Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids celebrated its 20th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition April 24 at 4:30pm and April 25 at 2pm at the New Amsterdam Theatre. This year's grand total fund raising figure weighed in at $3,187,496. Wicked took home the grand prize by raising $227,112 for the cause. The Color Purple won best bonnet presentation with a creative song and dance, "Lillies in the Field." The evening included 16 acts from 50 total participating companies.
Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring productions contribute to the program by presenting skits, songs, and/or dances as well as submitting an original bonnet created for the competition. The benefit concluded a six-week fundraising drive by several Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring shows.
Wicked's Shiz Company in Chicago raised the most for a national tour with $206,044. The national tour of Mamma Mia! was runner-up with $155,00. The Broadway play that raised the most was Barefoot in the Park with $76,694. Altar Boyz raised the most for an Off-Broadway show with $22,888. Fundraising runners-up were The Color Purple ($185,399), The Phantom of the Opera ($176,412), Rent ($149,736) and The Lion King ($146,805).
Easter Bonnet Competition celebrates 20 golden years
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter Bonnet performers
Tony-Award winners Michael Cerveris (Sweeney Todd) and
Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza)
Todd Buonopane and Lawrence Goldhuber
Easter Bonnet ladies
Beauty and the Beast's Belle puts on her hard hat
Tarzan enters the competition with...
Disney companions, The Little Mermaid and Ursula.
Disney-themed musical stars celebrate their giant bonnet.
The company of The Pajama Game.
Jersey Boys: Christian Hoff, J. Robert Spencer, John Lloyd Young, and Daniel Reichard
The cast of The Ring of Fire spoof the tale of Sweeney Todd...
and introduce their burnin'-up guitar bonnet!
Megan Hilty and Eden Espinosa go "fan-girl" for Wicked on-ice!
The cast of Wicked clad in roller skates!
Michelle Dowdy of Hairspray shares her fear of competing with...
Las Vegas showgirls!
Edna Turnblad joins in on the fun!
The Jersey Boys' bad-boy jukebox bonnet.
Doris Eaton Travis, the oldest living Ziegfeld Follies girl,
still has happy feet at her ninth annual appearance.
Bonnet modelers and the company of The Phantom of the Opera
sing the BC/EFA anthem, "Help Is On The Way."
Easter Bonnet performers
Easter bonnet performers
Julia Roberts presents an award
Easter Bonnet performers prepare to show the night's grand total...
The 20th Annual BC/EFA Easter Bonnet Competition celebrates its
lump sum of $3,187,496 in fund raising money!
Disney's Beauty and the Beast bonnet.
Easter Bonnet submissions from (l-r) Les Miserables,
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Pajama Game.
Gigantic Easter bonnet contenders (l-r) The Lion King, Hairspray,
Mamma Mia!, and Bombay Dreams (national tour).
Peter Pan's (national tour) Easter bonnet.
(l-r) The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Sweeney Todd,
and The Lion King's 20th Annual Easter bonnets.
The prize-winning Easter bonnet from The Color Purple.
