BWW Blog: Making the Most of This Year's Halloween - Broadway and Cosplaying

Halloween is right around the corner, and while this year is unfortunately not the eventful weekend of costume parties and trick-o-treating that we know and love, that doesn't mean that you still can't dress up. And who better to dress as than your favorite musical character? When it comes to theatre cosplaying, I take pride in saying I'm your go-to girl. As a three year BroadwayCon Veteran (including the convention's debut), I have spent many hours searching for Broadway costumes that will draw attention. So, if you need some stay-home-Halloween costume inspiration, read below and choose your fighter.

I'll start by taking it back to the very first BroadwayCon in 2016. This year could also be called Hamilton's golden age, so naturally, my friend Maddie and I dressed as Angelica Schyuler and Alexander Hamilton, respectively. This was the first BroadwayCon ever, so we didn't know what to expect or prepare for. However, even though there were no instructions given to arrive in costume, I knew we couldn't show up to the first ever Broadway Convention in our street clothes. While there were some other Alexander Hamiltons and a few Glindas and Elphabas, Maddie and I definitely stood out with our costumes. Within just the first few minutes after we arrived, we were interviewed and photographed by many publications, including Playbill (as shown above). The beige pants are a must when dressing as a founding father, and the hoop skirt makes cosplaying a Schyluer sister all the more fun.

Staying with the theme of Hamilton, here we see me, in all my King George glory, on the BroadwayCon snapchat story (don't get too star struck). This was BroadwayCon year two, and now that everyone's rookie year was past, the costume competition was getting more intense. Luckily, my friend had previously worn the costume last Halloween, so this was an easy one to come by. Plus, Jonathan Groff is probably my favorite Broadway actor of all-time, so King George was a no-brainer for the first day of BroadwayCon year two.

I won't even try and pretend like we made these costumes ourselves-- they were totally borrowed from my community theatre's recent production of "Cats". However, they nonetheless landed us the front page of the New York Times art section after BroadwayCon weekend. This is probably one of the most comfortable costumes I've sported at the all-day BroadwayCon event, yet it is not ideal when you are roaming around the streets of Time Square mid-winter.

Doing a full180, here are two costumes that were completely homemade (shoutout my mom for the Lioness costume). With some paper mache and some paint experimenting, you can turn your living room into Pride Rock. This costume landed us second place in the third annual BroadwayCon costume competition and is sure to impress your friends and family.

If you are in need of a couples costume, the classic T-Bird and Pink Lady duo is an easy and fun costume to whip up. I did have to rummage through my school theater's costume closet for the jacket, but as long as you have some pink and some hair gel, you're all set to burn off that Halloween candy with the hand jive.

The list could go on, but I hope this gave you some initial inspiration for bringing Broadway into your home this Halloween. Even though this Halloween is going to be slightly less exciting than most, channeling your favorite Broadway characters while you eat a strict diet of Milkyways and kitKats is a pretty good alternative.

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