Wonderland: Broadway Bares 18 Presented June 22
By Andrew Gans
22 Jun 2008
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Broadway Bares 18 artwork.
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The 18th annual Broadway Bares fundraiser, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will be presented June 22 at the Roseland Ballroom. The 9:30 PM and midnight shows are titled Wonderland.
Created and executive-produced by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, the theme for this year's fundraiser is "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." Fame Becomes Me and recent Hairspray star Mary Birdsong plays Alice with Tituss Burgess as The White Rabbit. Attendees can also expect appearances by Xanadu's Cheyenne Jackson, South Pacific's Matthew Morrison and Tony winners Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin.
The evening, according to press notes, will boast "over 200 of Broadway's hottest bodies traveling 'through the looking glass' to bring some of 'Wonderland''s classic characters to life . . . Along the way, Alice [Birdsong] will encounter a White Rabbit [Burgess] that will make audiences blush, a Mad Tea Party featuring a sexy Mad Hatter and a tempting March Hare, and a Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum that only [Broadway Bares] could deliver."
Shrek's Christopher Sieber and Jennifer Cody are this year's rotation masters.
[title of show]'s Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen have both contributed material to the show: Bowen has written the opening number, and Bell has penned the scenes. The bawdy evening will also feature special performances by NATEkid, the acrobatic troupe AntiGravity and the aerial performance group The Living Art of Armando.
Denis Jones (Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) once again directs the production.
A little Bares history: Nearly 20 years ago, Legally Blonde's Mitchell, who once danced nearly naked on a drum in The Will Rogers Follies, found himself inspired to take it all off to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and Broadway Bares was born. The first year, he and seven other Broadway dancers raised $8,000 for the charitable organization.
The 17th annual Broadway Bares, which was held June 17, 2007, was another record-breaker, raising $743,787 for BC/EFA. To date, Broadway Bares has raised nearly $5 million for BC/EFA.
"Broadway Bares: Backstage Pass" is the title of a new book that is described as "a titillating photographic chronicle" of the annual fundraiser. Penned by Tony winner Mitchell, the new book is available from Universe Publishing.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the nation's largest industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. Since its founding in 1988 the organization has distributed over $130 million for services for people with AIDS, HIV or HIV-related illnesses.
Tickets to the Bares fundraiser are on sale by calling (212) 840-0770, ext. 268 or by visiting www.BroadwayCares.org.
The Roseland Ballroom is located in New York City at 239 West 52nd Street.
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