Broadway's cuddliest friends kick off a new year with the 12th annual BROADWAY BEARS auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 West 42 St.), in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Sure to out-do last year's collection, 40 one-of-a-kind BROADWAY BEARS - each dressed in original, handmade costumes representing some of the theater's most legendary performers and/or performances - will be put up for auction. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, today we take you 'under the sea' with the 'Broadway Bear' from THE LITTLE MERMAID

BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, today we introduce you to the freestylin' 'Broadway Bear' from IN THE HEIGHTS!

Broadway Dance Center presents BDC Gives for the month of February- A special class with David Marquez. All proceeds for this new series of classes are donated to BC/EFA. Marquez's class will focus on Intermediate Theater and take place on February 27, 2009 from 10:30A.M. - Noon. Regular class rates apply, and additional donations are welcome.

Broadway's cuddliest friends kick off a new year with the 12th annual BROADWAY BEARS auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 West 42 St.), in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Sure to out-do last year's collection, 40 one-of-a-kind BROADWAY BEARS - each dressed in original, handmade costumes representing some of the theater's most legendary performers and/or performances - will be put up for auction. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, you 'can't stop the beat' with the 'Broadway Bear' from HAIRSPRAY!

The national touring cast of the Tony winning Spring Awakening will offer an intimate concert Monday, February 16th to be held at The Jive & Wail on the Maplewood strip. The performance benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Saint Louis Effort for AIDS.

BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, so it is time to 'sing out' with the 'Broadway Bear' from GYPSY!

In-keeping with their series of 'Extraordinary EBay' packages, Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is proud to announce an online auction item some fans have been waiting eight years for! Join Tony Award? nominee Malcolm Gets and Will Chase at the opening night of The Story of My Life, the first new Broadway musical of 2009. The producers of this intimate theatrical experience have donated a pair of prime seats along with two passes to the star studded opening night party at New York's legendary Sardi's restaurant with the proceeds to benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.

Broadway's cuddliest friends kick off a new year with the 12th annual BROADWAY BEARS auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 West 42 St.), in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, so prepare to 'take flight' with the 'Broadway Bear' from BOEING-BOEING!

Sure to out-do last year's collection, 40 one-of-a-kind BROADWAY BEARS - each dressed in original, handmade costumes representing some of the theater's most legendary performers and/or performances - will be put up for auction. BroadwayWorld is excited to bring you a daily sneak peek of some of the wonderful creations that await you at BROADWAY BEARS XII, get ready to go 'all over the world' with the 'Broadway Bear' from XANADU!

Broadway's cuddliest friends kick off a new year with the 12th annual BROADWAY BEARS auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 West 42 St.), in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Sure to out-do last year's collection, 40 one-of-a-kind BROADWAY BEARS - each dressed in original, handmade costumes representing some of the theater's most legendary performers and/or performances - will be put up for auction.

Skie Ocasio is performing at the Metropolitan Room on February 7th for a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Equity Fights AIDS was founded in October, 1987 by the Council of Actors' Equity Association. Money raised through the efforts of Equity theatre companies across the country was specifically earmarked for The Actors' Fund's AIDS Initiative. Broadway Cares was founded in February, 1988 by members of The Producers' Group. Money raised was earmarked to be awarded to AIDS service organizations across the country, including Equity Fights AIDS. In May, 1992, Equity Fights AIDS and Broadway Cares merged to become Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The Board of Trustees of this newly established not-for-profit fundraising organization assumed the missions of the previously separate organizations and continues to fund the social service work of The Actors' Fund and to award grants twice a year to AIDS service organizations nationwide. Unlike most other nonprofit, grantmaking organizations, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS must raise every single dollar of our philanthropic budget, every year, in order to fulfill our mission. In turn, BC/EFA works hard to ensure that the money we raise is spent carefully and wisely, on programs where these hard-earned funds can have the maximum possible impact.

Told through 24 songs and actual first-hand accounts, the new musical revue----Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? Songs and Stories from The Great Depression will open Sunday, March 8th (3PM) at Off-Broadway's Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd Street ~ between Broadway & Columbus Avenue). Conceived and staged by Bill Daugherty, this musical time capsule is produced by Thoroughbred Records and Max Weintraub. Preview performances begin March 6th (7PM) & March 7th (3PM) This engagement will run through June 14th.

EXTRAORDINARY EBAY 'AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY' ESTELLE PARSONS VIP BACKSTAGE EXPERIENCE In keeping with their series of 'Extraordinary eBay' packages, Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is proud to announce an online auction package created especially for Broadway fans and BC/EFA supporters by Academy Award? winning actress Estelle Parsons and the producers of the Tony? and Pulitzer Prize winning hit play, AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY

David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, the three young stars playing the title role in the new Broadway hit, Billy Elliot the Musical will make a special guest star appearance at the 5th Annual 'ABC and SOAPnet Salute Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS,' performing the song 'Electricity.'

The 19th edition of the ever-popular BROADWAY BARES has been set for June 21, 2009, once again at Roseland Ballroom. As in the past, two shows will be performed, one at 9:30pm and the other at midnight.

