July 4th Weekend Viewing Guide: Kelli O'Hara, Adrienne Warren & More Perform at 250th Independence Day Celebrations
Find out which Broadway stars you'll be able to watch during America's semiquincentennial celebration.
Happy Fourth of July weekend!
In honor of the 250th celebration of America, BroadwayWorld brings you a guide to this year's Fourth of July television specials, including CNN's New York show hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, performances from the Broadway casts of Ragtime and Just in Time, and Broadway stars like Kelli O'Hara, Megan Hilty, Adrienne Warren, Josh Groban, and more.
Check out all the details below on which Broadway stars you'll be able to watch from home during this semiquincentennial celebration.
PBS's A Capitol Fourth
To kick off the 250th Independence Day weekend, the 2026 edition of A Capitol Fourth will take place at the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, July 3— one day earlier than the usual annual event.
The all-star line-up features performances by the cast of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway smash-hit musical Just In Time starring Matthew Magnusson, Olivia Holt, and Carrie St. Louis, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Chicago with a special introduction from Tony Award-winner and Chicago native Joe Mantegna, award-winning country music star Trace Adkins, Grammy Award-winning music legend Patti LaBelle, two-time Grammy Award-winning R&B icons Kool & The Gang, Grammy, ACM, CMA and CMT Award-winning country star Carly Pearce, award-winning, Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson, two-time Grammy Award-winning international soprano Angel Blue, and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly.
Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, A Capitol Fourth: 250th Weekend Celebration will be broadcast live and streamed nationwide on Friday, July 3 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide, as well as American Forces Network. The concert will also be streaming on YouTube and available as Video on Demand for a limited time from July 3 to July 17, 2026.
The 2026 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
This beloved Boston tradition returns to the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade for its 52nd year on Saturday, July 4, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET. Led by legendary conductor Keith Lockhart, the lineup of guest performers includes Tony- and Grammy-nominated actress Megan Hilty, along with Lainey Wilson, Chance the Rapper, and Trombone Shorty. Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Jane Lynch will serve as host.
The event features a revolutionary-themed drone show during the performance of the 1812 Overture, and a fireworks display choreographed to music by the Pops. As always, the free concert includes a patriotic sing-along and other Independence Day favorites performed by the Pops along with the Boston Children’s Chorus, Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes and Drums, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the USS Constitution Color Guard.
The Pops performance concludes with a magnificent fireworks display illuminating the Charles River and choreographed with music performed by the Boston Pops, beginning at 9:15 p.m.
The entire July 4 concert and fireworks display will be broadcast locally in Boston on WHDH-TV Channel 7 and streamed on the CNN app and CNN.com (7:00-9:30 p.m. ET). Portions of the event including the fireworks also will be carried live on an international CNN broadcast of July 4/America 250 celebrations.
Virginia: 250 Years Together
Tony winners Kelli O'Hara, Adrienne Warren, and Michael Feinstein are set to perform in America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together, a new special in celebration of the nation’s Semiquincentennial. Broadcast live from the capital of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, the event will premiere live, Saturday, July 4, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. on PBS.
The two-hour broadcast will blend live performance, music, historic interpretation, and large-scale visual spectacle in a national event that aims to connect the nation’s founding to the present day while celebrating the ideas, people, and defining moments that gave rise to the United States.
Other confirmed performers are Grammy Award-winning opera bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Judy Collins. The special will also feature narration by Tony and Golden Globe nominee and Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Thomas and a special greeting from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
Additional highlights include “The Heartbeat of Freedom,” with Indigenous, West African and English Colonial drums coming together as one and a dramatic presentation of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence by a cast representing key historic figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Martha Washington and James Lafayette, an enslaved Virginian who won his freedom as a Revolutionary War double agent.
The event also features the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes & Drums and includes the world premiere of “Through a Window,” performed by Leah Glenn Dance Theatre, the Virginia Chorale, and Ryan Speedo Green, with inspiring images created by 400 synchronized drones. The finale will feature a fireworks display accompanied by classic American favorites as recorded by the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band.
CNN's The Fourth in America and Independence Eve Live
On the evening of Friday, July 3rd, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen continue the tradition of CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live, counting down live to America’s 250th birthday from Times Square. Independence Eve Live with Anderson & Andy: Celebrating 250 will air from 8pmET through 12:30amET and will feature New York’s unique midnight ball drop honoring the nation’s semi-quincentennial.
