By Melissa Griegel . . .
BroadwayCon returned for its eighth annual three-day convention in full splendor with a special focus on the 20th Anniversary of Wicked on Broadway. For the first time, the convention, which took place July 21-23, was located smack-dab in the center of Times Square at the New York Marriott Marquis. This made it very convenient for Broadway stars to pop over in between shows, and for convention goers to catch an evening performance.
Ben Cameron, the consummate BroadwayCon host, welcomed everyone to “his three favorite days of the year” along with founders Anthony Rapp (Rent) and Melissa Anelli. The always popular First Look mainstage event included performances from upcoming shows, as well as some recently opened shows. This year’s line-up included Back to the Future, Little Shop of Horrors, Titanique, Asi Wind’s Inner Circle, Alex Edelman’s Just for Us, the Hulu series Up Here, Rock & Roll Man, The Shark is Broken, and How to Dance in Ohio.
BroadwayCon features a variety of mainstage events with Broadway stars, games and contests, breakout workshops and sessions, cosplay, sing-a-longs, meet and greets with stars, and large marketplace filled with Broadway items for sale. Many of the workshop sessions included topics such as Jewish and AAPI representation in the theater, mental health, and inclusion for all people including gender diversity and physical abilities. There were some new, fun workshops added this year including one in which attendees could eulogize “shows gone too soon” and one in which attendees debated each other on assorted topics such as the pros and cons pro shots of Broadway shows.
A special evening event took place Saturday evening called Ozdust, which required a special ticket. The three-hour event was held in the ballroom and included dancing, drinks and snacks, free giveaways and prizes, a trivia contest, cosplay, step-and-repeat backdrops, and performances by former Wicked cast members. Idina Menzel gave a videotaped greeting to all Ozdust guests. In addition to the Wicked reunion this year, the convention featured reunions of cast members of School of Rock, Avenue Q, and The Who’s Tommy.
BroadwayCon attendees had the chance to sign up in advance for photo and autograph sessions with Niki Metcalf, Justin Guarini, Jenn Colella, Anthony Rapp, Carolee Carmello, L. Morgan Lee, and Ben Cameron. Jenn Colella (Come From Away) hosted a rousing rendition of Broadway Family Fued on the mainstage and Fredi Walker Browne (Rent) judged the Star-to-Be contest, which had perhaps the most talented group of young singers to grace the stage for this annual contest. The Cosplay contest always shows off the skills of young costume designers who spend a lot of time making very detailed replicas of Broadway costumes and interesting tributes to shows. This year’s winner was a young girl who was rewarded for her creativity by wearing a costume called “Dorothy Gone Wrong” in which her ill-fitting Dorothy outfit was falling apart and was filled with notes for the seamstress.
Next year’s BroadwayCon is already being planned for July and will take place at the mid-town Hilton. A limited number of pre-sale discounted tickets are available now at www.Broadwaycon.com.
Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography
Featured Image: Ben Cameron, Melissa Anelli, Anthony Rapp
