BROADWAY BARES Returns Virtually on June 20

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Photo Credit: Roberto Araujo
By
Zack Reiser
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May 21, 2021 11:22 AM
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After more than a year of being homebound and Zoomed out, the cast of Broadway Bares will turn on their cameras and turn up the heat when Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home premieres online Sunday, June 20, 2021.

From the front porch to the kitchen, the bedroom to the backyard, Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home will have the whole house swooning from all-new, highly produced virtual performances created exclusively for the stream. Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home is sure to titillate and tantalize viewers with more than a dozen premiere concept videos.

The annual, modern-day striptease show is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The free and frisky stream, which for the second year replaces the in-person event because of the pandemic, begins at 9 pm Eastern. It can be watched at broadwaycares.org/bares2021, on Broadway Cares' YouTube channel, and broadwaybares.com.

During the stream, NYC’s hottest dancers will perform sizzling numbers created across the city under strict COVID safety protocols. In the show, the vaxxed and waxed performers grant intimate access to life behind closed doors, where it's rarely business on the top but always a party on the bottom.

Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home is directed by Bares creator and Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell with co-directors Laya Barak and Nick Kenkel . The show will include choreography by Barak, Kenkel, John Alix, Al Blackstone, Frank Boccia, Karla Garcia, Jonathan Lee, Ray Mercer, Dylan Pearce, Jenn Rose, Luis Salgado, Michael Lee Scott, Gabriella Sorretino, Kellen Stancil, Rickey Tripp and James Alonzo White. More than 170 dancers signed on to perform in the virtual stream.

The celebratory finale, filmed outside in the heart of Times Square, is co-produced by HunterPark Productions.

“Being back with the Broadway Bares family to create Twerk from Home has been an incredible reminder of how beautiful our theater community is, both inside and out,” Mitchell said. “Creating one more virtual edition of our beloved celebration in safe environments reinforces our belief that the best way to take care of ourselves is to take care of each other. We’ll be back in-person in 2022 to celebrate Bares’ 30th birthday. Until then, let’s Twerk from Home!”

Costumes for the virtual presentation will be designed by Sam Brooks, Kenwyn Dapo, Jess Gersz, Alexander Cole Gottlieb, Jennifer Jacob, Jeff Johnson-Doherty, James Nguyen, Nicolas Putvniski, Justin Quackenbush, Brendan Tufts, Jeffrey Wallach, TC Williams and DW Withrow. Caite Hevner serves as video production manager, joined by more than a dozen editors and directors of photography.  Benedict Braxton-Smith leads the audio production team of sound and music editors. Bares veteran Johnny Milani returns as production stage manager, creating a team of more than 20 stage managers. For the finale, makeup is led by Cesar Silva and the hair team is led by Ian Joseph. The art for Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home features Yancy Greene as photographed by Roberto Araujo.

Though the stream is free, donations are welcome. Every dollar donated will help those across the country affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses receive healthy meals, lifesaving medication, emergency financial assistance, housing, counseling and more.

“As the theater industry looks optimistically toward opening its doors again this fall, I’m thrilled we are able to use what should be the end of this extended intermission to help ensure vital support for those in need,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said. “The money raised through Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home will be a necessary lifeline for individuals across the country still reeling from the effects of this pandemic, challenges that will not quickly or easily fade away.”

Sponsorship opportunities, which include pre- and post-show virtual cocktail parties with performers and recognition during the show, are available at broadwaycares.org/sponsorbares.

Broadway Bares’ 30th anniversary celebration, originally set for June 21, 2020, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-person event is set to return in 2022 and will mark the 30th anniversary milestone then.

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 on a New York City bar and raised $8,000. Since then, Broadway Bares has raised more than $21 million for Broadway Cares.

Last year, tens of thousands of fans around the world “Zoomed In” to watch the first-ever digital edition of Broadway Bares, which raised $596,504 for Broadway Cares. The show included original numbers, unforgettable moments from past in-person editions, insider stories and special guest stars from the event’s 29 spectacular years.

Broadway Bares is generously supported by presenting sponsor M∙A∙C VIVA Glam.

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.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts. Broadway Cares also awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, at facebook.com/BCEFA, at instagram.com/BCEFA, at twitter.com/BCEFA and at youtube.com/BCEFA.

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Zack Reiser

Zack Reiser has a passion for theatre, cooking, and music. With professional experience in various roles in the Broadway community, he could tell you how theatre works from the front of the house to the back of the stage. He’s been with the Theatrely team since 2019.

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