The lineup is now complete for the 15th annual Broadway Backwards fundraiser, featuring gender-reversed and star-studded twists on classic and modern favorites, March 16 at 8 PM at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
Creator Robert Bartley returns to direct and choreograph the event, which is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefits Broadway Cares and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. Jenn Colella will host for the second time.
Newly announced for the annual event are Tony Award nominee Veanne Cox (An American in Paris), Stephen DeRosa (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus), Tony nominee Robbie Fairchild (An American in Paris, Cats film), Jordan Fisher (Dear Evan Hansen, upcoming Tick, Tick… Boom! movie), Tony winner Cady Huffman (The Producers), Tony winner Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Darling Grenadine), Tony nominee Beth Malone (The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Fun Home), Skye Mattox (Carousel), Eve Plumb (The Brady Bunch), Oscar nominee Lesley Ann Warren (Victor/Victoria film), and Tony nominee Brandon Uranowitz (Burn This, Falsettos).
These artists join the previously reported Tony winner Laura Benanti, Tony winner Len Cariou, Garrett Clayton, Tony winner André De Shields, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Chilina Kennedy, Derek Klena, L Morgan Lee, Patti Murin, Ken Page, James Snyder, and Elizabeth Stanley.
Mary-Mitchell Campbell is the music supervisor for the evening with choreography by James Kinney and Joshua Buscher-West, who is also the associate director. The creative team also includes music director Ted Arthur, lighting designer Timothy Reed, and costume designers Sarah Marie Dixey, Johnna Fettinger, Nicolas Putvinski, Stacey Stephens, and TC Williams. Larry Smiglewski serves as production stage manager.
Attendees can expect performances from stars of stage and screen with men singing songs originally intended for women and vice versa. Artists will honor the songs of musical theatre while celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and creating an environment of equality, awareness, and love.
Last year’s edition of Broadway Backwards raised a record-breaking $704,491. In its 14 years, the annual fundraiser has brought in more than $4.8 million for Broadway Cares and The Center.
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 AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.
Tickets are available at BroadwayCares.org.
Photos: Broadway Backwards 2019
Benanti and more have been special guest performers on Playbill Travel’s Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Cabins are now on sale for Broadway in the Great Northwest, Playbill Travel’s first domestic cruise featuring Kate Baldwin, Tedd Firth, Aaron Lazar, and Beth Leavel (April 26–May 4, 2020), and for Broadway on the Mediterranean (August 31–September 7, 2020), featuring Audra McDonald, Will Swenson, Gavin Creel, Caissie Levy, and Lindsay Mendez, and for Broadway on the Nile (December 27, 2020–January 7, 2021) and Broadway on the Caribbean (February 15–22, 2021), with performers soon to be announced. To book a suite or stateroom, call Playbill Travel at 866-455-6789 or visit PlaybillTravel.com.