Broadway Cares' Red Buckets Fundraising Return To Theaters Tonight

Red Buckets in the hands of dedicated volunteers, actors and theater staffs will once again pop up in theater lobbies in New York City and across the country as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' eagerly anticipated tradition of in-theater fundraising returns tonight, October 20, 2023. The generosity of theater audiences and artists will provide nutritious meals, medication, health care, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

The Red Bucket Follies Fall Fundraising Campaign continues through Sunday, December 3. Kicking off the #RedBuckets appeals are Broadway's & Juliet; Back to the Future: The Musical; A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical; The Book of Mormon; Gutenberg! The Musical!; Hamilton; Here Lies Love; Kimberly Akimbo; The Lion King; Merrily We Roll Along; Purlie Victorious; The Shark is Broken; Six; Sweeney Todd; Wicked and Off-Broadway's Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors; Little Shop of Horrors; Naked Boys Singing and The Play That Goes Wrong. Among the national tours joining in the fundraising this weekend are Aladdin, Beetlejuice, Frozen, Hamilton and Wicked.

Starting appeals next week are Broadway's Aladdin, Hadestown, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Melissa Etheridge: My Window, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Shucked and Some Like it Hot, as well as the national touring productions of The Lion King and Six. More companies of Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring shows will join in the coming days and weeks.

“The Red Buckets have become synonymous with hope and help for our theatrical community and beyond,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said. “We're endlessly grateful to those onstage, behind the scenes and in the audience, in addition to our beloved volunteers, for making this critical fundraising possible. This extraordinary generosity will help those across the country who are impacted by illness, unexpected challenges and urgent crises.”

The Red Bucket fundraising takes place twice a year during six committed and compassionate weeks of fundraising in the spring and fall. The fundraising will culminate in a one-of-a-kind variety show of songs, dances and original skits at the Red Bucket Follies (#redbucketfollies). Performances are set for 4:30 pm Monday, December 4, and 2 pm Tuesday, December 5, at the New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street, New York City). This year brings the triumphant return of the event, which has been on hiatus since 2019 because of COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and restrictions. This joyous homecoming marks the first full calendar year of annual Broadway Cares events since the pandemic began.

Since 1989, Red Bucket Follies, and its predecessor Gypsy of the Year, have raised $87.6 million to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Red Bucket Follies is sponsored by The New York Times.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, 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 theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, the HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative. 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 tiktok.com/@bcefa and at youtube.com/BCEFA.

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