BC/EFA's Annual Easter Bonnet Competition Raised $4,711,386

The generosity of the American theatre community shined brightly as six weeks of spring fundraising raised another record-breaking grand total for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The 29th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition (#bwaybonnets) raised a remarkable $4,711,386, making this the third year in a row the event set a new fundraising record.

The grand total was announced Tuesday, April 21, 2015, by four of this season's brightest stars: Andy Karl ("On the Twentieth Century"), Lin-Manuel Miranda ("Hamilton"), Helen Mirren ("The Audience"), and Matthew Morrison ("Finding Neverland").

The news was revealed after two days of Easter Bonnet Competition performances, which honored the fundraising efforts of 52 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions in song, dance, comedy and 18 ornate, handmade bonnets.

More than 200 of Broadway and Off-Broadway's most talented performers performed in this year's show, which was once again held at the Minskoff Theatre, home to Disney's "The Lion King."

Karl, Miranda, Mirren, and Morrison were met with thunderous applause from the standing-room audience as they announced the top fundraisers and the winners of outstanding bonnet design and best presentation at this year's show.

The company of "Jersey Boys" took top design honors for its shimmering crystal-and LED-covered bonnet, created by Ricky Yates.

Winning the best presentation award was the company of "Avenue Q," which lamented "The Lion King's" perennial status as the winner of the presentation award. In "Bonnet of Life," the "Avenue Q" cast delivered a side-splitting parody of the long-running Disney hit's signature number "Circle of Life," which left the audience roaring.

Runner-up honors went to "Jersey Boys," featuring current and alumni cast members who showed what happened when the legendary show went global. The company delivered amusing international versions of the show's hits as performed by a mariachi band, a German oompah band, a reggae quartet and full-scale Bollywood production.

This year's top fundraisers were:

Broadway Musicals
Top Fundraiser: "The Book of Mormon" - $325,556
First Runner-up: "Aladdin" - $150,869
Second Runner-up: "The Phantom of the Opera" - $147,178
Third Runner-up: "Jersey Boys" - $142,765

Broadway Plays
Top Fundraiser: "Fish in the Dark" - $140,374
First Runner-up: "It's Only a Play" - $120,720

National Touring Shows
Top Fundraiser: "Wicked" - Munchkinland - $348,552
First Runner-up: "The Book of Mormon" - Latter Day Company - $347,943
Second Runner-up: "Kinky Boots" - $265,917
Third Runner-up: "The Book of Mormon" - Jumamosi Company - $168,545

Off-Broadway
Top Fundraiser: "Hamilton" - $96,819
First Runner-up: "Into the Woods" - $29,084

Gavin Creel, who's currently starring in Broadway's "The Book of Mormon," closed the show with a new arrangement of "Help is on the Way," BC/EFA's Easter Bonnet anthem written by David Friedman. And Broadway favorite Tituss Burgess, who recently made a splash in the Netflix series "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," made a special appearance on behalf of Broadway Cares affiliate organization ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) to sing the moving "Because of One," written by Tina Lear to honor Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian activist Leymah Roberta Gbowee.

Many of Broadway Cares' most valued friends served as hosts for this year's show, including Adinah Alexander, Jen Perry and Daniel Stewart Sherman from "Kinky Boots;" Francesca Faridany and Alex Sharp from "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time;" Ann Harada from the original "Avenue Q" cast; Jasmine Cephas Jones, Renee Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo from "Hamilton;" Rob McClure and Nancy Opel from "Honeymoon in Vegas;" Aaron Nelson and Alton Fitzgerald White from "The Lion King;" and Micah Stock from "It's Only a Play."

The Easter Bonnet Competition is the culmination of six intensive weeks of fundraising efforts by company members of Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions. Curtain speeches, bucket collections, autographed poster and program sales, auctions and cabaret performances bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from audiences. The 29 editions of the Easter Bonnet Competition have raised $63.3 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Last year's event raised $4,532,129.