When “Bet On It” from “High School Musical 2” started playing at a venue in San Diego, Mykhail Lazo knew he had to jump on stage and embrace his inner Troy Bolton.
“I didn’t know we had the opportunity to go full main character,” he said. “I just went up, performed my heart out and let loose whatever part of me I was holding back.”
On Friday night, the metal venue Brick by Brick hosted a Broadway-themed rave, bringing in a sea of adult musical theatre lovers ready to unleash their wicked side.
At Broadway Rave, attendees could scan the QR codes placed around the room to request songs from their favorite musicals from "Rent" to "Grease." Whether or not they asked for the song, everybody was encouraged to live out their Broadway fantasies on stage.
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That's what Lazo did. Although he grew up dancing, he never pursued musical theatre because he felt uncomfortable with his voice. Broadway Rave allowed him to put his insecurities aside, and he was met with nothing but applause.
“The energy is fantastic," said Lazo, who learned about the rave through an ad on Facebook and drove in traffic for four hours to attend. "Everyone is so open to whatever. As long as you’re giving the energy out there, that’s all they care about."
Shaila Jacocks joined a group of strangers alongside her sister on stage when "Omigod You Guys" from "Legally Blonde the Musical" started playing.
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Jacocks’ first Broadway Rave was in Santa Ana back in April. She was wearing a veil, tiara and white dress — not because she wanted to dress up as the character Elle Woods but because she was having her bachelorette party at Broadway Rave.
“I don’t like normal songs," she said. "I want to go to a bar and go to a club, but I don’t know any of the music. I don't know any of the songs ... I had to drag my friends to go along with this.”
Tranice Arnold, a big fan of "Dreamgirls" and "Beetlejuice," came to Friday's Broadway Rave with Jacocks and described the event as a memorable experience.
"The musical community is not that big, so to be able to go somewhere that’s intimate, and everybody knows the same music, it’s a vibe,” she said.
Broadway Rave will make its way through California, with events at The Goldfield Trading Post in Sacramento on July 20; Social Hall SF in San Francisco on Aug. 5; The Parish at House of Blues in Anaheim on Aug. 18; The Ritz in San Jose on Aug. 31 and The Regent Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 15.
For a full list of upcoming raves, click here.