Broadway's cuddliest friends kick off a new year with the 12th annual BROADWAY BEARS auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill (237 West 42 St.), in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Sure to out-do last year's collection, 40 one-of-a-kind BROADWAY BEARS - each dressed in original, handmade costumes representing some of the theater?s most legendary performers and/or performances ? will be put up for auction. Once again this year's BROADWAY BEARS will be hosted by Bryan Batt ('Mad Men,' La Cage Aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast, Jeffrey) with long-time Sotheby's auctioneer, Lorna Kelly.

The Cedar Lake Theater in West Chelsea came to life on Friday, January 23 with a thrilling evening of dance to benefit Dancers Responding To AIDS (DRA), a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA). Hosted by Tony Award winning choreographer Rob Ashford, the gala event was a soul-stirring showcase of the best and brightest from today's varied dance landscape with performances by American Ballet Theatre, Battleworks, Broadway's 'Billy Elliott,' Camille A. Brown, Dresden Ballet, Les Ballet Grandiva, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The program also featured the world premiere of TITLE by choreographer Chase Brock performed by NYCB principal Tiler Peck. Founded in 1991, by former Paul Taylor Dancers Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez, DRA encompasses a network of professional dance companies who raise money through audience appeals and performing DRA events, the Dance Student Outreach Project, and other wide-ranging dance organizations. Proceeds from the evening will be distributed in two ways. The BCEFA National Grants program grants money to almost 500 AIDS and Family Service Organizations across the country as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico and South Africa. Residual funds are also awarded to seven programs of The Actors' Fund of America.

The Cedar Lake Theater in West Chelsea will come to life on Friday, January 23 with a thrilling evening of dance to benefit Dancers Responding To AIDS (DRA), a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA). Hosted by Tony Award winning choreographer Rob Ashford, this gala event guarantees to be a soul-stirring showcase of the best and brightest from today's varied dance landscape with performances by American Ballet Theatre, Battleworks, Broadway's 'Billy Elliott,' Camille A. Brown, Dresden Ballet, Les Ballet Grandiva, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The program will also feature the world premiere of TITLE by choreographer Chase Brock performed by NYCB principal Tiler Peck.

In-keeping with their series of 'Extraordinary EBay' packages, Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is proud to announce an online auction item some fans have been waiting eight years for! Join multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Will Ferrell at the opening night of the nearly sold-out run of his new one-man show on Broadway, You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush on February 5, 2009 at the Cort Theatre. The producers of this sure fire hit have generously donated a pair of prime seats along with two passes to the star studded opening night party to be auctioned on ebay with the proceeds to benefit Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush - It's time for a change in America, but not without a few parting words from the 43rd President of the United States. Don't miss your chance to discover the man behind the myth, the truth behind the lies, and the logic behind the illogical in this limited Broadway event.

Skie Ocasio is performing at the Metropolitan Room on February 7th for a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Equity Fights AIDS was founded in October, 1987 by the Council of Actors' Equity Association. Money raised through the efforts of Equity theatre companies across the country was specifically earmarked for The Actors' Fund's AIDS Initiative. Broadway Cares was founded in February, 1988 by members of The Producers' Group. Money raised was earmarked to be awarded to AIDS service organizations across the country, including Equity Fights AIDS. In May, 1992, Equity Fights AIDS and Broadway Cares merged to become Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The Board of Trustees of this newly established not-for-profit fundraising organization assumed the missions of the previously separate organizations and continues to fund the social service work of The Actors' Fund and to award grants twice a year to AIDS service organizations nationwide. Unlike most other nonprofit, grantmaking organizations, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS must raise every single dollar of our philanthropic budget, every year, in order to fulfill our mission. In turn, BC/EFA works hard to ensure that the money we raise is spent carefully and wisely, on programs where these hard-earned funds can have the maximum possible impact.

The 92nd Street Y continues the 2009 season of Lyrics & Lyricists with DAVID ZIPPEL as host and artistic director of It Started with a Dream, February 21-23. Subtitled David Zippel - Lyrics He Wrote, Lyrics He Wishes He Wrote, the Tony award-winning, Oscar-nominated lyricist of City of Angels and Disney's animated Hercules and Mulan, presents highlights from his own scores and shares his inspirations and personal favorites from the American Songbook. The show features an all-Broadway cast, including vocalists KATE BALDWIN (Wonderful Town, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty), KEVIN EARLEY (A Tale of Two Cities, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Mis?rables), Tony Award-winner DEBBIE GRAVITTE (Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Chicago, Les Mis?rables), DANNY GURWIN (Little Women, Urinetown, The Full Monty), and Tony Award-winner LILLIAS WHITE (The Life, Dreamgirls, and. the voice of 'Calliope' in Hercules). One of the most acclaimed and sought-after lyricists working today, David Zippel's other credits include the Broadway musical The Goodbye Girl (written with Marvin Hamlisch and Neil Simon), The Woman in White (with Andrew Lloyd Webber, for which Zippel won another Tony nomination) and the musical stage version of Wendy Wasserstein's bestselling children's book, Pamela's First Musical, written with Wasserstein and City of Angels collaborator Cy Coleman. Series artistic director Deborah Grace Winer, in her first season at the helm, notes that this is the first time in over 25 years that L&L will devote an entire show to a contemporary Broadway songwriter at the height of his career--a return to the spirit in which L&L was founded, with the living lyricist as an active participant.

