Broadway CaresBroadway Bares: Twerk From HomeRaises Nearly $350K for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDSThe virtual fundraiser, directed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, premiered June 20.
By
Andrew Gans
June 22, 2021
Behind the scenes of the Broadway Bares: Twerk From Home finale
Nina Westervelt
Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home, the virtual fundraiser that debuted June 20, has raised $349,434 so far for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which also produced the event.
The stream continues to be available at BroadwayCares.org and on Broadway Cares’ YouTube channel.
“Broadway Bares is the one night we come together to celebrate dance, our bodies, and, most importantly, helping those in need,” Moulin Rouge! The Musical's Robyn Hurder told the online audience. “Your donations during Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home ensure that folks still struggling in this pandemic can see a doctor, get medication, or receive the support they need to thrive.”
Behind the scenes of the Broadway Bares: Twerk From Home finale
Nina Westervelt
The show, directed by Tony winner and Bares creator Jerry Mitchell and co-directed by Laya Barak and Nick Kenkel, featured 14 original numbers with 170 dancers. The celebratory finale was filmed outside in the heart of Times Square and directed by Mitchell.
Tony winner Harvey Fierstein made a special appearance as the show began, with Broadway's Hurder, J. Harrison Ghee, and Jelani Remy each sharing the impact of donations made throughout the stream.
Broadway Bares’ 30th anniversary celebration, originally set for June 21, 2020, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-person event is set to return in June 2022 to its home at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom and will mark the 30th milestone then.
The fundraiser was created in 1992 by Mitchell, then a Broadway dancer, as a way to raise awareness and money for those living with HIV/AIDS. In its first year, Mitchell and six of his friends danced on a New York City bar and raised $8,000. Since then, BroadwayBares has raised more than $21 million for Broadway Cares. The first virtual edition was presented last year.
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 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and other critical illnesses across the United States.
Next year, Carnegie Hall's house band will perform Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony, unfinished works by Schubert, and the final concert of Conductor Bernard Labadie.
