BroadwayCon 2016 - Experience reports!- Page 2

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 5:30pm

Bettyboy72 said: "I have friends who paid $600 for VIP and can't get seats in rooms while people with day passes are sitting. This is a **** show if VIPs are standing and sweating their balls off. I'd be pissed. "

 

I think the person to try to contact about that is really Melissa Anelli, though she's roving around the convention somewhere.

[Matchi]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 5:36pm

LMM just freestyled while Phillipa beatboxed. Hamilton panel going well enough. Crowd is calm.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:01pm

Agree that the Vip people definitely should have first priority for seating.  There were a lot of people with the general pass, like me, down in Sutton for the opening and Hamilton.  I am now in the main room for the next panel. Think I will stay here so I don't lose my seat for the Rent one.

 

Have to say the Smash meet up someone on piano and us all singing Let Me Be Your Star was fun. Though I didn't get my turn to speak because of that. 

[mariel9]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:01pm

Hamilton panel was great. But they badly needed ropes so they could loop the line around in the limited space available. They absolutely should have anticipated the demand and lines.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:19pm

For popular sessions, do they clear the room after the session is over? For example, after the Opening Ceremony, did they clear the Main Stage room and let the attendees in?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:22pm

I was in the press area, so I can't speak to any of that but the place was packed and my inner fan girl was going nuts hanging in a room with Anthony Rapp and the Hamilton cast. And just casually hanging out with Ben Vereen and Tommy Tune. The opening was fun, if a little light on actual singing. 

Looks like some great panals and workshops though. Glad it's packed. Seems like a fun idea. 

There should have been a booth where you could recreate a scene from a musical and have your picture taken. 

[mariel9]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:35pm

They are not clearing the rooms between sessions. Everyone at the opening stayed put for Hamilton.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:43pm

mariel9 said: "They are not clearing the rooms between sessions. Everyone at the opening stayed put for Hamilton."

 

I think they said that people who are attending back-to-back panels can stay, but I don't know how they can reasonably check to give VIPs first access. There's got to be a better way to manage this.

 

That said, since both the Hamilton and RENT panels are today, perhaps the rest of the weekend will be less insane.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 6:58pm

^ That's what I was thinking too. It cleared out quickly for the I Was A Teenage Diva panel. That was actually fun. 

 

And they are clearing the front 5 rows of the 3 center sections for the VIP people for the Rent panel.  They are going to check badges. 

[NewsiesForever]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 7:01pm

Did anybody go tot he Newsies panal? And or the Chris Cagtelli Newsies Dance Call? Can someone tell me which Newsies cast members were there? 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 7:16pm

Howdy, y'all. Finally at my first break in the day since 9am.

 

It's definitely been a mixed day for me so far. I think the production/event management has been absolutely abysmal. From horrendous lines to kicking people out of rooms to projection screens going in and out during panels, I am stunned at how poorly the management has gone. As a VIP member, I feel no priority over any of the general/day pass-holders, which makes me seriously question why I shelled out so much money.

 

However, I have been gushing at all the panels I've been to. The producers' panel was wonderful. The "Redefining Success on Broadway" panel was unusually profound and quite emotional. I adored being able to see the King and I team at one table and hear about their creative process.

 

The opening ceremony/performance was hilarious, fun, and one wild thing after another (Lena Hall?! Ben Vereen?! TOMMY FREAKING TUNE?!). I thought I was going to have a stroke during the Hamilton panel—it was just so wonderful to see them all together.

 

Truly looking forward to what I've scheduled for the next few days—even if it means working through horrendous event management.  

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 7:20pm

Thanks for the report. I'm really curious about the Producing 101 panel; did they take a Q&A or was it just a top-down seminar?

 

At least it sounds like they're making some effort for the VIPs in the case of the RENT panel (thanks Marianne2).

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 7:23pm

Also, did anybody else catch during the Hamilton panel how awkward the politically charged question was? The entire cast was looking around like "umm..." and Lin really swooped in and saved the day by posing that there really isn't a partisan slant to the show, and that its message is one that gives him hope, etc. I was cringing.

Updated On: 1/22/16 at 07:23 PM

[stargazer2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:07pm

I will agree that the content in the panels has been pretty great.  I am not one to chase after autographs and photos (however, I will be in line for JGroff photo tomorrow), and am not obsessed with fanboy/girl side of the con.  I actually have no problem with the lines for the events and MainStage events.  I have been to ComicCon, and this is nothing.

I have been chuckling in my head that these theater people are sooo dang dramatic (lol).  Calm down, and take a minute to enjoy the moment.  I actually watched a VIP'er yell and scream at a poor volunteer for the event.  Came the eff down!  Sad to see people express such a sense of entitlement.  I have a VIP ticket too, and feel that I have received great service and attention from the staff.  I hope this is just the beginning of something pretty great.

