Full cast announced for virtual BROADWAY BACKWARDS on 30 March
The annual event where gender doesn’t matter but love does, Broadway Backwards, makes its virtual premiere tomorrow evening (30 March), with special appeals from Chasten Buttigieg, Ariana DeBose, Debra Messing, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tony Shalhoub and Ben Vereen.
The free event, which streams at 8pm EST, can be viewed on the Broadway Cares website and Youtube channel, and will remain available on demand until Saturday 3 April.
Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, this virtual edition of the event explores how the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic has specifically affected the LGBTQ community. The show features Jay Armstrong Johnson as a New Yorker who hallucinates a fantastical journey guided by a late-night television host, portrayed by Jenn Colella.
New performances will be merged with full numbers from previous editions of the show to create a Broadway Backwards that feels distinctly of the moment.
This year’s streaming event features a new opening number featuring Stephanie J. Block, Deborah Cox and Lea Salonga, plus new appearances from Amy Adams, Debbie Allen, Matt Bomer, Brenda Braxton, Len Cariou, Glenn Close, Loretta Devine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, James Monroe Iglehart, Cheyenne Jackson, Cherry Jones, L Morgan Lee, Raymond J. Lee, Aasif Mandvi, Eric McCormack, Michael McElroy, Debra Messing, Ruthie Ann Miles, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Javier Muñoz, Kelli O’Hara, Karen Olivo, Jim Parsons, Bernadette Peters, Eve Plumb, Roslyn Ruff, Sis, Elizabeth Stanley and Tony Yazbeck, as well as journalists Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon and Robin Roberts.
Beloved performances from previous editions of Broadway Backwards will also be included by Ward Billeisen, Charl Brown, Tituss Burgess, Joshua Buscher-West, Len Cariou, Carolee Carmello, Jamie Cepero, Bryan Terrell Clark, Darren Criss, Steven Cutts, Ariana DeBose, Cynthia Erivo, Garlen Gilliland, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Andy Kelso, Eddie Korbich, Marty Lawson, Michael McElroy, Bonnie Milligan, Debra Monk, Alfie Parker Jr., Brandon Pearson, Eric Petersen, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Andrew Rannells, Alex Ringler, Chita Rivera, Michael James Scott, Ryan Steele, Dennis Stowe, Lillias White, Curtis Wiley and Tony Yazbeck.
The stream’s full company of performers also includes Robert Creighton, Danyel Fulton, Eileen Galindo, Sam Gravitte, Sheldon Henry, Diana Huey, Aaron Libby, Nathan Lucrezio, Melinda Porto, Shelby Ringdahl, Vishal Vaidya and Blake Zolfo.
Creator Robert Bartley returns as writer/director for this virtual version of the show, and he will be joined by Mary-Mitchell Campbell as music supervisor, Ted Arthur as music director, Matt Kraus as sound designer and Samantha Rodriguez as costume designer.
While the stream is free, donations are encouraged for Broadway Cares and The Center, the heart and home of New York City’s LGBTQ+ community.
For more information, please click here.
