Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ annual Red Bucket Follies fundraiser returned to Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre on Dec. 8 and 9. The variety show celebrated 55 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies that participated in the fall season of post-show donation collections from audiences.
Over the six weeks of in-theater fundraising, the shows raised a total of $7,344,304, which is the highest amount ever raised in a Broadway Cares fundraising season, surpassing the previous record of $6.8 million that was set in the spring.
The award for best Red Bucket Follies performance went to “Waiting for Godot” for an skit starring the show’s youngest cast members, Zaynn Arora and Eric Williams, who alternate in the role of Boy. In a scene that showed the pair fed up with waiting for a title star who never arrives, Arora and Williams started singing a parody of the “Once on This Island” song “Waiting for Life,” adapted by the boys and Bridget Mills, the show’s child guardian.
“Hamilton” earned the runner-up performance award as the show’s founding fathers performed “Sons of Liberty Gone Wild,” a number written, directed and choreographed by original cast member Thayne Jasperson. The song saw historical figures (and “Hamilton” characters) John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan and Marquis de Lafayette performing presidentially seductive twists on pop hits from Michael Jackson, Sam Smith and Beyoncé.
This year’s judges were Broadway’s Kate Baldwin, Jenni Barber, Will Burton, T.R. Knight, Louis McCartney, Brad Oscar, Emma Pittman and Kara Young. Also on the panel were Amy Abravanel, Annie Silver and Peg Wendlandt, who won their judging spots by bidding on packages at the 39th annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction in September.
On the fundraising front for Broadway musicals, “Hamilton” took in the most during this fundraising season ($564,393), with “Just in Time” right behind ($491,236), followed by “Maybe Happy Ending” ($286,274), “Hadestown” ($251,603) and “Wicked” ($177,298).
“Waiting for Godot” was the top fundraiser in Broadway plays, earning $430,790 for Broadway Cares. Second and third were “Oh, Mary!” ($264,442) and “Art” ($188,905).
Red Bucket Follies was directed by Kathleen E. Purvis with Bernadette Schoenborn serving as production stage manager, leading a team of 16 stage managers. Ted Arthur served as music supervisor, with Andrew Graham as music director and Charles Gordon as music coordinator. Lighting design was by Paul Vaillancourt with sound design by Marie Renee Foucher.
Since 1989, the 34 editions of Red Bucket Follies have raised $111.5 million to benefit Broadway Cares.
