Why We Love the Broadway Princess Party

Hear ye, hear ye: the princesses are giving– and having– a ball, and it just might be coming to a city near you. Ladies and gentlemen, the Broadway Princess Party, a joyous cabaret-style show that uses the soundtracks we love to celebrate the princesses we want to be, is hitting the road.

What is the Broadway Princess Party? Well, if the three words “Broadway,” “princess,” and “party” aren’t enough to make you immediately buy a ticket, allow me to explain: it features some of Broadway royalty belting out beloved princess songs from stage and screen. The brainchild of music director Benjamin Rauhala and Broadway leading lady Laura Osnes, the first Broadway Princess Party debuted in New York City at Feinstein’s/54 Below in 2015 and billed itself as a celebration of all the princess songs we know and love, sung by actors who appeared as royals on stage. Indeed, Osnes, a two-time Tony nominee and our Woman Crush Wednesday two years ago, gained her own pristine princess cred after her titular turn in 2013’s Rodgers+Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The Broadway Princess Party, as hosted by Rauhala and Osnes, immediately became a smash. Subsequent editions of the show enabled more and more Broadway actors to join the pair on stage, and its growing catalogue of YouTube videos highlighting clever medleys, swoon-worthy duets, and brilliant mash-ups of princess jams continued to wrack up hundreds of thousands of views.

Now, the Broadway Princess Party is touring: it just wrapped up shows in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Chicago and is heading to Massachusetts, New Jersey, and elsewhere in the coming weeks and months. Joining Rauhala (who is lovingly referred to in the show as a wand-wielding “Fairy Godfairy”) and Osnes on their crusade to sprinkle pixie dust across the country are even more Broadway princesses. Susan Egan has double princess cred: she not only was the original voice of Meg in Disney’s Hercules (what a thrill to see her perform “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” live!) but also originated the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, a performance that earned her a Tony nomination. Courtney Reed, the original Jasmine in Aladdin on Broadway, brings belting power to the songs she takes on– she just about brought down the house with her rendition of Moana‘s “How Far I’ll Go” during her recent performance in Chicago.

Like any self-respecting show from Feinstein’s/54 Below, the Broadway Princess Party typically welcomes special guests– mainly in the form of Charming Princes with Incredible Pipes. Recently, they have included Jeremy Jordan, Corey Cott, and Derek Klena, just to name a few. As in New York City, the Broadway Princess Party road shows have featured a surprise guest too. Adam Jacobs, Broadway’s original Aladdin, brought his star power, princely energy, and smooth vocals to recent shows in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Chicago.

Honestly, what’s not to love when talent like this invites everyone to an enchanting ball? There are cocktails. There are sparkles. And there is princess music galore. Their Royal Highness– these Princesses of Broadway– work their way through the princess canon to luminously perform classics like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Reflections.” They even highlight more recent, lesser-performed gems like “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted and the sinister, Sondheim-esque “Mother Knows Best” from Tangled. They aren’t limited to Disney songs, however, and thankfully take on music from princess-themed films like Anastasia and Thumbelina as well as stage shows like Into the Woods and Rodgers+Hammerstein’s Cinderella. (Do they take requests? I’d love to see them perform songs from other royal-themed musicals like Once upon a Mattress, Camelot, or The Slipper and the Rose. I’d also love to see these princesses flip the script and perform some prince songs.)

One of the things that is so endearing about the Broadway Princess Party is that it celebrates an inclusive vision of princesses. Each performer may bring a unique presence to the stage but they all exude confidence, strength, humor, and intelligence– traits that are more human and universal than any old-fashioned, one-dimensional gender trope peddled in Disneyfied fairy tales of yesterday. Moreover, it was empowering to see all princesses represented on stage: the anthems of Pocahontas, Moana, and Mulan were given equal voice alongside the songs that were first sung by European princesses. (As a little girl who didn’t see myself represented as a Disney princess until Jasmine came along in 1992, adult me was ecstatic to see so much diversity. We’ve come a long way.) By employing an inclusive, diverse songbook, Osnes, Egan, and Reed don’t just share their stage magic with the audience; they actually celebrate the princess deep within all of our souls and make us feel like royalty too.

Another way that the show is fundamentally inclusive is by encouraging– though not requiring– the audience to come to the party in their best princess gear. This reinforces the show’s egalitarian, you-can-be-a-princess-too ethos. After all, princesses don’t have to be aloof royal elites; they can simply be individuals who spread light, empowerment, and self-confidence wherever they go. That’s the true spirit of being a princess in the modern world.

From the charming performances to the popular songbook, the Broadway Princess Party is one show that you won’t want to miss. So what are you waiting for? Get your tickets before the clock strikes midnight and all of this wondrous, rare theatre magic disappears into thin air.

After its successful stops in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Chicago this summer, the Broadway Princess Party will be continuing its tour and bringing the ball to the following cities: Boston, MA, on September 14, 2018; Newark, NJ, on September 15, 2018; Cincinnati, OH, on September 16, 2018; Overland Park, KS, on January 18, 2019; Lincoln, NE, on January 19, 2019; and Bothell, WA, on January 26, 2019. Click here for tickets.