Red Bucket Follies, which serves as the finale to six weeks of Red Bucket fundraising for Broadway Cares, will be presented December 8 at 4:30 PM and December 9 at 2 PM at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre. SiriusXM host, Playbill columnist, and musician-actor Seth Rudetsky will again lead the annual fundraiser produced by and benefiting the charitable organization.
Red Bucket Follies showcases ensemble members and special guests via original songs, skits, and dances. Awards will be given December 9 to the best presentation and for the top fundraising Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national touring shows for the six weeks’ efforts.
Kathleen E. Purvis is directing the annual event with Bernadette Schoenborn serving as production stage manager, Ted Arthur as music supervisor, and Andrew Graham as music director. The opening number will be directed and choreographed by Andrew Turteltaub.
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Grammy winner Kurt Elling (Hadestown) and Tony nominee Christopher Sieber (Death Becomes Her)
will both perform as representatives of their respective shows. Other Broadway
shows set to share original performances include Hamilton, Hell's Kitchen, Just in Time, Mamma Mia!, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and Waiting for Godot as well as Off-Broadway’s Vape! The Grease Parody. Representing Dancers Responding to AIDS, Leggybones Physical Theater will share their acrobatic Nocturne.
At the December 9 performance, Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth (The Queen of Versailles), Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Tony winner Jonathan Groff (Just in Time), and Tony winner Jane Krakowski (Oh, Mary!) will announce the top fundraising shows and winner of the best onstage presentation. Red Bucket Follies will also feature three-time Tony nominee Jessica Hecht, Tony winner Kecia Lewis (Hell’s Kitchen), and Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winner Marc Shaiman.
Judges at the December 9 performance will include Kate Baldwin (Chicago), Jenni Barber and Will Burton (Beetlejuice), T.R. Knight and Louis McCartney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow), Brad Oscar (Wicked), Emma Pittman (The Outsiders), and Kara Young (Gruesome Playground Injuries). Also joining the panel are Amy Abravanel, Annie Silver, and Peg Wendlandt,
who won their judging spots in a live auction at the 39th annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction.
The show will also feature a number directed and choreographed by Chaz Wolcott honoring the national touring shows that participated in the fall fundraising plus a musical tribute to the shows that fundraised this season, performed by Forever Plaid alum: Bruce Blanchard, Paul Castree, David Engel, and Larry Raben.
Since 1989, the 33 editions of the Fall Fundraising Campaign have raised $104 million to benefit Broadway Cares.
Broadway Cares is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has awarded more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States
A limited number of tickets, starting at $40, are available at BroadwayCares.org/Follies.
