Laura Benanti, Lesli Margherita, and More Lead BWW's Top 20 Must-Follow Broadway Tweeters Countdown!
By: Sally Henry Oct. 07, 2015
Besides giving us ridiculously talented creators, entertainment, reason to live, etc., one great dynamic of our Broadway community is that we have a very active presence on Twitter. This is one of the few platforms on which performers, writers, and fans can all interact, usually throwing witty and often satirical one-liners at one another. It's one of the things that makes our community such a special place to be a part of.
However, for people new to the Broadway or Twitter scene, figuring out who to follow can be a daunting task. Like, "I know who's famous, but who's Twitter famous and worth seeing on my timeline every day?" So for this* very reason, I recently asked our readers for their opinions on the best Broadway tweeters out there, and we came up with lots of passionate responses! (some came from Broadway personalities shamelssly lobbying for themselves. I'm looking at you, Annoying Actor Friend.)
Below, check out our definitive list: the 20 must-follow Broadway Twitter accounts (based on number of fan votes for each), with just a small sample of the comments our readers made in favor of their picks!
The Bottom 15 in no Particular Order
Chelsea Nachman- @ChelseaNachman
@Paigey_Mac : "Is this even a question Bway World like do you follow @chelseanachman"
Sierra Boggess- @SierraBoggess
@DirectorKatie : "Mine is @sierraboggess because she's a perfect blend of inspiration and humor."
@alexwyse: "either me or @tedcruz."
Kristin Chenoweth- @KChenoweth
Lyndsay Wilshaw (from Facebook): "Kristin Chenoweth! She can tweet anything from something ridiculous and hilarious to something that really touches your soul."
@Mackiebee3498: "@jheimbrock forever and always"
Jennifer Damiano - @JennDamiano
@alvmar5: "@Lin_Manuel @LauraBenanti @jenndamiano and @chelseanachman. They have the best tweets!"
Ramin Karimloo- @RaminKarimloo
@kellyhj702: "Ramin Karimloo, because.... Well, it's Ramin Karimloo, enough said."
@Achapphawk: "Let @broadwayworld know what time it is y'all!"
Alan Cumming - @AlanCumming, Bryce Pinkham- @PinkhamBryce
@melody_1555: "@Alancumming @raminkarimloo @sierraboggess @LauraBenanti @PinkhamBryce Are my favorite tweeters"
Amy Costello (from Facebook): "Aaron Tveit trying to figure out the whole twitter thing is great"
Sean Grandillo- @SeanGrandillo
@_dramadad_: "my favorite is @seangrandillo because he tweets a lot about Bernie Sanders but also about fruit salad" [It's true. Anyone can tweet clever quips, but gone are the days of fruit salad tweeting.]
@hannahsarmient7: "@MsLeaSalonga well I'm a fan of her and to think that she's the primary reason why I created this account :D"
@CandiLeti: "@Lin_Manuel @SethRudetsky @BroadwayGirlNYC @ArianaDeBose all come straight to my phone bc I need to see tweets immediately!"
SOMETHING ROTTEN! Official Twitter- @RottenBroadway
@HG_Shenanigans: "The @RottenBroadway twitter gives me life. [heart emoji] [tomato emoji] [fried egg emoji]"
Sally Henry- @BwayGinger got a whopping ONE vote!! From my mother. #thanksmom
The Top 5 in a Very Particular Order (wherein the popularity contest gets REAL)
5. Annoying Actor Friend- @Actor_Friend
What BWW readers had to say about him/her/it:
@iamnojello13 : "idk @realDonaldTrump is def in the running but @Actor_Friend might trump trump"
@Actor_Friend : "@Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend @Actor_Friend"
@Actor_Friend : "I BETTER WIN THIS GUYS."
[Anyone else surprised that AAF voted for neither Karen nor Ivy...?]
Tweet highlights:
"When I party, I don't get White Girl Wasted, I get Third Hour of a Live Musical on NBC Wasted."
"I think it was Sydney Lucas who once said, 'I'm not a businessman. I'm a business, man.'"
"not enough people are talking about Brian Stokes Mitchell's star turn on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air"
"Perhaps the saddest thing we learned from this entire AT&T thing is that Patti LuPone's legacy will be phones."
