Nearly every music genre has its very own festival -- but until now, showtune fans haven' been able to enjoy the full fest experience (read: standing outside in a large crowd with no clean bathrooms) themselves.
Broadway-goers aren't known for venturing far from air-conditioned theaters to hear their favorites. But soon, all of that is about to change.
Elsie Fest, named for a character in the title song from the musical Cabaret, will bring Broadway out of the theaters starting September 27th. As former Glee star and recent Broadway vet Darren Criss said in a statement, “I was at Coachella and thought, ‘let's do this for show tunes.'" He's partnering with LiveNation, iHeartRadio, and the theater producing company Jujamcyn Theaters to make that dream a reality.
Criss is well-known in theater circles, as are the other fest performers currently listed: Aaron Tveit (Graceland), Laura Osnes (winner of the 2007 reality series Grease: You're the One that I Want), Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash), Seth Rudetsky (host of Sirius XM's Broadway station), and Lea Salonga (an actual Disney princess, the singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan). Criss even got his own production company into the mix: YouTube stars Starkid, who are known for performing their own parody musicals out of Chicago.
According to the fest's official site, "The acts will be performing songs from the musical properties you’ve grown to love them from, in addition to some of their favorite songs." Odom may be one of its bigger draws, as he's currently starring in the buzzy smash hit Hamilton.
Criss and associates hope for Elsie to become an annual event and a staple of the Broadway community -- but we'll see if it takes off with New York fans who regularly shell out similar amounts for show tickets.
Tickets range from $50 to $250 and go on sale August 21st. A portion of proceeds will benefit BroadwayCares: Equity Fights Aids.