Preview: BROADWAY RAVE at The House Of Blues Anaheim

Forget everything you thought you knew about raves. This is not that.

There are no glow necklaces or thumping techno beats here. No fog-laden dance floors filled with bobbing masses of tablet-toting teens. 

This is Broadway Rave — a nightclub-based celebration of musical theater — where showtunes are played by a DJ instead of an orchestra and sung, not by trained actors but by, well, pretty much every person in attendance. It’s a place where participants get to connect with their inner Elphebas or Jean Valjeans and belt it out alongside a roomful of people who love Evan Hansen and Tracy Turnblad as much as they do. 

So, theater kids: THESE ARE YOUR PEOPLE.

“These aren’t people who are going out and raging every Friday and Saturday night. These aren’t wild, party types,” said Ethan Maccoby, a Brooklyn-based dance-party promoter who has brought Broadway Rave to more than 150 cities across North America (it’ll be at the Parish at House of Blues Anaheim April 19 and Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom May 18). “It’s an amazing opportunity for these people to go out to these awesome clubs and venues where they might not normally go and meet other people who have this shared love.”

A former theater kid himself, Maccoby has worked as an event/party planner for almost a decade. He and his business partner, Alex Badanes, have thrown their share of themed parties, from disco parties and Taylor Swift-themed nights to Emo and pop punk-centered dance parties. But…showtunes? Could that work? 

“We thought, wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a place for kids like us who love these shows and songs to get together, sing, and dress up as their favorite characters?” Maccoby said. 

About two years ago, they gave it a shot, debuting Broadway Rave at a small club in Brooklyn. It was a hit from the first vibrato.

At its heart, Broadway Rave is more a sing-along event than a bona fide dance party — though it does have a DJ who plays the songs while people sing and dance (or, more aptly, wave their arms in character) on the dance floor. The show includes three hours worth of contemporary Broadway showtunes, the likes of which everybody in attendance will likely know word-for-word.  

“It’s like, finally, there’s a place for us,” Maccoby said. “Finally, there’s a night for people who just want to sing along and dance to Broadway songs.”

And, oh, there will be singing. Lots and lots of singing. And, don’t be surprised when some brave extroverts take to the stage and let it go as if they’re in an actual Broadway spotlight and not, in reality, just standing next to the DJ booth while everybody else sings along with them, just as loudly. 

Of course, costumes are par for the course (because theater people). At every Broadway Rave, you’ll likely see a gaggle of Glee kids, a couple of Cats. and, Maccoby said, always an Elphaba (“full head-to-toe painted in green”).  

“Everybody is super passionate,” he added.

Chosen songs cater to theater-goers whose taste in musicals is more Wicked than Funny Girl; more Six than Guys and Dolls. Though Maccoby said, there are always requests for old classics. Songs from The Music Man, for instance, often make their way into the playlist. 

Being, for the most, part a Gen Z and millennial affair, it’s not surprising that Broadway Rave has a robust social media presence. And a divided one, at that. TikTok responses to viral videos of the show reflect the dramatic chasm between the Broadway Showtunes People and, well, everybody else:

• “That’s my nightmare" 
• “Not gonna lie this looks like my idea of hell.”   
• “I have found my people!”
• “I would much rather go to a club like this than literally any other club.” 

Maccoby isn’t fazed by the critics.  

“I think that’s what makes it special,” he said. “People love it or hate it. But it’s really cool because the people who are there — who do go — really love it. So you have this positive accepting environment where you don’t have the people saying, ‘This is lame’ and making fun of people.  Those people never go.” 

Broadway Rave will play at the Parish Room at House of Blues in Anaheim April 19; and at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles May 18. Future shows will be listed on the Broadway Rave website. 

Photo Credit: Broadway Rave

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