Jay A. Johnson's I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era Raises $150,000 for the Ali Forney Center

Jay A. Johnson's I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era, which haunted Sony Hall October 23, benefited the Ali Forney Center this year, raising more than $150,000 for the charity protecting LGBTQIA+ youth from homelessness.

Johnson (Parade, The Phantom of the Opera) donned the red wig of head witch Winifred (played on screen by Bette Midler), with Allison Godleski and Amanda Williams Ware joining him as sisters Sarah and Mary, respectively (Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in the film).

The star-studded event also included performances and appearances by Justin Cooley (Kimberly Akimbo), Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge!, A Beautiful Noise), Mila Jam, Tomás Matos, Taylor Iman Jones (SIX: The Musical), RuPaul’s Drag Race's Marcia Marcia Marcia, Talia Suskauer (Wicked), DeMarius Copes (Some Like it Hot, Mean Girls), Drew Gehling (Waitress, Almost Famous), Zachary Daniel Jones (Wicked, Beetlejuice), Ashlyn Maddox (Parade), Tiffany Mann (Be More Chill), Maddox Martin, Julia Mattison (Death Becomes Her), Jake Pedersen (Wicked, Parade), Meghan Picerno (The Phantom of the Opera), Kathryn Priest, Ryann Redmond (Frozen, Once Upon a One More Time), Benji Rivera (New York, New York, Aladdin), Heath Saunders (Company), and Jackson Teeley (Parade). Connor Lyon served as an understudy.

Written by Johnson, I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era was directed by Ahmad Simmons, and featured associate direction and choreography by Michael Anthony Sylvester; choreography by Mike Baerga, Laya Barak, Eamon Foley, Lili Froehlich, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Reed Luplau, Tuan Malinowski, Sarah Meahl, Justice Moore, Mishay Petronelli, Sydnie Roy, Kellen Stancil, Michael Anthony Sylvester, and Jason Williams; assistant choreography by Karma Jenkins and Erin Lazzaro; production management by Sean Gorski for Hudson Theatrical Associates; and production stage managing by Julia Devore.

The creative team also included costume design and art direction by DW; associate costume coordination by Taylor Barnett; costume supervision by Kelsey Bueger; costume design by Brian Hemesath, Sarah Dixey, and Chris Hynes; makeup design by Alcone Company’s Kyle Krueger; key makeup by J Guerra; SFX makeup by Christina Vida Roldos; props design by Andy Diaz; video design by Caite Hevner; additional video design by Jamie Kiliany; sound design by Josh Liebert; lighting design by Andrew Garvis; head SFX by Jeremy Chernick; associate SFX by Kaita Carmichael; hair department lead by Earon Chew Nealey; additional wigs by Bobby Clifton Zlotnik; BTS videography by Roberto Araujo; and house photography by Thomas Mundell. The video team was led by Catriona Rubenis-Stevens, with videography by Jake Primmerman, Ian Havens, and Haven Houston; editing by Tessie Tokash; and sound editing by Michael Barry, Zoe Prescod, and the team at C5. Joe Hornberger served as assistant to Jay Armstrong Johnson. Emily Ballou and Eli Tokash served as additional producer assistants.

The dance ensemble included David Alea, Laura Aronoff, Hugo Brument, Delaney Burke, Anakeiry Cruz, Justin DeParis, Zachary Eisenberg, Ava Esposito, Tom Feeney, Zachary Flores, Pedro Garza, Cassandra Gauthier, Jules Geiss, Jada German, Cam Gradel, Erin Joy Grgas, Rachel Grinde, Markelle Grutch, Anna Guerra, Niara Hardister, Abbey Hunt, Brittany Jenkins, Will Jewett, Dainique Jones, Anjali Kanter, Maya Kitayama, Erin Lazzaro, Grace Leieux, Giuseppe Little, Sam Lobel, Alexa Magro, Kelly McMillan, Justin Mock, Nick Nazzaro, Natalie Occhino, Shane Taylor Pretty, Gabriel Reyes, Kristin Roa, Aliya Rose , Olivia Schuh, Jamal Shuriah, Christopher Tipps, Ahren Victory, Jasón Wells, Jon Yepez, and Cole Zieser.

I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era was produced by Katie Rosin for Kampfire Films, and executive produced by Max Clayton, Sean Cocchia, Todd Donovan, Meg Fofonoff, and Andy Jones. This year's sponsors included Abracadabra, Alcone, Bra Tenders, Broadway Cares, Capezio, The Costume Studio, DIG., Euphoria Studios, Open Jar Studios, Pearl Studios, Schmackary's, and Sony Hall.

A recording of I Put a Spell on You: The Witches Era will be available via Broadway on Demand for $35 beginning October 28 at 7 PM; visit here to stream.