Theater News

BroadwayCon Announces Three New Panels Exploring Diversity in Theater

The Broadway-themed conference will take place January 26-28 at the Jacob Javits Center.

Laura Benanti is one of many special guests participating in BroadwayCon 2018.
Laura Benanti is one of many special guests participating in BroadwayCon 2018.
(© Tricia Baron)

BroadwayCon 2018 announced three new panels exploring the diversity of Broadway and theater.

In a panel titled "More Than Fiddler!: Jews and Broadway Musicals," according to a press release, "we will look at clips and listen to songs by Jewish American Broadway musical luminaries of the past and present — from George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, and Frank Loesser to Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz and Mel Brooks — and discuss how Jewish culture has shaped the Broadway stage!"

"Theatre on a Budget" is described as follows: "Producing theatre is expensive. It doesn't matter if it's Broadway, community theatre or high school shows, precise budgeting is always important. This discussion will address the challenges of producing theatre with minimal funds and explore ways to stretch dollars to get these shows off the ground."

And "Queer Women in Theatre" is described as follows: "While LGBTQ stories have steadily gained more visibility on the Broadway stage, queer women are still often left out of the popular narrative. Come together for a group discussion on representation of queer women on and off stage in the theatre world. We'll discuss your favorite queer female characters or creatives, how theatre influences audiences, and what we'd like to see the future of representation look like."

Previously announced special guests include cocreator Anthony Rapp, as well as Christy Altomare, Alessandra Baldacchino, Nicholas Barasch, Laura Benanti, William Berloni, Griffin Birney, Heidi Blickenstaff, Stephanie J. Block, Sierra Boggess, Alex Brightman, Andrea Burns, Liz Callaway, Ben Cameron, Carolee Carmello, Donna Lynne Champlin, Adam Chanler-Berat, Andrew Chappelle, Jenn Colella, Lilli Cooper, Veanne Cox, Janet Dacal, Ariana DeBose, Ben Fankhauser, Drew Gasparini, Gideon Glick, Annie Golden, Randy Graff, Molly Hager, Lennon Nate Hammond, Ann Harada, Rodney Hicks, Patrick Hinds, Noah Hinsdale, Emma Hunton, Georgi James, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Maggie Keenan-Bolger, Chad Kimball, Derek Klena, Michael John LaChiusa, Raymond J. Lee, Sydney Lucas, Rick Lyon, Lesli Margherita, Chris McCarrell, Ruthie Ann Miles, Zell Steele Morrow, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Bryce Pinkham, Gabriella Pizzolo, Anthony Rosenthal, Pierson Salvador, Kyle Scatliffe, Alexandra Silber, Leigh Silverman, James Snyder, Oscar Williams, and Doug Wright. Additional special guests will be announced at a later date.

BroadwayCon, taking place at the Jacob Javits Center January 26-28, 2018, will feature panels, performances, interviews, workshops, sing-alongs, and more, all packed into a three-day weekend. Past panels have included previews from upcoming Broadway shows, conversations with the casts and creatives of this season's hits, and discussions featuring the industry's top producers and designers. BroadwayCon is produced by Mischief Management.

For tickets and more information, click here.

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