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Musical Theatre Fans Gather, Belt It Out At BroadwayCon

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Theatre lovers from all over the world gathered for the second annual BroadwayCon this weekend.

As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, the convention featured three days of performances, panels, workshops, autographs, photo booths, Q&As, meet-and-greets, singalongs and more.

Mackenzie Gomes is a 15-year-old girl from Orange County north of the city. But on Sunday, she was Elle Woods from "Legally Blonde: the Musical."

"Elle is my favorite Broadway heroine," said Gomes, of Monroe. "She is empowering. She is powerful."

Indeed, at BroadwayCon, those with a flair for the dramatic can feel at home.

"I like coming here because it's a place to meet people like me, and I love Broadway so much," said Julia Marshall of Queens.

Aisles of artists were out celebrating a cornerstone of New York City culture. You can even buy your own 'Hamilton" costume.

But of course, "Hamilton" was last year's hottest show. This season brings new titles to look forward to.

"The two hot shows are 'Dear Evan Hansen,' which is everyone's favorite now, and then 'Hello, Dolly!' starring Bette Midler, which opens soon," said Tom Melcher of Show-Score.

There are about 30 shows currently on Broadway, but at BroadwayCon anyone can be a star.

"They may not be professional actors, but they are with their people and they're loving the fact that there's a community that can love musical theatre together," said Sarah Jane Arnegger, director of education for Playbill.

"Singing with other people is really nice, because like you can hear the blend of the voices and all these people who love the same thing you do all coming together, and it's just love, passion," Gomes said.

Whether they're belting notes with open arms or still trying to nail the harmonies, just about everyone has the same reason for coming to BroadwayCon – there's no business like show business.

Stars including Joel Gray from "Cabaret" and Kelli O'Hara from "The King and I" were among the guest speakers throughout the weekend.

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