The first day of the first-ever BroadwayCon is in the books, and it’s safe to say that whatever expectations the fans — and many actors who took part — came in with were exceeded. We gathered up the highlights. Before the first panel even began, there was a spontaneous Hamilton singalong:
Spontaneous @HamiltonMusical sing-along broke out at the first panel!! ? #broadwaycon @Lin_Manuel @leslieodomjr pic.twitter.com/BXElqnzFYV
— Playbill (@playbill) January 22, 2016
The official BroadwayCon opening ceremonies took their cue from nearby Times Square when measuring out the confetti:
Happy Opening #BroadwayCon!!! ? pic.twitter.com/pkJWs7NcEa
— Playbill (@playbill) January 22, 2016
Fans who didn’t come in their own homemade cosplay tried on Broadway costumes at the Theatre Development Fund booth:
Come find us at @bwaycon! We’re in the vendor room. https://t.co/al11KDWYHA #candy #contest #costumes pic.twitter.com/EB1sKCAAEz
— TDF (@TDFNYC) January 22, 2016
It was standing room only at the Spring Awakening panel. The show will end its critically acclaimed revival as a mixed deaf-hearing production this weekend:
It turns out there are a lot of @SpringBway fans at #BroadwayCon. pic.twitter.com/LyJQpbuVCz
— Michael Paulson (@MichaelPaulson) January 22, 2016
Fans could get a taste of fame on the cover of Playbill.
SPOTTED: Future Newsies at our #BroadwayCon marketplace booth. Take a pic and tag #OnAPlaybill! xoxo Gossip Girl pic.twitter.com/NmV3OCGQxn
— Playbill (@playbill) January 22, 2016
Where there are fans, there will be cosplay. The Phantom of the Opera crew:
@PhantomOpera cosplay at #BroadwayCon. Phantastic!!!
@playbill pic.twitter.com/aBrqLlXpVM— Talaura Harms (@MyNameIsTalaura) January 22, 2016
The witches of Wicked:
Beware the Sweeneys Todd:
A Lovett in the middle #SweeneyTodd #BroadwayCon pic.twitter.com/KRlMzMajXX
— Erik Piepenburg (@erikpiepenburg) January 22, 2016
Tough to say who’s more fabulous: Hamilton’s King George or Hairspray’s Tracy Turnblad.
One of the most anticipated panels of the con, the Hamilton cast talk, brought all of the show’s leads together (and on a show night!). Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr) delivered the quote of the night:
“Without a question, that’s the show that opened my heart” – @leslieodomjr on #Rent and what it means to him. #BroadwayCon
— Andrea Towers (@_atowers) January 22, 2016
As far as performing, show creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda did a freestyle rap with co-star Phillipa Soo (Elizabeth Schuyler) on beatboxing duty:
.@Lin_Manuel just freestyled for us ON THE SPOT (with @Phillipasoo beat-boxing!). #BroadwayCon @HamiltonMusical pic.twitter.com/bgCTspoxKW
— Jessica Derschowitz (@jessicasara) January 22, 2016
But it was the audience who ended up singing “The Schuyler Sisters” to the cast:
#BroadwayCon was the illest. Thank you @albinokid and everyone in the room! pic.twitter.com/f3oFZ6gs8Q
— Leslie Odom, Jr. (@leslieodomjr) January 22, 2016
Anniversaries are always emotional, but Rent meant so much to so many people when it debuted 20 years ago that when the cast reunited for the day’s final panel, it left many people overwhelmed:
The original cast of #Rent at #BroadwayCon, almost 20 years after the first public performance. pic.twitter.com/qhsKLXDcGv
— Andrea Towers (@_atowers) January 23, 2016
Rent completely changed the way I look at other people. I cannot believe I was able to witness this reunion. Speechless. #BroadwayCon
— Noel Diem (@NoelDiem) January 23, 2016
That Rent panel truly made this entire weekend worth it, no matter what. Emotional, hilarious, touching, and so real. #BroadwayCon
— Jennifer Dorsey (@genevive429) January 23, 2016
