Tom Viola News

On Tuesday, June 30, Sing For Your Seniors (SFYS) dedicated at a special performance the new piano it donated to the Encore Community Services Center in the heart of the theater district. The purchase, made as part of SFYS' ongoing Piano Placement Project, was made possible by a grant from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

BROADWAY BARKS announces their 17th annual star-studded dog and cat adoption event to benefit New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. Founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, this event features celebrities from the hottest shows on Broadway.  The event, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will take place on Saturday, July 11 in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. where you meet all the adoptable dogs and cats; celebrity presentations of adoptable pets will take place between 5:00-6:30 p.m. This year's event will be co-hosted by Bernadette Peters and Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, HBO's 'Girls'). The event is free and open to the public.

BROADWAY BARKS announces their 17th annual star-studded dog and cat adoption event to benefit New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. Founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, this event features celebrities from the hottest shows on Broadway.  The event, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will take place on Saturday, July 11 in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. where you meet all the adoptable dogs and cats; celebrity presentations of adoptable pets will take place between 5:00-6:30 p.m. This year's event will be co-hosted by Bernadette Peters and Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, HBO's 'Girls'). The event is free and open to the public.

The biggest day of the year for Broadway fans will return Sunday, September 27, 2015, as the 29th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction makes an encore appearance in Times Square, Shubert Alley and along West 44th Street.

Tom Viola, Executive Director of BC/EFA, recently joined the cast of KINKY BOOTS in presenting Cyndi Lauper with a "big check" representing the $150,000 donated to TRUE COLORS FUND by BC/EFA from over $1.2 million in resources raised by the show since opening in April 2013. Scroll down for photos!

Every year, since its creation 16 years ago, THE COLUMN Awards in Dallas, TX has donated to BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS. They hold the distinct honor of being the ONLY awards organization in the United States that uses their awards gala as a fundraiser for BC/EFA.

Theater fans, celebrities and industry insiders grabbed their seats at poker tables on Monday, May 18, 2015, to raise $137,200 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at the inaugural edition of Broadway Bets. Hosted by Sardi's restaurant in the heart of New York City's theatre district, Broadway Bets(#broadwaybets), a first-of-its-kind Broadway poker tournament, offered the theatre community a new and unique way to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Anyone who's ever been in a show, been part of a show, worked on a show or produced a show, know that it's the Stage Manager who is the glue that holds it all together. The keeper of information, original intent of directors, choreographers and musical directors, as well as serving as ambassadors between producers, publicists, ad agencies, designers, wardrobe people, musicians and anything that goes into getting a performance ON and as close to perfect each and every night and matinee.

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Broadway Bares Solo Strips, which was previously scheduled for Sunday, May 10, 2015, at 42West, has been cancelled. BC/EFA writes:

This year's 10th Anniversary edition of Broadway Backwards (#bwaybackwards), which was held last night at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street), featured some of the most memorable numbers from previous years. Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefitting BC/EFA and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of New York, the event was hosted by Honeymoon in Vegas star Rob McClure and Julie Halston. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you photos from behind the scenes of the big night!

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the U.S.- based national touring companies of WICKED and THE BOOK OF MORMON, a total of $193,857 has been raised this fall for the Actors' Fund of Canada, the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. The money, raised by WICKED and THE BOOK OF MORMON company members as part of U.S.-based Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fall 2014 fundraising campaign, will help support vulnerable members of the Canadian entertainment industry who are facing injury, illness or other crisis situations.

Last night, the 2015 June Briggs Awards honored Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS Executive Director Tom Viola, Al Roker, National 9/11 Memorial Museum Director Alice M. Greenwald, and Bounce Music and Entertainment President Dean Vali at The Eventi Hotel in NYC. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Briggs Inc. announced today the 2015 June Briggs Awards winners for Excellence in Destination Management Services. The awards honor New York City's outstanding businesses that have excelled in service and performance in the destination management and hospitality industry. The awards presentation will take place January 12, 2015 at 6pm at The Eventi Hotel (851 Avenue of the Americas, NYC).

The Fred Ebb Foundation (Mitchell Bernard, Trustee) has announced that its 2014 donation to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will total $1.65 million dollars, marking the largest single contribution in BC/EFA history and bringing the foundation's total contribution to BC/EFA to $10 million since it began ten years ago.

If you've been joining us for BWW's 12 Days of Christmas video features, on this 3rd day, the choice was easy and obvious for me. Tonight, for the first time ever on a stage, MR. MAGOO'S CHRISTMAS CAROL will be staged and performed, benefitting the The Actors Fund. The very special event takes place this evening at 7:30 pm at The Gerald W. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street). For more info, and how to get tickets, click here.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, December 14, 2014 - Sunday, December 14, 2014.

Today is Sunday and Sunday night is HOMELAND on Showtime, now in it's 4th season and as riveting as ever. It also informs my choice for Day 2 of BWW's 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Holiday Video picks. Over the years, I have done a number of benefits for BroadwayWorld. Rob Diamond has a wonderful relationship with Tom Viola and everyone at Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS and the that has been the focus of the fundraising at these events. Now, when I do, pretty much, anything, I put alot of thought on the 'assignment' and am not a fan of, what I like to call, PARK & BARK events. I try to match talents and material in a very special way. This brings us to LAILA ROBINS.

Jesse L. Martin, Billy Porter, David Rockefeller, Jr., and Stephen DeRosa will salute NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Dean Emerita Mary Schmidt Campbell and Municipal Arts Society's President Vin Cipolla at The Acting Company's Gala tonight, November 17 at 360 Degrees Tribeca.

Jesse L. Martin, Billy Porter, David Rockefeller, Jr., and Stephen DeRosa will salute NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Dean Emerita Mary Schmidt Campbell and Municipal Arts Society's President Vin Cipolla at The Acting Company's Gala on November 17 at 360 Degrees Tribeca.

An exuberant audience filled the Bucks County Playhouse on October 4, 2014, to cheer and heap adoration on celebrated singer Linda Eder as she headlined this year's edition of Bucks County Cabaret (#buckscountycabaret), raising $131,650 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.