Broadway Bares Electrifies Audiences and Raises 1.48 Million (Photos and Video)
Broadway’s sexiest night does it again for a good cause.
June 21, 2016
Chiseled morning show hosts, rock-hard reality show contestants and pumped up politicos took over the airwaves at this year’s edition of Broadway Bares, an evening of elaborately staged burlesque production numbers that gave a new meaning to “Bares TV.”
Produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway Bares: On Demand raised an impressive $1,482,724 in two performances on Sunday, June 19.
Broadway Bares: On Demand featured 198 of New York’s sexiest and most talented dancers, entertaining two huge audiences at Hammerstein Ballroom. The evening was dedicated to the 49 victims, families and friends of last week’s tragedy at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
For the first time in the event’s history, Stripathon, an online fundraiser by the show’s cast and crew, was the single largest contributor to the total, raising by showtime a record $612,212.
This year’s guest performers included Billy Porter, Lesli Margherita, Christopher Sieber, Frankie J. Grande, Daniel Dae Kim, Michael Longoria and NY1 News’ Frank DiLella and Roma Torre. The show also included special “on demand” video appearances by Gloria Estefan, Andrew Rannells, Wendy Williams, Bob the Drag Queen, Elvira and HGTV’s Property Brothers, Drew Scott and Jonathan Scott.
The evening followed a fledgling TV network’s efforts to turn itself into an audience favorite by asking its stars to drop their drawers and opt for “all nude, all the time.”
Broadway Bares: On Demand ultimately laid bare every iconic genre of television, from classic “As Seen on TV” exercise infomercials to a sexy sweet treat of a cooking show, from late-night horror flicks to strong and do-it-yourself shows.
In her search for higher ratings, Margherita sent one of her inquiring cameramen into the locker room for some undercover footage of the championship Bears baseball team. As the hard-bodied team steamed up the stage in a heart-pounding all-male number dubbed “Bases Loaded,” cameraman Zach Frank was ultimately discovered by team MVP Josh Drake and stripped of his camera – and his clothes – by the none-too-shy baseballers. The number was choreographed by Kellen Stancil.
Politics became much more interesting when hunky Adam Perry and sultry Ericka Hunter turned “Debate This” into a presidential boxing match, backed by each candidate’s scantily clothed campaign workers. The hard-hitting number was choreographed by Charlie Sutton.
Home improvement took a decidedly sexy turn in “Nailed It” as handyman Judah Frank helped home decorator Mark MacKillop get in touch with his stronger side. Choreographed by Michael Lee Scott, the number proved that do-it-yourself shows are the most entertaining when you work with an extra set of hands.
To celebrate the fast rise in ratings, the new “Bares TV” celebrated with its own singing reality competition. The finale of “Bares Idol,” choreographed by Jim Cooney, found YouTube celebrity Grande awarding the crown to the strapping Adam Roberts, who quickly found himself stripped of his clothes – but not his title. Dressed in silver-sequined thong, Roberts celebrated as the full Broadway Bares: On Demand cast joined him onstage for an electrifying end to the show.
Closing each performance, Sieber led the “rotation,” where the entire cast danced freestyle to encourage individual appreciation tips from the audience. This year’s rotation raised an additional $22,621 for the good cause.
Broadway Bares was created by Tony-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell in 1992 as a way to raise money to help those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In its first year, Mitchell and seven of his friends danced on a New York City bar and raised $8,000. To date, Broadway Bares has now raised $15.8 million for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.
Watch the highlight video below from this year’s electrifying show:
