Photo Flash: Broadway Bares 18 Photo Preview

BROADWAY BARES 18: WONDERLAND will be held on Sunday, June 22 with two performances only (9:30 PM & Midnight) at Roseland Ballroom (239 West 52nd Street). BROADWAY BARES 18: WONDERLAND is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.

Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, Broadway Bares creator and executive producer, officially announced this year's theme last night at Next Magazine's monthly "NextWorks" event at SBNY (Splash). Joining Mitchell on stage at SBNY was Mary Birdsong (Fame Becomes Me, "Reno: 911") who will play 'Alice' in this year's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" themed BROADWAY BARES.

Mitchell and Birdsong presented a video showcasing this year's theme. To see the exclusive video, CLICK HERE. The video was shot during a recent photo shoot by Broadway Bares photographer Andrew Eccles and features Birdsong as Alice along with the chiseled physiques of The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, and other denizens of Wonderland portrayed by Broadway's hottest bodies. The design team for the photo shoot included: The M•A•C Pro Team (makeup), David Withrow(costumes), Justen M. Brosnan and Kat Ventura (hair), and David Masenheimer (set design).

This year's BROADWAY BARES will have over 200 of Broadway's hottest bodies traveling 'through the looking glass' to bring some of Wonderland's classic characters to life on stage at Roseland Ballroom. BROADWAY BARES 18: WONDERLAND will take Lewis Carroll's tale of young Alice (Mary Birdsong) as she travels down a rabbit hole audiences won't soon forget. Along the way, Alice will encounter a White Rabbit that will make audiences blush, a Mad Tea Party featuring a sexy Mad Hatter and a tempting March Hare,  and a Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum that only BROADWAY BARES could deliver.

BROADWAY BARES 18: WONDERLAND is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, executive produced by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray), and will be directed by Denis Jones (Legally Blonde, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

This year's BARES will be one of the first opportunities to purchase BROADWAY BARES: BACKSTAGE PASS from Universe Publishing, a division of Rizzoli New York. BACKSTAGE PASS is the photographic chronicle of how one bright young man in a loincloth, dancing atop a giant drum on a Broadway stage, began one of the Great White Way's most worthy and exciting traditions! Jerry Mitchell was amazed at the tremendous attention his nearly naked body garnered in Tommy Tune's production of The Will Rogers Follies in 1990. He quickly capitalized on this fascination with exposed skin to raise funds for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) organization. Over the next 18 years, this "ah-ha" moment grew into the annual tradition that is BROADWAY BARES —an event where the most beautiful bodies of New York City's theater community take it all off and do what they do best—strut their stuff!

In addition to purchasing copies of BACKSTAGE PASS at this year's BARES, Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS is currently accepting pre-orders for BACKSTAGE PASS via their website: www.BroadwayCares.org. Books purchased via BC/EFA start at $55.

Proceeds from all copies of BACKSTAGE PASS benefit BC/EFA.

Other guest stars and special events leading up to BROADWAY BARES will be announced in the coming weeks.

The first Broadway Bares in 1992 featured seven dancers stripping on a bar and raised over $8,000. Since then, the 17 previous editions of BROADWAY BARES have collectively raised over $4.5 million to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and grown to a full-fledged production featuring over 200 of Broadway's sexiest dancers.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.BroadwayCares.org or by calling (212) 840-0770 x 268.

9:30 PM SHOW: $650 Benefactor - includes reserved seat at a cocktail table and open bar before the show; $250 VIP - includes non-reserved standing ticket in VIP area closest to stage or VIP Mezzanine with open bar before the show; $100 Priority - includes non-reserved standing ticket in Priority Viewing area close to the stage; $55 General Admission -non-reserved standing ticket.

MIDNIGHT SHOW: $650 Benefactor - includes reserved seat at a cocktail table and open bar before the show; $250 VIP - includes non-reserved standing ticket in VIP mezzanine with open bar before the show; $55 General Admission - non-reserved standing ticket.

Introducing, the new "VIP BACKSTAGE PASS" PACKAGE ($10,000). You and a guest will be escorted into Roseland for a sneak peek of dress rehearsal, and meet Jerry Mitchell and a guest celebrity. Enjoy dinner and drinks at one of Jerry's favorite local restaurants with your personal escort and guest celebrity. Come back to Roseland and join the entire company backstage for a short visit before you are escorted to your table in the VIP lounge and stay for both shows. After the Midnight show, you will join the cast as VIP guests at the post-show cast-party. This package is extremely limited in availability.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is the nation's leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fund raising and grant making organization. BC/EFA is the on-going, committed response from the American theater community to an urgent worldwide health crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of this community, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States. Since it's founding in 1988, BC/EFA has raised over $130 million for critically needed services for people with AIDS, HIV, or HIV-related illnesses.

For more information, call (212) 840-0770 x 268 or visit www.BroadwayCares.org.

Additional sponsors include: AussieBum; 1-800 Postcards; NEXT Magazine; Absolut Vodka; Creative Artists Agency; Mamma Mia! The Movie; W New York, Times Square: The Official Hotel of Broadway Bares.

Mary Birdsong

John Carroll, Mary Birdsong, James Brown III, and Michael Cunio

John Carroll

John Carroll, Michael Cunio, Ward Billeisen, and Jason Patrick Sands

Ward Billeisen and Jason Patrick Sands

John Carroll, Tommy Berklund, Mary Birdsong, and James Brown III

Photos by Andrew Eccles.