Easter Bonnet Competition Raises Over 3 Million for BC/EFA

The 21^st Annual Easter Bonnet Competition was a great success with a near record, $3,345,997 being raised this year by the over 60 participating Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tour companies to benefit Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. This year's total marks the second-highest total ever raised at an Easter Bonnet Competition. The record was set in 2004 when $3,435,997 was raised for BC/EFA.

David Hyde Pierce (Curtains) and Vanessa Redgrave (The Year of Magical Thinking) were on hand to present the awards for top fund raising companies and the outstanding bonnet presentation. The winner for bonnet presentation was Journey's End for a musical piece entitled "Journey's End: The Underdogs of War," in the style of smash hit Jersey Boys, which lampooned their status as a critically acclaimed production which is struggling at the box office.

Highlights from this year's competition included the company of Hairspray performing "Small House of Edna Turnblad," a retelling of their own show ala the classic scene "Small House of Uncle Thomas" from The King & I; the cast of The Lion King presenting a number called "The End Starts Here" which featured cast member Selloane A. Nkhela, a native South African, singing her original song "Thari E Ntsho" while a video highlighted the HIV epidemic in Africa; the cast of Wicked performing "Weeked" which featured a retooled version of Wicked opening at The Grand Ole Opry. Tweaks to the production included a fiddle duel between Elphaba and "Glinda Jean" and a square dancing ensemble singing a twangy version of "One Short Day In The Emerald City." Other highlights include, the cast of Company parodying A Chorus Line with a voice imitating director John Doyle and his search for quadruple threats: actors who can sing, dance, act, and play their own instruments; the cast of In The Heights performing "Tradizzle" which took "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof and transformed the showtune into a hip hop anthem; and dancers representing Dancers Responding to AIDS performing "Tumultuous Tides," a number choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie and first performed in December 2006 at the DRA event Dance From The Heart

This year's fundraising award winners were:

WINNER:, The National Tour of Jersey Boys, $236,844

1st Runner-up, Wicked, $227,768

2^nd  Runner-up, The Color Purple, $168,620

3^rd  Runner-up, Mary Poppins, $164,373

4^th Runner-up, The Lion King, $163,174

This marks the first time in the history of Easter Bonnets that a national tour has won the fundraising award.

Special awards were also given to the top fundraising Broadway play, Off-Broadway company, and touring company. This year, the top fundraising Broadway play was The Coast of Utopia ($18,412); and the top fundraising Off-Broadway company was In The Heights ($26,658).

The results of this year's bonnet presentation were:

Winner - Journey' s End

First Runner Up (tie) - In The Heights & Hairspray

Second Runner Up - The Lion King

The special award for bonnet design was given to Phantom of the Opera. The winning bonnet was designed by Robert Strong Miller.

This year's hosts included: Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), Laura Bell Bundy & Bruiser (Legally Blonde), Hugh Dancy (Journey's End), Paige Davis (Chicago), Jared Gertner (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Gideon Glick (Spring Awakening), Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening ), Edward Hibbert (Curtains), Amy Irving (The Coast of Utopia), Ron Kunene (The Lion King), Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins), Tshidi Manye (The Lion King), Lea Michele (Spring Awakening ), Patrick Page (The Lion King), Christine Pedi (Talk Radio), Mo Rocca (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Seth Rudetsky, Michael Howie Smith & Rod (Avenue Q), and Karen Ziemba (Curtains).

This year's judges included: Stephanie J. Block  (The Pirate Queen), John Connolly (Executive Director of Actors' Equity Association), Joan Didion (Author of The Year of Magical Thinking), Tom Jones (Lyricist of 110 In The Shade and The Fantasticks), Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line), Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago), and Richard M. Sherman (composer of Mary Poppins ).

Raul Esparza (Company) sang David Friedman's "Help is on the Way," the official anthem of The Easter Bonnet Competition.

The Easter Bonnet Competition's 2007 opening number was created by choreographer Christopher Gattelli and the team behind the Off-Broadway hit, "title of show," Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen that featured guest appearances by Barrett Foa (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up), Julia Murney (Wicked), and Carla Hargrove (Hairspray).

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.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fund raising and grant making organization. BC/EFA is the on-going, committed response from the American theater community to an urgent worldwide health crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of this community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States. Since it's founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $130 million for critically needed services for people with AIDS, HIV, or HIV-related illnesses.

Visit www.broadwaycares.org for more information.