'Broadway Bares' raises record $2.3 million for charity

Once again the annual Broadway Bars The charity burlesque benefit show not only turned up the heat, but also raised a ton of money for a good cause.

Over two sold-out concerts on June 23 at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, more than 200 dancers hit their feet and helped raise $2,259,134 Broadway Cares/Equity fights AIDS (BC/EFA) – the most a Bars event has grown since the show began in 1992.

The 2024 installment of Broadway Bars had a Las Vegas theme, dubbed Hit the Strip, and featured 223 dancers and performers from 19 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows from this season. More than 600 volunteers and 38 stage managers helped bring the event to life, with 3,000 audience members in attendance for each of the evening's two performances. The production was directed by Kellen Stancil and produced by BC/EFA.

Broadway Bares: Hit the Strip redeemed itself with the Sin City theme, as the show staged Vegas-style numbers, including vignettes inspired by the film Showgirls and Vegas icons Elvis Presley and Liberace.

Bares' collected installments have raised $28.7 million over the years for BC/EFA.

According to BC/EFA, the agency has awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States. BC/EFA also supports social service programs in the Entertainment Community Fund, has provided annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, and awarded one-time humanitarian grants to provide emergency help in the US and around the world.