Updated On: 1/22/16 at 08:07 PM

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:10pm

stargazer2 said: "I will agree that the content in the panels has been pretty great.  I am not one to chase after autographs and photos (however, I will be in line for JGroff photo tomorrow), and am not obsessed with fanboy/girl side of the con.  I actually have no problem with the lines for the events and MainStage events.  I have been to ComicCon, and this is nothing.

 

I have been chuckling in my head that these theater people are sooo dang dramatic (lol).  Calm down, and take a minute to enjoy the moment.  I actually watched a VIP'er yell and scream at a poor volunteer for the event.  Came the eff down!  Sad to see people express such a sense of entitlement.  I have a VIP ticket too, and feel that I have received great service and attention from the staff.  I hope this is just he beginning of something pretty great."

 

Well, I don't expect this to ever reach ComicCon levels, that's for sure! I feel sorry for the volunteers that take the brunt of this sort of thing; they're just trying to do as they're directed for the most part, or lack direction when something happens, so I'd blame the planning portion.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:15pm

stargazer2 said: "Sad to see people express such a sense of entitlement."

 

I certainly think that maltreatment of the volunteers is inexcusable, but my/others' frustration, I think, is in having a VIP pass that seems to provide no apparent advantage at all. 

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:22pm

Glad to hear some more positive feedback coming in, as least as far as content goes. I'm hoping to have picked some of the less crazy events for tomorrow that will have a smaller issue with lines & crowds. Getting really excited now after following on FB and Periscope today.

I'll be wearing a purple Promises Promises shirt tomorrow. If anybody sees me, say Hi!

[mariel9]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:25pm

I'm fine with lines. What I'm not fine with is lines turning into an amorphous blob because con management didn't anticipate that everyone would want to go to the Hamilton panel. They needed ropes and a plan to manage the VIP's, general pass, and day pass holders. 

[Matchi]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:33pm

Rent panel. Daphne just FaceTimed Jesse L Martin and he is live now. Surreal.

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 8:48pm

This to me seemed like a bad idea-at least for the first time around-all along. The amount of broadway talent there is okay, but most of those people are working on broadway currently. With the content they have, It's basically for people who like Hamilton, Rent, or Spring Awakening and only a little bit of everything else. I'm not surprised it's a mess as there is not enough content being shown for the amount of people you have. I have been to many conventions, as I am a big Star Wars fan, yet I wasn't really interested in this. Hopefully the rest of the weekend fares better.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 9:28pm

Yes, lines that end up as a session of pushing and shoving and could be a fire or medical emergency hazard are not good. Waiting is fine as long as it is safe. To me, it is also a problem when everything is so messy that a volunteer isn't even sure where you should go. That happened to me at registration.  I got in what I was told was the line I needed and 2 minutes later I heard differently.  I did get to the front, but it was a little ridiculous. 

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 9:49pm

Lines, lines and more lines. Yea, where were the ropes? I wound up going to overflow room too. I did enjoy the mashups in the morning, and of course the Hamilton panel and the RENT reunion. Hopefully tomorrow won't be as crowded with the weather prediction? The Marketplace had some really cool stuff. Several times I wanted to go into the museum but it was closed. Did it ever open up? My Fitbit tracked I walked 8 miles today. Bring water and food, yep even lines for food. Lines everywhere.

Jimbo

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 10:04pm

My memories of larger cons consist primarily of lines, speed-walking, and giant rooms, so I'm leaning towards stargazer2's assessment of things (lines everywhere and all the time). For the last convention I went to, friends and I went to the nearest convenience store and bought ourselves sandwich materials to use over a couple days, along with boxes of energy bars. We didn't even eat out for dinner because programming ran over midnight. Ah, those were the days.

 

It sounds like the most reasonable fixes would have been ropes and multiple lines for pass level. As for weather, if most people came today, they'd simply remain in the hotel anyway; subtracting people with only a Friday pass and adding people coming tomorrow, along with a bunch of people doing the whole thing, I think it'll be a wash.

 

What cool things did you see at the marketplace?

[sorano916]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 10:49pm

NewsiesForever said: "Did anybody go tot he Newsies panal? And or the Chris Cagtelli Newsies Dance Call? Can someone tell me which Newsies cast members were there? "

 

There was a Newsies panel? I thought it was just a dance class/session. Wasn't there but based on photos that the cast posted on basically all of their Instagrams...

 

Dan DeLuca, Stephanie Styles, Jeremy Greenbaum, Andy Richardson., John Michael Fiumara, Aaron Albano, Julian DeGuzman, Damon Gillespie, Garett Hawe, Jess LeProtto, Thayne Jasperson, Tommy Martinez, Jack Sippel, David & Jacob Guzman, Anthony Rosenthal

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 1/22/16 at 11:03pm

For anybody coming tomorrow or Sunday, bring food/small water bottles for yourself. Cannot stress how important that is. I don't know why I didn't prepare myself today. By the time I reached the end of my must-see panels/performances around 7 p.m., I thought I was going to pass out and die.