How to Host an Awesome Broadway Themed Party

Casting Call for All Musical Theater-Loving Hosts

If you love musical theater songs and could happily sing showtunes every day, my guess is that you would much enjoy a Broadway themed party. So unless one of your friends is hosting one next month, you know what to do: host one yourself! Gather all of your theater-loving friends and get ready to throw your own party production that everyone will remember. Let’s get started!

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How to Throw a Broadway Themed Party

Close-up black-and-white photo of New York City's Broadway street sign in its standard reflective lettering — Photo by Jordhan Madec

1. Set the Stage with Musical Theater-Inspired Décor

Decorating can be so much fun! You know you’ve decorated successfully when someone walks in and immediately knows they’re at a Broadway themed party (assuming they haven’t yet heard the music). The best way to create a stellar Broadway-inspired scene is to display playbill posters of your favourite shows (find several options below). String up satin globe lights around the perimeters of doorways to mimic marquees and to cast a performance-worthy entrance glow for everyone who walks through. Showcase marquee-lit letters on your mantel, tabletop, or anywhere front and center to spell out ‘Broadway’ or a musical of your choice. Or simply hang a strand of fairy lights around your playbill décor for added flair.

Check out this list of fitting finds for decorating Broadway-style:

Photo of a vertical marquee lit up with 'Broadway' and showcasing West Side Story — Photos: Steve Pancrate; Jusdevoyage; Samuel Regan-Asante

Photo of a Broadway marquee showcasing Aladdin — Photos: Steve Pancrate; Jusdevoyage; Samuel Regan-Asante

2. Share Broadway Themed Party Foods

Everyone will be too busy chatting and singing over each other to sit down for a full-on meal, but make sure you have plenty of tasty snacks and drinks to serve! Whether you provide all refreshments or whether you request that guests bring a dish or drink to share, there are plenty of treats that pay homage to everyone’s favourite productions.

Serve Chicago-style popcorn (mix of cheddar, kettle and caramel popcorn). Share delicious ripe strawberries worthy to be praised by Strawberry in Porgy & Bess. Slice up a fresh loaf of bread to honor Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. Bake apple strudel so guests can taste one of Maria’s Favourite Things in The Sound of Music. Fill a bowl with Kit Kat (Klub) candy bars to celebrate Cabaret. Serve straight up gin in miniature bathtubs to drink ‘bathtub gin’ like Miss Hannigan ruing her life surrounded by Annie and the rest of the Little Girls. Or treat guests to a Fiddler on the Roof drink duet of Tequila Sunrise, Sunset Martini (no time to waste dawdling with one cocktail, after all – ‘swiftly fly the years’). Or whip up a more universal Broadway cocktail, Broadway’s Floradora cocktail, or a Broadway’s Alibi Cocktail.

3. Create an Epic Playlist of Musical Theater Songs

Black silhouettes of three musical theater performers behind a glowing red curtain on a stage: on the left, a man posed in a bowler hat, in the middle, a woman in a dress reaching up toward the ceiling, and on the right, a man holding a closed umbrella over his shoulder — Photo by Kyle Head

You can’t have a Broadway themed party without the music, so it’s crucial to craft a killer playlist! Have fun with it: pour yourself a glass of wine and acquire/organize all of the best musical theater songs and then some. If you don’t have a decent music streaming service, you can usually find musical soundtracks at your local library (depending on its size). It’s probably not possible to include every awesome song but you can start with some of your own favourites and those which are generally most popular.

If you need inspiration, consider songs from beloved musicals like Les Misérables, The Wiz, Rent, Cabaret, Porgy and Bess, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Hamilton, West Side Story, Wicked, Annie, A Chorus Line, Cats, Carousel, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Oliver, Show Boat, Evita, The Music Man, Oklahoma, Anything Goes, The Sound of Music, to name only a handful.

If you don’t have the time to piece together your own Broadway themed party playlist, you can find plenty of playlists with classic tunes such as a best Broadway songs playlist or an ultimate musicals playlist. Or play a seamless mashup of quick snippets of the top 100 Broadway songs of all time.

4. Plan Broadway Themed Party Games

Close-up photo of a Broadway street sign with an image of the Statue of Liberty depicted on the end - perfect decor for a Broadway themed party — Gabriel Hohol

Time for fun and games! If any guests still haven’t shaken off the stress from their day/week/month, it’s time to engage them in party games. A musical theater crowd is often already expressive and dramatic, but tossing in some silly games like musical chairs (while playing showtunes for the music, of course) helps to break through even the most reserved guests and unleash pure childlike fun. Games aren’t required to make a great party, but they can definitely make a more interesting and entertaining party!

Create a ‘guess that song’ playlist. During the party, provide each guest with a pen and a piece of paper with a blank numbered list. Have everyone listen as you play a song snippet for a short amount of time (only seconds) before they guess the song and jot it down on their piece of paper. Continue through all the songs and whoever guesses the most correct wins. Offer this fun ‘All I Need is Coffee and Broadway’ mug as a prize!

Karaoke isn’t popular with everyone, but if your guests are fans, that’s always an energizing (and often delightfully entertaining) Broadway themed party activity! You don’t even need a mic or voiceless song tracks. Just play music low enough to hear the guest(s) singing.

A young male singer with sunglasses and a tattooed arm holds up his mic stand with both arms in the air and poses with stage lights beaming in the background — Musical theater karaoke (and a few cocktails) can make ‘that guy’ out of the best of us (photo: Vinícius Caricatte)

You can also play any of these fun games to challenge everyone’s musical theater knowledge:

5. Establish Guest Participation

Guest participation is optional and depends on how you’d like your guests to participate or contribute to your party. Maybe you request that guests bring a snack to share, or maybe have them BYOB. Dressing as a favourite musical theater character is a fun way to participate in a Broadway themed party. Maybe you encourage your guests to come dressed in character and then make a game of it: have everyone wear a piece of paper pinned to their back and then go around and jot down who they think each person is on that paper. Once everyone’s finished guessing, have each guest remove their paper to see how many people got it right!

Two young men and a young woman stand with arms interlocked wearing 19th century apparel, perfect period costumes for a Broadway themed party — Photo by Cottonbro Studio

Of course, always choose your guests mindfully and with their interests in mind. Prioritize friends who you know would most enjoy a Broadway themed party. But don’t shy away from others who may not know as many musical theater shows. You never know, you may make an unexpected fan of someone!

Checklist of Items You Need

These are the things you need for a Broadway themed party:

Broadway-inspired decorations
Broadway-inspired refreshments
A brilliant musical theater playlist
Broadway themed party games/supplies
Your musical theater character costume (if inviting others to wear theirs)

Preparation Checklist for Your Broadway Themed Party

Close-up image of makeup mirror surrounded by globe lights on its perimeter — Photo by Romina Farías

1. First, confirm that people can come on any chosen date:

Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s)
If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure calendar date for your awesome party!

2. Then, proceed with the fun planning:

Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to prepare and set up)
Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
In your planned time slots, set up decorations
In your planned time slots, prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)

3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):

Prepare any foods/drinks that are too fresh to do any earlier
Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations (if not up already)
Prepare music playlist
Get dressed in your favourite party outfit or musical theater character costume
Once everything’s ready, take some time to meditate or do any preferred self-care to get in a good head space if you aren’t already. You want to be a relaxed, energized, and happy host – both for yourself and for your guests, who will pick up on your contagiously good vibe and automatically be happier as well! And remember – ‘you’re never fully dressed without a smile’ 😊