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The Story Goes On

The original cast of 1957's West Side Story joins Brian Stokes Mitchell, David Hyde Pierce, Rosie Perez, Jackie Hoffman, Mary Testa, Laura Bell Bundy, Max Crumm, Laura Osnes, and Martha Plimpton for the 19th annual Gypsy of the Year.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The 19th Annual Gypsy of the Year competition, the annual fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, was held on December 17-18 at the New Amsterdam Theater. Making the event even more special than ever was the reunion of many of the surviving cast of the original 1957 production of West Side Story. Before the show -- in which they appeared in both the opening and closing numbers -- Reri Grist (Consuelo), Ken LeRoy (Bernardo), Chita Rivera (Anita), Jamie Sanchez (Chino), Carol Lawrence (Maria), and Mickey Calin (Riff) -- posed for the press.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Before the onstage festivities began, Cymbeline star Martha Plimpton, one of the afternoon's judges, autographed souvenir posters for charity.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Xanadu stars Jackie Hoffman and Mary Testa -- who co-hosted the event with The Drowsy Chaperone's Bob Saget -- proved they know how to make an entrance.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Cast members from Broadway's Wicked, which raised more money than any Broadway show, took a jab at George Bush with the song "Dear Mr. President."

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The cast of Curtains was one of many ensembles to focus on the recent Broadway strike. Here, they staged a game of Family Feud pitting the producers against Local One.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The company of the recently closed Off-Broadway musical Frankenstein was justly proud of their fundraising efforts.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The casts of Stomp and Xanadu came together for "Stompadu," which featured a performance of Sandi Thom's "I Want to Be a Punk Rocker."

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The Color Purple won the event's talent competition with an intense song-and-dance called "Pressure."

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The cast of Mamma Mia! hilariously imagined how their show would be transformed into a television movie on the gay LOGO channel.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Legally Blonde star Laura Bell Bundy (far right) helped her castmates spoof their recent MTV special.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

The young members of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee took aim at the even-younger Spring Awakening cast with the hysterical "The Bitch of Aging."

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Hairspray star George Wendt traded in Edna Turnblad's housecoat for a famous red suit for his show's "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" number.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

While the company of Grease didn't perform, stars Laura Osnes and Max Crumm were on hand to announce the names of all the shows around the country who helped Broadway Cares set a fundraising record of over $3,920,000.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

David Hyde Pierce, Rosie Perez, and Brian Stokes Mitchell were this year's surprise guests, coming onstage to announce the winners of the fundraising and talent competitions.

(© Benjamin Gabbe)

Finally, here's Lawrence, Grist, and Rivera applauding the crowd -- after a thunderous ovation for Grist's rendition of "Somewhere" and the group's version of the "Tonight" quintet.










For more on Gypsy of the Year, click here.

 

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