This year's concert, which was held Feb. 7 at the Longacre Theatre, surpassed last year’s previous record total of $186,780.
Creator Robert Bartley again directed and choreographed with musical direction by Chris Haberl.
The one-night-only event boasted the talents of Tony winners Alan Cumming (Cabaret and CBS' "The Good Wife"), Denis O'Hare (Take Me Out and HBO's "True Blood"), Debra Monk (Curtains), Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd), Hinton Battle (Miss Saigon), Bebe Neuwirth (The Addams Family), Karen Olivo (West Side Story) and Lillias White (The Life) as well as Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, Brooks Ashmanskas (Promises, Promises), Ward Billeisen (Anything Goes), Colman Domingo (Scottsboro Boys), Mandy Gonzalez (Wicked), Jason Tam (A Chorus Line), "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken (Spamalot), Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid), Robin De Jesus (La Cage aux Folles), Jose Llana (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Bobby Steggert (Ragtime), Brian Charles Rooney (The Threepenny Opera), Tony Yazbeck (Gypsy), Mo Rocca (Spelling Bee), Jan Maxwell (Lend Me a Tenor), Dan Butler (Frasier) and Kirsten Wyatt (Elf).
Some highlights from this year’s sold-out event, according to a press statement, included:
"· A rousing and naughty rebuke of the military’s soon-to-be-obsolete “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy toward gay troops. Until the law is fully revoked, soldiers still can’t “tell,” prompting Alan Cumming (CBS’s "The Good Wife") to plunge into a military-themed “Don’t Tell Mama” from Cabaret, the show which garnered him a Tony Award. · Bebe Neuwirth (The Addams Family) returned to her Chicago roots, this time taking on the role of scheming lawyer Billy Flynn in the self-promoting “All I Care About is Love,” surrounded by a bevy of glamorous, feathery fan-whirling chorus girls.
· "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken, who appeared on Broadway in Spamalot, brought the house to tears with his heart-felt yearning for “Home” from The Wiz.
· Lillias White, Tony winner for The Life and most recently seen in Fela!, had the audience dancing in their seats and stopped the show cold, showing off seemingly limitless vocals with a Ray Charles arrangement of “Some Enchanted Evening.”
· Denis O’Hare, Tony winner for Take Me Out and currently starring in HBO’s "True Blood," partnered with Brooks Ashmanskas for a hilarious, updated version of “Marry the Man Today” from Guys and Dolls.
· Tony Yazbek, who appeared as the scene-stealing Tulsa in the recent revival of Gypsy, left the audience in awe after a breathtaking, heart-pounding redition of “Music and the Mirror” from A Chorus Line.
· The leading ladies from the original Broadway cast of In the Heights – Mandy Gonzalez (Wicked) and Karen Olivo (West Side Story) – reunited for a new take on the In the Heights show-stopping love song “When You’re Home.”
· F. Murray Abraham (Academy Award-winner for "Amadeus") concluded the show with an emotional finale with “Hello Young Lovers” from the King and I, celebrating the courageous and brave in our community who stand-up to oppressors and bullies."
The complete set list follows:
“Don’t Tell Mama” from Cabaret performed by Alan Cumming with Reed Kelly, Alfie Parker Jr., Jody Reynard and Matt Steffens
“You Could Drive A Person Crazy” from Company performed by Ward Billeisen, Colman Domingo and Jose Llana
“When You’re Home” from In The Heights performed by Mandy Gonzalez and Karen Olivo
“Summer Nights” from Grease performed by Farah Alvin and Jason Tam featuring Jan Maxwell with Amy Decker, Kurt Domoney, Jennifer Leah Gottlieb, Joe Grandy, Tim McGarrigal, Michael-Kennen Miller, Masaya Palmer, Danielle Erin Rhodes and Jeannine Elizabeth Yoder
“Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You?” from The Music Man performed by Hinton Battle with Valerie Dowd, Kathryn Kendall, Charis Leos and Kristin Maloney
“On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady performed by Debra Monk
“Cell Block Tango” from Chicago performed by Reed Kelly, Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua, Patrick O’Neill, Alfie Parker Jr., Jody Reynard and Matt Steffens
“I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” from The Pajama Game performed by Dan Butler and Kirsten Wyatt
“Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific performed by Lillias White
“One Halloween” and “But Alive” from Applause performed by Brian Charles Rooney and the Ensemble
“The Trolley Song” from Meet Me In St. Louis performed by Robin De Jesús and Bobby Steggert with Mo Rocca and the Ensemble
“Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” from Pal Joey performed by Len Cariou
“Stars and the Moon” from Songs For A New World performed by Tituss Burgess
“All I Care About Is Love” from Chicago performed by Bebe Neuwirth with Jennifer Dunne, Robyn Hurder, Suzanne Hylenski, Pilar Millhollen, Dana Moore and Tonya Wathen
“The Music and the Mirror” from A Chorus Line performed by Tony Yazbeck with Derek Hanson
“Marry the Man Today” from Guys and Dolls performed by Brooks Ashmanskas and Denis O’Hare
“Home” from The Wiz performed by Clay Aiken
“Hello, Young Lovers” from The King and I performed by F. Murray Abraham with the Ensemble
For more information visit www.broadwaycares.org.
