The annual Broadway Backwards fundraiser, featuring gender-reversed and star-studded twists on classic and modern favorites, was held March 11 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. The 14th annual edition of the show raised $704,491 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. (The previous fundraising record was set last year at $680,273.)
Come From Away Tony nominee Jenn Colella hosted the event, produced by Broadway Cares. The event featured the talents of Clyde Alves (On the Town), Tony Award winner Len Cariou (TV’s Blue Bloods, Sweeney Todd), Lilli Cooper (Tootsie), Tony winner Gavin Creel (Waitress, Hello, Dolly!), Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Darren Criss (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, TV’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story), Tony nominee Ariana DeBose (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Nathan Lee Graham (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Tony winner Rosemary Harris (My Fair Lady), Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge), Tony and Emmy winner Debra Monk (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, TV’s Mozart in the Jungle), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Tuck Everlasting), Caitlin Kinnunen (The Prom), Caissie Levy (Frozen), Isabelle McCalla (The Prom), Tony winner Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), two-time Emmy and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago), Nicole Vanessa Ortiz (Smokey Joe’s Cafe), two-time Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (The Boys in the Band and TV’s Girls and Black Monday), Tony winner Alice Ripley (Next to Normal), Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof), Tony nominee Jarrod Spector (The Cher Show), Academy Award and Tony nominee Kathleen Turner, Ana Villafañe (On Your Feet!), Teal Wicks (The Cher Show), and the Grammy Award-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices.
Flip through the gallery to get an exclusive backstage look at the event.