Throughout the night, Anderson and Andy will be joined by an array of special guests including celebrated American icons, cultural legends, and everyday heroes. In addition to the festivities in Times Square, CNN correspondents and reporters stationed across the country will bring viewers into cities and small towns nationwide, spotlighting the people, traditions and celebrations shaping this historic moment in communities coast-to-coast.
On Saturday, July 4th, CNN anchors and correspondents will be fanned out across the country for The Fourth in America: Celebrating 250, CNN’s nonstop special coverage of the unique events defining America’s 250th. The festivities on the National Mall in Washington, DC will be the focal point throughout the day, including the Great American State Fair. Special coverage will begin at 12pmET with Brianna Keilar and Laura Coates anchoring from the nation’s capital.
CNN’s Fourth in America: Celebrating 250 will feature an array of musical performances by artists including, Charlie Puth and Josh Groban from Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida; Kane Brown from Cadott, Wisconsin; Goo Goo Dolls from The Venetian Resort Las Vegas; Maren Morris from the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, Texas; Lil Wayne, AJR, Kool & the Gang, and Chaka Khan from BottleRock in Napa Valley, California; and Steve Aoki from the Omnia Nighclub in Las Vegas.
In addition to Boston, Washington, and New York, CNN will feature fireworks displays from more than a dozen cities across the country, including Philadelphia, Nashville, San Diego, Houston, St. Louis, Seward, Alaska, and Kauai, Hawaii.
CNN’s Special Coverage on July 3 and July 4 will air live for CNN’s streaming and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps. In addition, the entire Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will be available to stream live exclusively on CNN.com and the CNN app for all users regardless of subscription.
Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular
The 50th Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks special, hosted by Terry Crews, will air live on Saturday, July 4 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT) on NBC and simulcast live on Peacock. The star-studded special will feature performances by Noah Kahan, Post Malone, Salt-N-Pepa, Bebe Rexha, Shaboozey and Blake Shelton. The celebration will also include more than 85,000 shells in 30 colors, paired with a laser show from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Produced by Grammy Award-winning composer Jason Howland, the 27-minute score will feature a live performance by NBC’s “The Voice” season 29 winner Alexia Jayy. Inspired by the spirit of America, the soundtrack reimagines the sounds of more than 50 years of summer classics, with the score designed to accompany the stage lighting and lasers.
The 50th edition of “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” will expand to both the lower East River in the Seaport District, the lower Hudson River in collaboration with Jersey City and the Brooklyn Bridge, firing from six barges and providing miles of public viewing. “Al Rojo Vivo's” Jessica Carrillo and “En Casa con Telemundo's” Carlos Adyan will host Telemundo’s “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks,” airing from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT on Telemundo.
Disney Celebrates America
Disney and ABC are honoring America's 250th Anniversary with a 24-hour multiplatform broadcast of themed programming, kicking off Friday, July 3, at 10:00 p.m. EDT and continuing through Saturday, July 4. One such “Disney Celebrates America" program is "Party Across America," which will feature reporting and live performances from across the country.
Linsey Davis will report from Bourbon Street on the music and culture of the influential city and will interview jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, correspondent John Quiñones from the San Antonio River Walk, correspondent Trevor Ault from a Disney cruise ship along the coast of Alaska, contributor Cameron Mathison live from Las Vegas as the city celebrates, and KABC reporter Anabel Munoz in Los Angeles covering the fireworks spectacular.
Additional programming includes performances by the Tony-nominated Broadway musical “Ragtime” and “Dancing with the Stars,” fireworks at Walt Disney World and Mount Rushmore, and coverage of the 4th of July Midnight Parade, the first Independence Day parade in the nation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It will air from 11:35 p.m. to 12:37 a.m. EDT on July 3 on ABC.
The 24-broadcast will culminate in Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash, a live primetime July 4 celebration taking place in downtown Nashville. The event will feature one of the largest fireworks and drone shows in the United States, set to a live score by the GRAMMY Award-winning Nashville Symphony. The special will also include coverage of the patriotic-themed fireworks displays at Disneyland Resort.
The superstar performance lineup includes The All-American Rejects, Boyz II Men, Brothers Osborne, Clint Black, Elizabeth Nichols, Emily Ann Roberts, John Crist, Lauren Daigle, Little Big Town, NE-YO, Nick Jonas, Reba McEntire, Sublime, and Tim McGRaw.
Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, the special will air live coast to coast Saturday, July 4 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC and ABC News Live, with streams on Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App, Freeform, FX, and NatGeo.
