Broadway Cares donates to TheatreMAD

16/Dec/2009

As a result of the record breaking fundraising activities of the Broadway, Off-Broadway & National Tour companies, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has very generously made a donation of $75,000 to TheatreMAD / The Make A Difference Trust in honour of Daniel Craig & Hugh Jackman's record-breaking run in A Steady Rain.

The GYPSY OF THE YEAR Competition is not only the culmination of six weeks of intensive fundraising, but also a sensational display of the most talented singers and dancers in the chorus of Broadway shows (a.k.a. Broadway Gypsies).

An enthralled Palace Theatre audience lept to its feet when Bernadette Peters and Superior Donuts' Michael McKean announced that a record-breaking $4,639,695 had been raised during the six weeks of collections by Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Tour companies.

This astonishing total from 2009's GYPSY OF THE YEAR Competition surpassed the previous record of $3,927,000 rasied in 2007 bringing the 21-year GYPSY total to $40,360,000!

More history was made when A Steady Rain - led by stars Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman - raised the most money of any show in the history of the event, collecting $1,549,952! This total breaks the previous all-time fundraising record of $632,998, set in 2003 by Jackman and the company of The Boy from Oz.

A beaming Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman were on hand to present the cheque.

David Pendlebury, Make A Difference Trust Chairman, said of the donation: "We are extremely grateful to Daniel, Hugh and all of the Broadway, Off-Broadway & National Tour companies for their incredible support and fundraising activities. Broadway Cares and all of its employees are, and continue to be, the inspiration for what we do here in the UK. They, and the Broadway community, represent the benchmark for what we strive to achieve. We are deeply honoured and proud to enjoy such a close and special relationship with Tom Viola and everyone at BCEFA."

Words are not enough to express our sincere gratitude.