Dallas Theater Center, in association with SMU Meadows School of the Arts, presents In the Beginning, an adaptation of the first 10 chapters of the Book of Genesis, featuring the newly announced DTC acting company, and directed by artistic director Kevin Moriarty. In the Beginning runs Jan. 21-Feb. 15 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Presenting familiar stories from Genesis - the creation of the world, Adam and Eve in Eden, jealousy and murder among brothers, the world's destruction by water - In the Beginning offers a fresh retelling of age-old tales interspersed with engaging dialogue taken directly from conversations with local community members and respected religious scholars about the text. 'In the Beginning does not present a single, definitive interpretation of the stories we find in Genesis,' Moriarty says. 'Rather, it is a reflection of the conversations we've had with people of faith throughout our community about the text and the personal truths and insights they've found through their own explorations into these stories.'

In celebration of the 5th anniversary of their annual 'ABC and SOAPnet Salute Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS' event, the producers of this popular benefit are offering a special gift to thank fans for their loyal support of this event over the past five years. For the month of January, the first 50 ticket buyers for this year's event will receive the '2009 ABC Hot Guys of Daytime' calendar free. The show, which is part of The Soap Nation Tour, will be held on Monday, March 9th at Town Hall in New York City at 8:00p.m. Tickets, sponsorship opportunities and new online contests are available by visiting www.broadwaycares.org. The annual 'ABC Hot Guys of Daytime Calendar' features 16 months of the hottest hunks from ALL MY CHILDREN, ONE LIFE TO LIFE, and GENERAL HOSPITAL and is a 'must have' for all ABC soap fans. The hunks on display in this year's calendar are: AMC's Cameron Mathison (Ryan), Thorsten Kaye (Zach), and Aiden Turner (Aidan), GH's Maurice Benard (Sonny), Bradford Andersen (Spinelli), Steve Burton (Jason), Jason Thompson (Patrick), Brandon Barash (Johnny), and Greg Vaughan (Lucky), and OLTL's Kamar De Los Reyes (Antonio), John Brotherton (Jared), and Trevor St. John (Todd)! Susan Lucci will headline the 5th annual 'ABC and SOAPnet Salute Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS'with previously announced co-star and host Cameron Mathison. Talent confirmed to participate, include: Melissa Claire Egan, Bobbie Eakes, Ricky Paull Goldin, Vincent Irizarry, Chrishell Stause, Aiden Turner, Darnell Williams, Walt Willey and Jacob Young from 'All My Children.' Kristen Alderson, BethAnn Bonner, Kathy Brier, Scott Clifton, Kassie DePaiva, Mark Lawson, Hillary B. Smith, Jason Tam and Brittany Underwood from 'One Life to Live' and Bradford Anderson, Anthony Geary and Kimberly McCullough from 'General Hospital.' Additional cast and special guest stars to be announced at a later date. Talent participation is subject to change.

The 92nd Street Y continues its 2009 season of Lyrics & LyricistsTM, the Y's legendary American Songbook series, with It Started with a Dream, an evening with David Zippel (Shows: City of Angels, The Goodbye Girl, The Woman in White, Pamela's First Musical. Films: Mulan, Hercules). An acclaimed and sought-after lyricist, David Zippel won a Tony Award? for the score to 1990's innovative City of Angels. His other credits include The Woman in White and The Goodbye Girl as well as crafting songs for the legendary Barbara Cook. He's also a two-time Oscar? nominee for the Disney films Hercules and Mulan. Join Mr. Zippel as he presents highlights from his own scores and shares his inspirations and personal favorites from the American Songbook canon. The 92nd Street Y has made a block of premium tickets available for BC/EFA supporters. Each ticket purchased through BC/EFA will include an exclusive and intimate post-performance wine and cheese reception with Mr. Zippel and the evening's performers.

Dallas Theater Center, in association with SMU Meadows School of the Arts, presents In the Beginning, an adaptation of the first 10 chapters of the Book of Genesis, featuring the newly announced DTC acting company, and directed by artistic director Kevin Moriarty. In the Beginning runs Jan. 21-Feb. 15 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. Presenting familiar stories from Genesis - the creation of the world, Adam and Eve in Eden, jealousy and murder among brothers, the world's destruction by water - In the Beginning offers a fresh retelling of age-old tales interspersed with engaging dialogue taken directly from conversations with local community members and respected religious scholars about the text. 'In the Beginning does not present a single, definitive interpretation of the stories we find in Genesis,' Moriarty says. 'Rather, it is a reflection of the conversations we've had with people of faith throughout our community about the text and the personal truths and insights they've found through their own explorations into these stories.'