Wicked Wins Big as Easter Bonnet Competition Pulls in $3.2 Million for BC/EFA

Over the last six weeks, Broadway raised $3,265,700 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The total was announced at the 24th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition on April 27 at the Minskoff Theatre.

A Little Night Music’s Catherine Zeta-Jones and The Addams Family stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth announced the winners of the competition after the two-day event. The top Broadway fundraiser was mega-hit musical Wicked (its touring productions also greatly contributed to the charity). Fela! earned the Best Bonnet Award for their creation, while fellow new musical Memphis took the winning prize for Best Presentation for their number “Love Terrorist” about the importance of spreading love. The top Broadway Play fundraiser was Next Fall, while the off-Broadway fundraiser with the highest tally was Avenue Q.

This year’s competition featured a rotating cast of hosts and a special appearance by BC/EFA friend Doris Eaton Travis, the 106-year-old original Ziegfeld Follies Girl, who has appeared at many Easter Bonnet events since 1998. Memphis star Montego Glover performed “Help Is On The Way,” the official anthem of BC/EFA.

The Easter Bonnet Competition is the culmination of six intensive weeks of fundraising efforts for BC/EFA by Broadway, off-Broadway and touring companies. The 23 previous editions of the Easter Bonnet Competition have raised a total of more than $42 million for BC/EFA.