Laverne Cox from "Orange is the New Black" in "Broadway Bares 25: Top Bottoms of Burlesque" on June 21, 2015 in New York City.
On Sunday night, stars of Broadway and beyond collectively shook their moneymakers for the 25th edition of the annual charity burlesque show Broadway Bares -- and raised nearly $1.6 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA).
This year’s show -- Broadway Bares: Top Bottoms of Burlesque -- featured 222 dancers, plus star turns from actors and personalities like the Emmy-nominated Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Bravo TV’s Emmy-winning Andy Cohen, 2014 RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio, four-time Tony winner Harvey Fierstein and two-time Tony winner and two-time Emmy winner Judith Light. (Watch a highlight of Cox dancing up a storm with Casey Lee Ross, below, to a medley of Jennifer Lopez's cover of "Venus" and Ciara's "One Woman Army.")
The one-night-only 2015 Broadway Bares show played two performances on June 21 at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, and brought in $1,598,501. The show’s creator, two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, returned to direct the show. Broadway Bares has now raised $14.3 million for BCEFA.
Broadway Bares is one of a number of events produced by BCEFA, which, according to the organization, has raised more than $250 million since 1988 for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the U.S. In 2014, they awarded nearly $10.7 million to AIDS and family service organizations and continues to be the largest single financial supporter of The Actors Fund -- a human services organization that helps all professionals in performing arts and entertainment.