana told the Herald in a interview. “At a certain point, I felt like, ‘When do I get to do that?’ It was at the same time that ACT started.”

Founded in 1995, ACT is a nonprofit community theater with performances and educational programs for youth, including nine weeks of summer camps.

The 2024-25 season includes “Newsies,” “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Hobbit.”

ACT also has an arts-based preschool program.

Executive director Anne Spilman said in a statement that ACT is looking to raise $75,000 from the concert.

The final stage of construction for the Windermere Children’s Theatre will create more than 200 seats on risers, a tech booth for lighting and sound, and HVAC and electrical.

The theatre at 213 Wellsian Way is expected to be done next year.

“I jumped at the chance to get to help ACT raise the money they need,” said Fontana, who now lives with his wife, Jessica, and two young children in New York City.

“Anything I can do to help foster a home for the arts in the Tri-Cities, I will.”

Acting career

Currently, Fontana is wrapping up filming a new FX television series to be released this fall.

He also stars alongside Martin Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, June Squibb and others in the upcoming dramatic comedy movie, “Lost & Found in Cleveland.”

His credits include performing in the Emmy-winning television series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the CW comedy “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” NBC’s drama “Shades of Blue” alongside Jennifer Lopez and a recent episode of “Evil.” He also performs concerts across the country.

His credits also include voicing the villain Prince Hans in Disney’s Academy Award-winning animated feature, “Frozen.”

On Broadway, he played the titular role in “Tootsie,” earning him a Tony Award in 2019 for best leading actor in a musical. The Broadway production ran from April 2019 to January 2020.

Then the global pandemic hit.

“The Broadway shutdown was really hard. Live performance was decimated,” said Fontana, who lived for five months during the pandemic in Richland with his parents, Sharon and Ernie Fontana.

Now, as Broadway continues to recover, he’s been trying many things from TV to movies, as well as some voice acting and even audiobooks.

“It still feels like we’re in some slump of it. The amount of work isn’t where it was,” he said.

Richland concert

Santino Fontana: Benefit Concert — at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 at Richland High — will have a unique format.

The night of the event, Tri-Cities audience members will choose which songs he will perform and in what order. He’ll preselect 30 songs from his repertoire.

Fontana also will present a masterclass for all ages from noon to 2 p.m. that will include vocal instruction and Q&A sessions. He expects participants to have songs or monologues to practice.

Tickets for the concert and class are available to purchase at www.academyofchildrenstheatre.org .

Prices for the concert range from $50 to $100. On-stage table seats include admission to a VIP after-party and are available for $225.

The masterclass is $80 for adults and $55 for students (18 and under, or 25 and under with a valid college ID).