GYPSY OF THE YEAR Raises Over 4.3 Million for BC/EFA; KINKY BOOTS Leads in Fundraising

The 25th anniversary celebration of GYPSY OF THE YEAR, the culmination of six weeks of extraordinary fundraising by 56 participating Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring companies, raised an amazing $4,343,234 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The grand total was announced Tuesday, December 10, at this year's GYPSY OF THE YEAR, which included an array of original dances, songs, and skits performed by more than 250 "gypsies," the most talented singers and dancers in the ensembles of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.

Since 1989, the 25 editions of GYPSY OF THE YEAR have raised a total of $57,277,815 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The impressive total was announced by surprise guest Daniel Craig, currently starring in Betrayal, who joined Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, who are performing No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot in repertoire, and Cherry Jones from the revival of The Glass Menagerie.

A standing-room-only audience at the Minskoff Theatre, home to Disney's The Lion King, erupted with thunderous applause as the actors also presented awards to the top fundraising companies and for the best performances in this year's show.

This year's top fundraiser was Kinky Boots, which raised $377,301. Here's how this year's fundraising competition ended:

Broadway (Musical)

Top Fundraiser Kinky Boots $377,301

1st Runner-Up Wicked $273,940

2nd Runner-Up The Book of Mormon $209,943

3rd Runner-Up (tie) Newsies $125,469

The Phantom of the Opera $125,373

Broadway (Play)

Top Fundraiser The Glass Menagerie $161,218

1st Runner-Up Twelfth Night/Richard III $116,653

Off-Broadway (Play or Musical)

Top Fundraiser Avenue Q $ 27,066

1st Runner-Up Peter and the Starcatcher $ 23,360

National Tours

Top Fundraiser Wicked - Munchkinland $333,086

1st Runner-Up The Book of Mormon - Latter Day $314,133

2nd Runner-Up The Book of Mormon - Jumamosi $296,279

3rd Runner-Up Wicked - Emerald City $182,926

The company of The Lion King took honors for the best onstage presentation for a captivating dance of couples who skillfully integrated ropes to spin, twirl and jump to original music by cast member Bongi Dumas and directed by Ray Mercer. The cast of Newsies was runner-up as 16 exuberant young men from the show took to the air with explosive leaps in a contemporary dance piece choreographed by five members of the cast - Julian DeGuzman, David Guzman, Jacob Guzman, Evan Kasprzak, and Jess LeProtto.

The 2013 edition of GYPSY OF THE YEAR, which was presented in two shows December 9 and 10, is an opportunity for the entire theatre community to gather for the competitive variety show and celebrate their fundraising efforts.

In 1989, the first GYPSY OF THE YEAR was hosted by Tyne Daly and Jonathan Hadary, who welcomed the show onto their stage at the St. James Theatre just days after they opened the hit revival of Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's classic Gypsy. This year, Daly and Hadary returned as special guests hosts.

Daly and Hadary were welcomed by noted Broadway personality Seth Rudetsky ("Seth's Big Fat Broadway" on Sirius/XM Radio), who hosted his sixth consecutive GYPSY OF THE YEAR.

The show's energetic opening number featured Klea Blackhurst as Ethel Merman comparing gypsies of her day with 18 high-kicking, modern-daygypsies representing the cast of Newsies. The number was directed and choreographed by Devanand Janki and Robert Tatad with lyrics and script by Rudetsky. Arrangements and music direction by Ben Cohn.

The 25th Annual GYPSY OF THE YEAR celebrated three memorable numbers from past incarnations of the ceremony. An intimate and physically demanding dance originally presented in 1995 by Pascale Faye and Arte Phillips of Victor/Victoria was beautifully recreated by Kristine Bendul andWaldemar Quinones-Villanueva. From that same year, Kristi Lynes and William Ryall from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"borrowed" the Victor/Victoria number's choreography for their own comical, uncoordinated twist. Ryall returned this year to recreate the number to perfection with Broadway favorite Jen Cody. And from the Beauty and the Beast cast, John Salvatore performed an encore of his 2002 solo, a conversation between two dancers that was cleverly written to integrate dance moves into the script.

This year's GYPSY OF THE YEAR also featured a variety of other appearances that left the sold-out crowd cheering:

• Broadway's newest sensation, After Midnight, blended jazz, dance and spoken word to honor Cotton Club performers off the past "too brown for Broadway but too great to be forgotten cool." The number featured Bahiyah Hibah, T. Oliver Reid, Desmond Richardson and Daniel J. Watts.
• The gypsies of Chicago, Pippin and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark performed captivating original dance numbers, each displaying unique style and showcasing masterful technical ability. Chicago delivered highly synchronized, intricate movement while the gypsies from Pippin andSpider-Man elevated the art of acrobatic dance.
• Stephen Fry, from the just-extended run of two Shakespeare plays in repertoire, Twelfth Night and Richard III, performed a witty retelling of the story of Dracula.

• The Tony Award-winning hit Avenue Q, now in its 10th year, paid homage in their own comedic and touching way to 1990's Grand Hotel and its Tony-winning choreography and featured actor, the late Michael Jeter.

GYPSY OF THE YEAR also featured memorable and show-stopping performances by the Broadway companies of First Date, Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia! and Once, the Off-Broadway hit Disaster! and a number choreographed by Shea Sullivan honoring all of the national tours that collect for Broadway Cares. The show included a piece representing Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, that was choreographed by Jeremy McQueen and first performed at this year's Fire Island Dance Festival.

Other celebrity presenters included Jones' co-stars in The Glass Menagerie, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Zachary Quinto and Brian J. Smith. Introducing shows that helped fundraise but did not perform were Stephen DeRosa (Betrayal), Rick Holmes (Peter and the Starcatcher) and Lindsay Mendez(Wicked).

Daly and Hadary, reminding the audience of the countless lives lost and impacted by HIV/AIDS, led a poignant moment of silence.

This year's presentation judges were celebrated director/choreographer Graciela Daniele, Mary Bridget Davies (A Night with Janis Joplin),Brandon Victor Dixon (Motown The Musical), Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez (First Date), Rebecca Luker (Rodgers + Hammerstein'sCinderella), Hugh Panaro (The Phantom of the Opera) and Roger Rees (The Winslow Boy). Also joining the panel were Eric Forst and Peg Wendlandt, who won their judging spots by being high bidders on exclusive VIP packages at the 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction in September. The judges were introduced by Fry and two of his current co-stars, Mark Rylance and Samuel Barnett.

This year's show was directed by Kristin Newhouse with Valerie Lau-Kee Lai serving as production stage manager leading a team of 10 expert stage managers.

GYPSY OF THE YEAR is sponsored by The New York Times and United Airlines.

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 more than $250 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide and is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/BCEFA, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/BCEFA, watch us on YouTube at youtube.com/BCEFA and pin us on Pinterest at pinterest.com/BCEFA.