Lea Salonga, Patti Murin, and More Set for 32nd Easter Bonnet Competition
(© Tricia Baron)
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has announced the roster of special guests for the 32nd Annual Easter Bonnet Competition, taking place April 23 and 24 at the Minskoff Theatre.
John Cariani and Ari'el Stachel (The Band's Visit); Lilli Cooper, Gavin Lee, and Ethan Slater (SpongeBob SquarePants); Bongi Duma and Tshidi Manye (The Lion King); Adam Heller, Evan Pappas, and Cheryl Stern (A Letter to Harvey Milk); Erika Henningsen and Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls); Patti Murin (Frozen); Lea Salonga (Once on This Island); and Taylor Trensch (Dear Evan Hansen) will make special appearances.
The Easter Bonnet Competition is the annual theater community celebration that ends six weeks of intensive fundraising efforts by dozens of Broadway, off-Broadway, and national touring productions. In addition to singing, dancing, and comedic skits, participating shows present creative and elaborate Easter bonnets made especially for the event. Awards will be presented to the best presentation and best bonnet design across both performances as well as to the companies that raise the most money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Victor Garber and Bernadette Peters (Hello, Dolly!) and Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane (Angels in America) will announce the winners of top fundraiser, best presentation, and best bonnet design, as well as the fundraising total. The panel of judges for best presentation will include Zach Adkins and Christy Altomare (Anastasia); Major Attaway (Aladdin); Alison Luff and Paul Alexander Nolan (Escape to Margaritaville); Ashley Park and Kate Rockwell (Mean Girls); Charlie Stemp (Hello, Dolly!); and Nicole LaFountaine and Gracie Miller, the winners of exclusive VIP packages at the 31st Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction in September.
Shows scheduled to present performances and bonnets include Avenue Q, The Band's Visit, A Bronx Tale — The Musical, Chicago, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Escape to Margaritaville, Hamilton, Howard Crabtree's When Pigs Fly, Kinky Boots, A Letter to Harvey Milk, The Lion King, School of Rock, SpongeBob SquarePants, Waitress, and Wicked. Caleb Teicher & Company is also is set to perform, representing Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Hailey Kilgore (Once on This Island) will perform David Friedman's "Help Is on the Way", the longtime Easter Bonnet Competition closing anthem.
