Most people think of a rave as being a huge party, with young people dancing to electronic music. Ethan Maccoby says the name Broadway Rave is a bit of a misnomer, but it was the most fun title he and partner Alex could come up with for these shows.
“It’s essentially a dance party with a DJ, playing all of your favorite Broadway and musical theatre favorites, from deep cuts to current musicals,” Maccoby said.
Maccoby and Badanes grew up performing together in middle school and high school musicals like Annie and The Music Man as kids in Surrey, England. They’ve been producing Broadway Rave shows around the country for a couple of years now, following similar programs they created that feature emo and disco music.
The selections can vary from date to date, but among the musicals that might be sampled at Broadway Rave are shows like Rent and Hamilton.
Broadway Rave has DJs across the country and in Canada, and many of them are performers with theatre backgrounds themselves.
It wouldn’t be unusual to hear favorites from hit shows like Wicked, Les Misérables, Hairspray or Phantom of the Opera. The DJ will even take requests.
Maccoby says the main characters of a typical Broadway Rave are the audience. People are encouraged to dance and sing along. Attendees sometimes appear dressed up as their favorite characters, like Elphaba from Wicked or Evan Hansen from Dear Evan Hansen.
The music isn’t just the up-tempo dance numbers you might be thinking of. You could hear show-stopping ballads, too.
“Sometimes,” Maccoby concludes, “we’ll have the house turn the lights down, people bring out their flashlights, everyone has their arms around each other, and everybody is just singing along to this amazing, powerful ballad, so those are some of the most special moments for sure.”
Promotional materials for the event hint at possible surprise guests. Performers from Broadway, off-Broadway our touring show companies have been known to join an audience, or surprise the crowd by performing a song they’ve done in a musical. Maccoby isn’t saying if there will be any stars showing up in Lansing.
Broadway Rave arrives at 7 p.m. Friday at Grewal Hall in downtown Lansing. It’s an all-ages show.
