BWW Blog: Sydney Gross - My BroadwayCon Experience

It has been practically two months now and I am still suffering from Post BroadwayCon depression. For those who don't know, BroadwayCon was a convention held at the Javits center in New York City from January 27th to the 29th and I am not exaggerating when I say that it was one of the best weekends of my life. Honestly, I did not know what to expect going into it. It was only the second year that Playbill and Mischief Management teamed up to put this event on and last year's convention was visited by a giant blizzard. I had gone with my two best friends and even though this was our first year going, we went all out with a different cosplay each day. These consisted of The Schuyler Sisters, all three Heathers, and Danny, Sandy, and Rizzo from Grease. As soon as we stepped into the Javits center it was as if we were stepping into another world. A world where it was okay to burst out into showtunes, find a way to quote a musical to any conversation, and meet your favorite Broadway actors as they were just walking around. There were Glindas, newsies, and Hamilton's galore.

The panels were interesting and engaging ranging from topics of Ragtime to Broadway through social media. There was something for any type of theatre goer. One of my favorite things to do was the sing-a-longs. From the naked eye given no background information (a.k.a my mother) on snapchat, it seemed as if I had joined a cult, watching one hundred people in a room screaming song lyrics. Everybody got up and danced down the aisles and got to have their dream of belting out "Defying Gravity" in front of a live audience and not by themselves in a bedroom.

One of the most fun moments was seeing Derek Klena, Jeremy Jordan, and JorDan Fisher all within a span of approximately ten minutes. I may have cried a little but who wouldn't? Another very unique experience was getting sneak peeks of all the shows coming to Broadway this year. For example, Corey Cott and Laura Osnes sang snippets from Bandstand and we even got a glimpse into the making of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with a video from Christian Borle. The opening and closing ceremony were unbelievable and I kid you not, the closing ceremony had a majority of the room in tears when they talked about the importance of theatre at this particular time in our world that we are living in. These are only a just a few highlights from the experience and there is still so much to talk about. I can't even begin to explain the hilariousness of the Lesli Margherita Variety Hour.

Most importantly, out of this entire three day weekend, I found a place where I belong. I found hundreds of people with similar interests as me, that understood me, and knew the world that I was coming from. At high school, it is very difficult to find people who watch musicals and listen to showtunes. I can't discuss sports or Ariana Grande's latest album but there, it was an entire convention center filled with people I could relate to. Yes, the convention lasted three days long, but I have gained memories and experiences that will last a lifetime. I cannot wait to go back and experience BroadwayCon 2018!