Benefits and GalasCheck Out the Bonnets of the 2019 Easter Bonnet CompetitionBC/EFA’s annual fundraising event took place at the Minskoff Theatre April 22 and 23.
By
Nathan Skethway
April 29, 2019
Opening Number: bonnet designed by Billy Hipkins and Stacey Stephens; worn by Paige Davis
Curtis Brown
Broadway's spring fundraising efforts for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS culminates each year in the Easter Bonnet Competition. The 33rd annual celebration took place April 22 and 23 at the Minskoff Theatre, where it was announced during the second performance that between Broadway, Off-Broadway, and touring productions, the theatre community raised a total of $6,594,778 through curtain call appeals over the course of six weeks.
The grand total was revealed following the Easter Bonnet presentations, during which various productions performed sketches and numbers parodying themselves and their fellow shows while presenting custom-designed (and often extravagant, as you can see in the gallery below) bonnets.
Currently up for bids are lunch with Ariana DeBose, a meet-and-greet with Josh Groban, musical phrases signed by Jason Robert Brown, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, and more.
The annual pet adoptathon features a host of celebrity participants, including 2023 Tony winners Victoria Clark, J. Harrison Ghee, Bonnie Milligan, and Alex Newell.
Sales of the prints signed by Chita Rivera, Ian McKellen, Lea Salonga, Meryl Streep, and more will benefit Broadway Cares and the Al Hirschfeld Foundation.
Expect over 50 tables full of theatrical memorabilia, a silent auction, and a live auction hosted by Christopher Sieber with Nick Nicholson as the auctioneer.
