Broadway Bares, the modern-day burlesque spectacular produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, returned to live performances June 26 with a 30th anniversary celebration titled Broadway Bares: XXX at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
The opening number set the stage with the anthem “community, unity, and nudity." Watch the opening—featuring Bonnie Milligan and Jason Tam as lead vocalists, plus more than 20 dancers—above. The original number, written by Amanda Green and Lynne Shankel, was choreographed by Laya Barak, Nick Kenkel, and Jonathan Lee.
Barak, who piloted the last live edition, Broadway Bares: Take Off in 2019, again directed with associate direction by Lee. Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, who created the fundraiser, and Kenkel, a longtime Bares director and performer, continued as executive producers.
READ: Broadway Bares: XXX Raises $1,893,715 for Broadway Cares
The one-night-only extravaganza of provocative new production numbers was inspired by the show’s three-decade run. Fourteeen choreographers drew inspiration from Bares’ titles and storylines of years past, bringing new takes to audience favorites. In addition to Barak, Kenkel, and Lee, choreographers included Al Blackstone, Jessica Castro, Chloe Davis, Armando Farfan, Richard J. Hinds, Stephanie Klemons, Sekou McMiller, Michael Lee Scott, Gabby Sorrentino, Kellen Stancil, and Andrew Turteltaub.
The roster of Broadway performers who made appearances included Oscar winner and 2022 Tony Awards host Ariana DeBose, Funny Girl star Ramin Karimloo, POTUS stars Julianne Hough, Suzy Nakamura, and Julie White; the Queens of Broadway's SIX: The Musical, who performed the evening's finale; Tony-winning A Strange Loop writer Michael R. Jackson; Tony winner and Broadway Bares founder Mitchell; Nathan Lee Graham; Lesli Margherita; Milligan; Maulik Pancholy; and Tam. The evening also included performers from the casts of Broadway's Aladdin, Beetlejuice, Company, Funny Girl, Hadestown, Hamilton, The Lion King, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Music Man, POTUS, A Strange Loop, and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.
Broadway Bares: XXX was written by Hunter Bell and Troy Britton Johnson and featured lighting design by Joel Shier, scenic design by David Arsenault, and sound design by Nick Borisjuk. Production stage managers were Jereme Kyle Lewis and Johnny Milani with Sarah Helgesen as stage manager.
Broadway Bares 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 Broadway Bares’ first year, Mitchell and six of his friends danced atop a New York City bar and raised $8,000 for the cause. Because of the pandemic, the last two editions of Broadway Bares were virtual presentations. Since 1988, Broadway Bares has raised more than $21 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
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.
Visit BroadwayCares.org.
Check out photos from the evening below:
Jason Tam, Timothy Hughes and Bonnie Milligan perform in the Opening Number, Broadway Bares XXX
Jason Tam, Timothy Hughes, and Bonnie Milligan perform in the opening number of Broadway Bares XXX
Bares 1, Broadway Bares XXX
Knock Knock Whos Bare, Broadway Bares XXX
Ryan Vandenboom performs in The Barest Show on Earth, Broadway Bares XXX
Collin Heyward performs in A Comic Strip, Broadway Bares XXX
Now Showing, Broadway Bares XXX
Justin Prescott and Marie Rose Baramo perform in Myth Behavior, Broadway Bares XXX
Tomás Matos performs in Happy Endings, Broadway Bares XXX
Akira Armstrong performs in Rock Hard, Broadway Bares XXX
On Demand, Broadway Bares XXX
Passing the Torch, Broadway Bares XXX
Company of Broadway Bares XXX
Brittney Mack, Courtney Mack, Andrea Macasaet, Keirsten Nicole Hodgens
Jerry Mitchell and Michael R. Jackson
Julianne Hough, Julie White Suzy Nakamura
Jerry Mitchell and representatives from the MAC Viva Glam Fund
Maulik Pancholy and Ariana DeBose
Nathan Lee Graham, Maulik Pancholy, and Lesli Margherita
Maulik Pancholy, Ramin Karimloo, and Lesli Margherita
