Conventions are hardly new – my husband and son went to Mine Con in 2015 when it was in London – and Comic Con is a well established event all over the world. In 2016 Broadway Con debuted in New York but until this weekend we had not had a convention for musical fans in the UK.
There was much apprehension about this event in the weeks leading up to it, with people complaining about additional costs beyond the ticket price (not unusual for conventions) and a lack if information about the schedule from the organisers. But were the fears justified? We spent two days at the ExCel Arena in London and here’s what went on.
We booked for this on the day that it was announced back in April. We were actually on a cruise ship in the North Sea at the time and I remember us all sitting around a table in one of the restaurants debating whether to book and what type of tickets to book. We ended up booking weekend VIP tickets. It meant that we would get advance access to booking workshops and meet and greets, a goody bag, and – probably the most important for me – a separate VIP viewing area at the main stage. Due to the anxiety I have when I’m in crowds the promise of a less busy area was essential in making the decision to book.
Over the summer more information came out and me and my daughter booked 3 workshops each. It was a bit of a leap in the dark booking them because we had no idea of the schedule and so what would clash with what – in fact we booked nothing from the first release as weren’t sure what else would be released and we were worried about workshops clashing. I hope that next year they release a full schedule up front.
As it got nearer the time there were a lot of rumblings on social media when people were concerned about what they would get for their entry fee as all of the things released cost extra. People seemed especially annoyed that they were having to pay for meet and greets, along with the fact that all of the announced workshops were aimed at performers and not all musical theatre fan perform – we are 50/50 in this family. I and others did try to explain that paying for meet and greets were the wa conventions worked and the the prices were actually quite cheap.
So, onto the weekend. We had a hotel for the weekend (breakfast was full of a lot of people also heading to Musical Con!) and we arrived at the ExCel at about 9.30. As we entered the hall the queues were very long and we were greeted by the West End Choir singing – and a lot of attendees joining in.
After bag check we were filtered into the VIP queue and given our lanyards. At about 9:55 the doors were opened and we made our way in (another advantage of the VIP ticket was first entry).
We made our way straight to the Main Stage. I had spoken to the organisers via email during the week leading up to the event as I was concerned that there was no seating around the Main Stage and they assured me that it would be fine. I had bought a telescopic stool so that I could have somewhere to sit if I needed it and was prepared that I would just have to leave the area if it got too crowded. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was standing only, but the VIP section – referred to as ‘the golden circle’ – around the three sides of the stage was of a decent size and at no point over the whole weekend did it feel crowded.
As the opening ceremony started I will admit to feeling a bit teary. I’ll go into that more later, but it was quite emotional.
At about 10:45 I had to leave the Main Stage area and headed over to the Larson Studio for my first workshop – a Rent dance one with Tom Jackson Greaves (@TJG_UK) who choreographed the 2020 production of Rent at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. Back in the 1990s I was a big Renthead and this workshop was brilliant.
As I finished I had a message from my husband to say that they were in the merchandise queue to get their goody bags so I headed over there. This was one of the first issues we found with the set up. There was no where for the merchandise queue to go so it made it hard for people to move around the area. When we did finally get to the section where they were doing the goody bags I was very upset to learn that they had run out of XL t-shirts. If this had been something I wanted to purchase then I would have been disappointed. However, this was something that we were supposed to receive in our goody bags and so we had effectively already paid for it with our VIP tickets. So sadly, I don’t have a t-shirt that I can wear (the rest of the family do though). The tote bags were lovely, and we also got a pin badge – great for me as I collect theatre pin badges. We asked about the merchandise that we could buy and were told that they had also sold out of XL hoodies. Now bearing in mind that this was less than 2 hours into a 2 day event it was a bit disappointing. We were told that they might look at producing some more and selling online after the event but of course I would have to pay for a t-shirt that way – so paying for it twice. Oh well.
It was time to head back to the Main Stage for ‘Sondheim and Me with Jenna Russell’ (@jennarusselluk). This was a fascinating interview about Sondheim’s work as Jenna has performed many of his shows. She also talked about going to his house for a chat! It was interspersed with several Sondheim songs.
I’ve been a fan of Jenna Russell for over 30 years now as she was my first ‘Fantine’ when I first saw Les Miserables, so it was lovely to hear her sing live again.
Next up on the Main Stage was ‘Defying Gravity – A Celebration of Going Green’. Definitely a highlight of the weekend it featured interviews with four Elphabas – Nikki Bentley, Alice Fearn, Laura Pick, and Louise Dearman. They talked about their experiences playing the role and each sung one of Elphabas songs finishing with the four of them singing ‘Defying Gravity’. This was incredible.
And so it was Stage Door time. As I said, I have been a fan of Jenna Russell for years and so I decided to do the photo opportunity. At £30 these are a lot cheaper than you get at a lot of conventions. I had a lovely chat with her and then had a photo – which you got a print version of in a signed Musical Con wallet, and a digital version
After this we headed outside of the convention hall to get some lunch before going back in to watch the Cinderella performance – which was a preview of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella which is opening at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester next month.
I then had a little bit of time to spare so had a look at some of the exhibits – including the car from Back to the Future. I knew I didn’t have time to look at the stalls that were set up selling theatre inspired gifts so I decided to save that till Sunday.
I finished my day with a ‘Learning to Belt’ workshop with Alice Fearn. This was fantastic with lots of good tips and gave me a lot of ideas to take back to my singing teacher.
We had to head off promptly as we had to get into the West End for the final performance of Dear Evan Hansen (see separate review – https://www.act1beginners.co.uk/post/dear-evan-hansen-the-final-night-noël-coward-theatre)
Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep before we hit day 2.
This was cosplay day and my daughter was going as Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family musical. Her costume was based on the one that Carrie Hope Fletcher wore in the tour. Both of us had a workshop at 10am so we made sure that we got there in plenty of time to get in, and then get upstairs to The Webber Room.
This was an Acting Through Song workshop with Natalie May Paris. Both me and my daughter were just there to sit and listen to the advice but there were a lot of very disappointed teenagers who all wanted to perform and get feedback. There were probably about 100 people in the room and only 5 or 6 got to perform. I do think that if they are going to have masterclasses they need to set out up front how they will work in order to manage expectations. In my workshop the previous day Alice Fearn had decided that there were so many people that she wasn’t going to listen to anyone sing and just do an advice and hints and tips one. This worked really well. I would have liked to see this one operate in the same way.
The workshop over ran slightly which made the time very tight for us. We had to get back down to the main hall for my daughter to be registered and photographed for the cosplay competition, and then head over the the Stage Door area as she had booked the SVN photo opportunity. For the uninitiated, SVN are a new girl band which consists of the original seven cast members of Six. They are her absolute favourite band. By the time we got there we were pretty much at the back of the queue but we knew it would be okay, because you could only do it if you’d bought a ticket. Due to our workshop over running they were a bit late getting started (Natalie is part of the group). After about 40 mins we were told that as they were running out of time it would just be a quick hello and a photo. Considering the people further up in the queue had had a good few minutes with the band which didn’t seem very fair – and this was a £60 experience due to the fact that there are seven of them. They couldn’t overrun their time slot as they were performing on the Main Stage straight afterwards. I do feel that the staff working at the Stage Door need to be more on top of timings in the future. My daughter was very glad that she did it but it did put a bit of a downer on it.
But we had to move on to the next thing and so it was back to the Main Stage to see SVN perform. Definitely the highlight of the weekend for my daughter.
I decided to spend some time having a wander amongst the stalls in the area called ‘Theatre Land’. There was a great mix of theatre related products – mainly from small businesses who usually sell on Etsy or their own small websites. It was fantastic to see these businesses given the opportunity to sell at something like this. Unfortunately they were in a very small space and so it was difficult to get around and see them all. They need more space next year!
Like Saturday we headed outside for some lunch and came back in just as the Lip Sync Battle was on. It was lovely to come back in and hear a friend’s daughter being announced as the next contestant.
We waited around the Main Stage because coming up was a performance from Arts1 Sixth Form. My daughter attends part time classes there after school. They did a song from Amelie and it was fantastic.
Then it was cosplay time. Finalists had been selected but everyone who entered got to come onto the stage in the Cosplay Masquerade. Some of the effort that had gone into the costumes was amazing! We are already planning for next year.
Then we had something that had got a lot of us thinking. It was billed in the programme as ‘Surprise Cast Reunion’. Who could it be?
We were having a quick look around Theatre Land when we heard the intro to a song that we were VERY familiar with. I most likely would not have met my husband without this show.
Rent
The cast was the Hope Mill Theatre production that ran briefly in 2020 (closed early due to Covid). The did four songs – ‘Seasons of Love’, ‘Out Tonight’, ‘Santa Fe’, and ‘You’re What You Own’. Definite highlight for me.
The weekend was drawing to a close and I couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone. I realised that I hadn’t attended ANY of the Backstage Talks. There really was SO much to do.
The closing ceremony was very emotional, finishing with a performance of ‘Out of the Darkness’ from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’. As the chorus rang out around the exhibition hall I really felt that I had found a ‘place where I belong’. Over the weekend 10,000 people attended Musical Con, all there because they loved one thing – musical theatre. This was also the feeling I had in the opening ceremony.
For 45 years, musical theatre has been the one constant in my life. I try to explain to my children (now 18 and 15) how different it was back then. Something like West End Live would never have happened – and DEFINITELY nothing like Musical Con. As a teenager I didn’t know anyone else who was into musicals. While people at school were listening to Duran Duran or Pet Shop Boys, I was listening to The Sound of Music, Annie, or A Chorus Line. I couldn’t really have told you who was in the Top 40 charts. I really do think we are experiencing a renaissance of musical theatre. What I suddenly realised – as I stood there in the closing ceremony, singing along with Trevor Dion Nicholas to Under The Sea – was that I no longer felt ‘uncool’. I was not alone in my passion. Which is why finishing the convention with a song that sings about finding a ‘place where we belong’ was so effective.
Was the weekend perfect? No. There were issues. Seating clearly was a problem as we noticed that on the Sunday they did put some seats out in the VIP area. The Backstage Talks stage was almost next to the Main Stage. Despite the fact that you were given headphones to block out the noise when you attended one of the talks, people who did go said that it was still off putting as it was picked up by the speakers’ microphones. There was also noise coming from the Larson and Sondheim studios which were housing loud dance workshops. This did make it difficult to hear some of the panel talks and discussions on the Main Stage. The stalls definitely need more space next year. And finally the issue with merchandise – from what I have heard they completely underestimated the demand so hopefully this will be resolved next year.
However, for a first go, what they achieved was fantastic. A lot of the concerns I had before going ended up not being an issue (though that was partly down to taking my telescopic stool). I’m still processing the weekend, and still on a bit of a high, nearly a week later. Bring on 2023 – #thisisforthefans
Photos © myself and my son
Act 1 Beginners 