"WHERE IS THE JOHN DOYLE PRODUCTION OF MAMMA MIA THAT THIS PREMATURE REVIVAL HEAVY SEASON WANTS"
4. BroadwayGirlNYC - @BroadwayGirlNYC
What BWW readers had to say about her:
@brianlosoya: "well we have to bring up @BroadwayGirlNYC of course!"
@CandiLeti: "@Lin_Manuel @SethRudetsky @BroadwayGirlNYC @ArianaDeBose all come straight to my phone bc I need to see tweets immediately!"
Tweet highlights:
"Who would have guessed that "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah" would be such a compelling lyric? @SpringBway"
"I mis-memorized the @HamiltonMusical lyric as "32,000 ships in NY Harbor" & just now I was like WOAH THAT IS A LOT OF SHIPS [it's "#troops"]"
"Wearing @BonnieClydeBway sweatshirt, listening to @funhomemusical, calling out "Big fan!" to @MrJasonRBrown on the street. Typical morning"
"Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be online right now."
"On 9th, listening to @HamiltonMusical #obvs, & suddenly there's @leslieodomjr & I'm all "I'M LISTENING TO YOU RIGHT NOW!" He was lovely."
Colm Wilkinson]
3. Lin-Manuel Miranda- @Lin_Manuel
What BWW readers had to say about him:
@Nettie_Mo : "I only continue to check Twitter because of @Lin_Manuel!!!"
@TeamGleek_Love : "Definitely @Lin_Manuel"
Tweet highlights:
"Tveit for it Tveit for it Tveit for it Tveit... -Early Hamilton draft @AaronTveit"
"A great last night as a free man. From here on out if you want to propose & your name is Dev I CAN'T MARRY YOU DEV I'M IN TECH. #Gnight"
"We did a performance in the cafeteria at lunch to tell our school ABOUT THE PLAY! #Groffsauce #HamiltonBway #Ham4Ham"
"You GUYS! The theater dept. put up the whole cast list! WE'RE IN THE PLAY!" On that note, let's just go ahead and put every, "We're in the play!" tweet on this list.
"*Lady rolls down her car window at 181st street*
"congrats on HAMLET!"
Me: "I WISH I wrote Hamlet!"
Lady: "Yay HAMLET!"
*drives away*
#myday"
^^Best. Tweet. Ever. That's my unbiased opinion as a serious journalist.
2. Lesli Margherita- @QueenLesli
What BWW readers had to say about her:
@courtza87: "Is there anyone else but @QueenLesli!!?!"
@theupperuplands: "@QueenLesli 's tweets are the reason i live"
Cassidy Aleksa (From Facebook): "Lesli margherita. Hands down. Or up. While bowing down to her. Cause queen."
Tweet highlights:
"Like 2 thank Mr. @ItsJohnBolton 4 catching the runaway wig that fell off my head & tried 2 make a run 4 it in front of a Bway aud last nite"
"The short woman w sparkle phone that u saw running like a Muppet to get to the wine store b4 it closed wasn't me"
"U can order and pay ahead at Sbux now and I have been changed for good"
"If anyone makes u feel small, thats fine. Small means u will be the perfect height to punch people in the nuts without any effort."
"The girl that made Alex Trebek say Turd Ferguson on Jeopardy is my hero today."
1. Laura Benanti- @LauraBenanti
Known for her random quips and hilarious life commentary, Laura Benanti is THE Broadway tweeter! So basically if you're not following her, you're wrong.
What BWW readers had to say about her:
@DoggieDog: "Well, among numerous others, @LauraBenanti springs to mind, being she of the ridiculously quick wit."
@CarrieCooper96: "@LauraBenanti without a doubt so funny"
@captn__morg: "@LauraBenanti all day everyday"
Here's a sample of some recent Benanti-isms. Just follow her. It'll make your life about 10x better.
"Back in MY day, we didn't have 'cyber-stalking' we just had good old-fashioned regular stalking."
"Sorry I didn't live tweet the VMA's but I was busy doing literally anything else."
"Just my annual check in to make sure we are all still super pissed about that "Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me" song."
"Very excited to announce my new musical 'BLOCKED!'
(It's just me on my couch singing along to Beyoncé while I block Twitter trolls)"
"'Now you can order Dominos Pizza by texting a pizza emoji' is a fun ad I just saw that ALSO doubles as a clear warning of the apocalypse!"
Follow Sally Henry on Twitter: @BwayGinger for more Twitter stalking insights.
*This list also doubles as a popularity contest, which we always need more of in the entertainment industry. You're welcome.
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