Frontmezzjunkies reports: Miscast and Broadway Backwards 2026

By Ross

Each spring in New York, two unique one-night-only benefit concerts arrive, reminding us theatre lovers just how expansive and generous this art form can be. MCC Theater’s Miscast and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ Broadway Backwards have become two thrillingly entertaining traditions, evenings where expectations are joyfully flipped around, and where the community gathers not only to celebrate performance but also to support causes that sustain the industry itself. They are wildly fantastic events in structure and history, sharing a spirit of curiosity, generosity, and theatrical play that makes them both irresistible and fabulously fun.

This year’s MCC Theater’s Miscast, set for April 27 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, once again invites performers to step into songs and roles audiences would never expect them to play. The pleasure of the evening has always lived in surprise. A familiar voice suddenly reframed through unexpected material can reveal new shades of humor, vulnerability, or sheer vocal power. The 2026 lineup already promises that particular magic, with performers including Lea Michele, Darren Criss, Jane Krakowski, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ruthie Ann Miles, Caissie Levy, Nicholas Christopher, with Tramell Tillman returning to his theatre roots. Music direction by Will Van Dyke ensures the evening’s musical backbone remains as polished as its concept is playful. For those unable to be in the room, the decision to stream the event worldwide continues to expand its reach far beyond New York.

A month earlier, on March 23, the Gershwin Theatre will host the 20th anniversary of Broadway Backwards, an event that has grown into one of the most meaningful storytelling celebrations on the Broadway calendar. Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the concert reimagines beloved musical theatre songs through the lens of LGBTQ+ love and identity, allowing familiar material to resonate in deeply personal and often revelatory ways. This anniversary edition gathers an extraordinary roster that includes Bernadette Peters, Jennifer Holliday, Andrew Rannells, Kate Baldwin, Lauren Patten, Jenn Colella, Michael McElroy, Alexandra Silber, and many more, alongside the powerful voices of Broadway Inspirational Voices. With fully staged numbers and a live orchestra, the evening blends spectacle with sincerity while supporting Broadway Cares and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center.

What makes both nights so special is not simply the star power, though there is plenty of it. It is the sense of artists gathering in service of something larger than themselves. These concerts allow performers to take fun and exciting risks, audiences to experience beloved songs anew, and the theatre community to rally around causes that ensure the work continues. For those of us watching from afar and hoping someday to be in the room, they stand as reminders of theatre at its most communal and most alive.

Whether through the mischievous reinvention of MCC‘s Miscast or the heartfelt storytelling of Broadway Backwards, these evenings celebrate the same essential truth. Theatre thrives when artists are given space to surprise, and when audiences come together not simply to watch, but to participate in the ongoing story of a community that refuses to stand still or stay quiet.