Laura and Samara spend their days as non-profit unicorns and fill every spare minute exploring the world of musical theatre as BFFs (that’s Broadway Friends Forever). Follow @bffs613 on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Last summer we were introduced to Broadway Nights Ottawa and wanted to spread the word to Apt613 readers—and already Broadway Nights has outgrown their original space. With a new year, new venue, and new plans, we felt it was a great time to catch up with the creator, Emma Chin, to hear more about all the exciting things ahead.
Can you give a quick recap of what Broadway Nights Ottawa is?
It’s a musical theatre open mic and sing-along event with live musicians! You can come to enjoy the show and sing along to all your favourite tunes from your seat, or you can sign up to sing any Broadway song onstage, accompanied by our unbelievably talented musicians, Wendy Berkelaar on keys and Scott Latham on drums! We also host a wide variety of local and touring casts to highlight their shows, get sneak peek performances, and even do ticket giveaways!
But the very best part about Broadway Nights is that the whole crowd gets so involved, everyone is singing and cheering at the top of their lungs, and it’s just a super fun, safe and supportive environment to be in. It’s my favourite night of the month without fail!
Were you expecting it to grow so much in its first year?
No, not at all! I started these nights on a trial basis at our first venue, Red Bird Live, where I had asked the owner if he would take a risk on this pretty niche event idea. Thankfully he did, and he gave me a four-show trial period. I worked hard to pack out that first event in hopes that I would be allowed to continue. Little did I know that we would go on to sell out and even oversell every single event (minus one snowstorm day!) and we even had to turn people away almost every single month! That part was heartbreaking, so I realized pretty quickly that we were going to have to make some more room.
But even still, things seem to just keep growing, and I think we are on track to sell out our first show at Club Saw even with double the capacity! THANK YOU to our incredible community! If you’d like to join us, you can now grab your tickets in advance on our website (and we’ll also save a batch for door sales). We’d love to see you there!
Tell us about the new venue, what people can expect from it, and what is planned for the new year?
We’re now at Club Saw, which is right downtown in the Arts Court, and can host about 200 people! There’s a stylish bar with all your favourite drinks, a beautiful stage and performance space, it’s fully wheelchair accessible, and set up with a coat check, lots of washrooms, and plenty of seating! There’s even a stunning outdoor courtyard that converts into a covered patio in the summertime. I think it will be a fabulous new home for us, and allow us to host twice as many people as we were able to last year. We can’t wait to welcome some new friends!
As for future plans, my hope is that the new year (and beyond) will hold growth in multiple directions; I’m hoping to start things like workshops, youth events, spin-off shows, and I have a goal of creating paid jobs and opportunities for local singers and actors through the larger umbrella of Broadway Nights and my other producing efforts.
Broadway Nights at Red Bird Live, December 2023. Photo: Curtis Perry.
What inspired the Halloween party event (on top of regular events) last year? Is this going to be a yearly event?
That idea came as most ideas do—a tiny spark of curiosity that took on a whole life of its own. A friend of mine mentioned the idea of him hosting one event as the character of Beetlejuice. That idea wriggled around in my brain, and within a few hours, it had turned into something. And then about two weeks later, I had booked a huge venue and decided we were doing this massive Halloween party for adult theatre kids. And it went from there! It was such a blast, people dancing and screaming Hamilton lyrics at the top of their lungs, all dressed as Broadway characters, it was a big Broadway dance party, and producing it was SO much fun! I do plan to bring that back annually, we have ideas for even more spin-off events coming up this year as well! (Keep your eyes peeled.)
You’ve been having local theatre and Broadway-adjacent performers and classes lead a song or dance at some events. What is the impact you are finding in spreading awareness of all the great musical theatre across the city?
Highlighting, supporting, promoting, and uplifting the theatrical offerings of our city has been a massive honour, and something I’ve quickly become super passionate about.
I have seen ticket sales, excitement, support and most importantly, UNITY come from bringing in casts from around the city. The unity is the coolest part for me. I deeply believe that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” it’s been my number one mantra while building Broadway Nights.
I want to see the theatre industry as a whole thrive and grow, which means that every ticket bought, every show produced, every collaboration between companies, and every bit of funding going towards the arts helps us all! It creates more opportunities, more love for performing arts, and more community! So I’m a big fan of working together for the common goal of supporting the industry and community as a whole, and that starts locally!
Broadway Nights takes place monthly on Mondays at Club Saw. Entrance fee is $15. Tips for the live pianist and percussionist are welcome.
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