Wed, February 9 2011
Media Contact
Cindi Creager, Director of Communications & Marketing
(212) 620-7310, ccreager@gaycenter.org
MEDIA ADVISORY
Broadway Backwards 6 Raises Record-breaking $281,243 to benefit BC/EFA & the Center
New York, NY, February 9, 2011 - BROADWAYBACKWARDS 6, the one-night-only event held Monday at theLongacre Theatre, raised a record-breaking $281,243 to benefit BroadwayCares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & TransgenderCommunity Center (the Center).
This year's total far surpassed last year's previous record total of $186,780.
BROADWAY BACKWARDS is the only Broadway event custom-made for the gay andlesbian community, our friends and families. This year's edition featured astunning 64-person cast that included Tony Award winners Hinton Battle, LenCariou, Alan Cumming, Debra Monk, Bebe Neuwirth, Denis O'Hare, Karen Olivo andLillias White, Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham and American Idolrunner-up Clay Aiken.
BROADWAY BACKWARDS re-interprets the songs of musical theater by featuringwomen singing songs originally written for men and men singing songs writtenfor women. By keeping the lyrics intact, including the pronouns, each songtakes on an entirely new dimension. It's Broadway in a whole new key.
Some highlights from this year's sold-out BROADWAY BACKWARDS:
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A rousing and naughty rebuke of the military's soon-to-be-obsolete "Do't Ask, Don't Tell" policy toward gay troops. Until the law is fully revoked, soldiers still can't "tell," prompting Alan Cumming (CBS's The Good Wife) to plunge into a military-themed "Don't Tell Mama" from Cabaret, the show which garnered him a Tony Award.
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Bebe Neuwirth (The Addams Family) returned to her Chicago roots, this time taking on the role of scheming lawyer Billy Flynn in the self-promoting "All I Care About is Love," surrounded by a bevy of glamorous, feathery fan-whirling chorus girls. |
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Lillias White, Tony winner for The Life and most recently seen in Fela!, had the audience dancing in their seats and stopped the show cold, showing off seemingly limitless vocals with a Ray Charles arrangement of "Some Enchanted Evening." |
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Denis O'Hare, Tony winner for Take Me Out and currently starring in HBO's True Blood, partnered with Brooks Ashmanskas for a hilarious, updated version of "Marry the Man Today" from Guys and Dolls. |
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Tony Yazbek, who appeared as the scene-stealing Tulsa in the recent revival of Gypsy, left the audience in awe after a breathtaking, heart-pounding rendition of "Music and the Mirror" from A Chorus Line. |
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The leading ladies from the original Broadway cast of In the Heights - Mandy Gonzalez (Wicked) and Karen Olivo (West Side Story) - reunited for a new take on the In the Heights show-stopping love song "When You’re Home." |
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F. Murray Abraham (Academy Award-winner for Amadeus) concluded the show with an emotional finale with "Hello Young Lovers" from the King and I, celebrating the courageous and brave in our community who stand-up to oppressors and bullies. |
Otherfeatured performers included Farah Alvin (TheMarvelous Wonderettes), Hinton Battle (Miss Saigon), Ward Billeisen (Anything Goes), TitussBurgess (The Little Mermaid), Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd and CBS's Blue Bloods),Colman Domingo (ScottsboroBoys), Robin De Jesús (La Cage aux Folles), Derek Hanson (A Chorus Line), Jose Llana(Wonderland),Jan Maxwell (The RoyalFamily), Debra Monk (Curtains),Mo Rocca (The 25th AnnualPutnam County Spelling Bee), Brian Charles Rooney (The Threepenny Opera),Bobby Steggert (Ragtime)and Jason Tam (A Chorus Line).
DanButler (The Only ThingWorse… and NBC's Frasier)and Kirsten Wyatt (Elf)served as co-hosts for the evening.
BroadwayBackwards Creator Robert Bartley directed and choreographed withco-choreographer/associate director Kathryn Kendall and musical direction byChris Haberl. The creative team also included lighting designer Paul Miller,costumer designer Philip Heckman & musical supervisor PatrickVaccariello.
About the Center
A beacon of hope for 29 years, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center builds and supports our community through arts and culture, wellness and recovery, family services and life-saving youth programs designed to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming environment. The Center envisions a world where LGBT people will no longer face discrimination or isolation because of who we are or who we love. We offer a welcoming home to 300,000 visitors each year and we are committed to serving all LGBT people through a variety of programs, services and activities that are designed to meet existing and emerging needs.The Center is many things to many people. We invite you to experience our home at 208 West 13th Street in person and online at gaycenter.org
