Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will present the 24th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition on Monday, April 26 (4:30 PM) and Tuesday, April 27 (2 PM) at the Minskoff Theatre (200 West 45th Street). The proceeds from the event will benefit BC/EFA.
This year's EASTER BONNET COMPETITION will feature a rotating cast of hosts that are among Broadway's biggest stars. Stars scheduled to host include:
Dylan Baker (God of Carnage),
Corbin Bleu (In The Heights),
Colman Domingo (A Boy and His Soul, Passing Strange),
Chad Kimball (Memphis),
Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages),
Jan Maxwell (Lend Me A Tenor, The Royal Family),
Michael Mulheren (Looped),
Laura Osnes (South Pacific),
Loretta Ables Sayre (South Pacific), and
Michael Urie (The Temperamentals).
In addition, the show will feature a special appearance by BC/EFA longtime friend
Doris Eaton Travis, the 106-year-old original Ziegfeld Follies Girl. Doris made her first appearance at the EASTER BONNET COMPETITION in 1998 and has been a highlight of many editions of the annual event.
At the Tuesday performance, the Easter Bonnet judges will include:
Jennifer Cody (Shrek The Musical), James Claffey Jr. (President / Local One - IATSE),
Katie Finneran (Promises, Promises),
Laura Michelle Kelly (Mary Poppins),
Beth Leavel (Mamma Mia!),
Alfred Molina (Red),
Brian Stokes Mitchell (President of The Actors Fund of America), and
Chris March ("Project Runway").
This year's judges will be introduced by Million Dollar Quartet stars:
Hunter Foster,
Levi Kreis, and
Elizabeth Stanley.
Montego Glover (Memphis) will sing "Help Is On The Way," the official anthem of BC/EFA.
Productions scheduled to perform include Billy Elliot, Dancers Responding to AIDS, Fela!, In the Heights, La Cage Aux Folles, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Memphis, Million Dollar Quartet, My Trip Down The Pink Carpet, Next Fall, The Phantom of the Opera, R.Evolución Latina, South Pacific, Wicked, and Zero Hour.
The Easter Bonnet Competition is the culmination of six intensive weeks of fundraising efforts by Broadway and Off-Broadway company members as well as numerous productions currently on national tour. Curtain speeches, autographed poster and program sales, auctions, and cabaret performances bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from audiences prior to the competition. The winner of the competition will be the company that raises the largest amount of money for BC/EFA. A second award is granted to the company with the best bonnet design and presentation. Awards are also presented to the Broadway Play, National Tour and Off-Broadway production raising the most money for BC/EFA.
The 23 previous editions of the Easter Bonnet Competition have raised a combined total of over $42 million for BC/EFA.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $175 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.
BC/EFA is the major supporter of seven programs at The Actors' Fund - including The AIDS Initiative, The
Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative, The
Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic, The Dancers' Resource and three supportive housing residences. BC/EFA also awards annual grants to over 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.
Tickets prices are for THE EASTER BONNET COMPETITION are as follows: $350 VIP Orchestra; $200 Priority Orchestra (Center); $120 Side Orchestra and Front Mezzanine; $40 Middle Side Section of Orchestra and Middle Mezzanine; $20 Rear Side Section of Orchestra and Rear Mezzanine.
Tickets are available now at www.broadwaycares.org or by calling (212) 840-0770 Ext. 268.
For more information, please visit the BC/EFA website at
www.broadwaycares.org.
The Easter Bonnet Competition is sponsored by:
The New York Times and Continental Airlines, the official airline of BC/EFA.
Photo Credit: BWW-Staff
