Broadway Cares #RedBuckets Raise $4,702,394 in Spring Fundraising Competition

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ Spring Fundraising Competition topped $4,702,394.

See photos below!
 
The theater community - those onstage, offstage and in the audience - rallied together to raise the spectacular total across six weeks of dedicated fundraising. This support is being translated into nourishing meals, vital health care and boundless hope for people in need across all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
 
The fundraising total was announced by Gavin Creel, J. Harrison Ghee and Andrea McArdle on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Hats Off to You, an intimate event for members of Broadway Cares’ Visionary Circle, Angels Circle, NextGen Network and Colleen Dewhurst Legacy Society.
 
Hats Off to You featured Broadway’s brightest stars performing songs from their dream roles. These holy grail numbers, shared across two days on April 29 and 30, featured Creel as host and singing “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man; Ghee choosing “Run and Tell That” from Hairspray; McArdle with “If He Walked into My Life” from Mame; Lorna Courtney singing “Out Tonight” from Rent; Jordan Fisher selecting “Wait for It” from Hamilton and Ben Platt belting “Being Alive” from Company.
 
Katie Rose Clarke (Merrily We Roll Along) shared a breathtaking rendition of “Help is on the Way,” the empowering anthem that’s been the finale at every spring fundraising season event since 1995. The show also included an energetic opening number, as well as a punchy piece honoring the national tours that participated in the fundraising, both directed and choreographed by Thayne Jasperson (Hamilton) and arranged by the event's musical supervisor and arranger Will Van Dyke (The Heart of Rock and Roll).
 
The Spring Fundraising Competition top fundraisers were:
 

Broadway

Top Fundraiser: Merrily We Roll Along – $448,446
1st Runner-up: Sweeney Todd – $428,386
2nd Runner-up: Moulin Rouge! The Musical – $238,962
3rd Runner-up: Hadestown – $178,706
4th Runner-up: & Juliet – $176,584
 

Off-Broadway

Top Fundraiser: Little Shop of Horrors – $105,237
1st Runner-up: Titanique – $48,041
2nd Runner-up: The Play That Goes Wrong – $25,844
 

National Tours

Top Fundraiser: Moulin Rouge! The Musical – $188,858
1st Runner-up: Frozen – $161,622
2nd Runner-up: Mamma Mia! – $157,350
3rd Runner-up: Wicked | Munchkinland – $151,513
4th Runner-up: Beetlejuice – $140,000
 
Shows that also participated in the fundraising included Broadway’s & Juliet; Aladdin; Appropriate; Back to the Future: The Musical; A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical; The Book of Mormon; Chicago; Days of Wine and Roses; Hadestown; Hamilton; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Kimberly Akimbo; The Lion King; Merrily We Roll Along; MJ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical; The Notebook; The Outsiders; Six; Spamalot; Sweeney Todd; Water for Elephants; The Who’s Tommy and Wicked;and Off-Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors, The Play That Goes Wrong and Titanique. Additionally, the national tours of Aladdin, Beetlejuice, Company, Frozen, Funny Girl, The Girl from the North Country, Hadestown, Hamilton, Jagged Little Pill, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire, Six, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Wicked.
 
Historically, the spring fundraising effort culminated in the Easter Bonnet Competition. Beginning this year, the in-theater fundraising appeals taking place in the spring and fall will be celebrated singularly at Red Bucket Follies, the variety show spectacular set for December at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Tickets will be available to the public to join the theater community for this special celebration.
 
Donations raised through the in-theater Spring Fundraising Competition will immediately be put into action. Broadway Cares is the single largest supporter of the safety net of programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), helping everyone in entertainment and the performing arts. Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program supports more than 450 organizations nationwide, providing critical support for those facing HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses. At times of crisis, Broadway Cares also awards one-time humanitarian grants to provide emergency aid across the US and around the world.
 
Since they began in 1988, the Spring Fundraising efforts have raised more than $100 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Photo credit: Angela of York, Francesca Toscano, Rebecca J Michaelson