If there’s been anything good to come out of this last year plus, it is that events that were once only available for a lucky number of ticket holders have become available for us all to watch via the internet. This year’s annual Broadway Backwards is a perfect example. The show debuts on March 30th at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT.
Every year Broadway’s best performers switch gender by having the men sing songs written for female characters and the women singing songs written for male characters. Add clever staging and you have one of each year’s most entertaining concerts.
For Broadway Backwards 2021, the concept allows for the combination of new material and great performances from previous editions of the show.
There is a rather simple storyline this year: Tony nominee Jenn Colella (Come From Away) will play a late night TV host who takes a young man living in isolated New York (Jay Armstrong Johnson of Quantico and The Phantom of the Opera) on an amazing journey. There will be an emphasis on LGBTQ stories in the event.
It strikes me a little like Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz. And wait until you see who he runs into along the way:
The opening number features Tony Award winners Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show) and Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon) with Deborah Cox (Jekyll and Hyde).
Who else might he encounter? Debbie Allen, Amy Adams, Ward Billeisen, Matt Bomer, Brenda Braxton, Charl Brown, Tituss Burgess, Joshua Buscher-West, Len Cariou, Carolee Carmello, Jamie Cepero, Bryan Terrell Clark, Glenn Close, Darren Criss, Steven Cutts, Ariana DeBose, Loretta Devine, Cynthia Erivo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Garlen Gilliland, James Monroe Iglehart, Cheyenne Jackson, Cherry Jones, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Andy Kelso, Eddie Korbich, Marty Lawson, L Morgan Lee, Raymond J. Lee, Aasif Mandvi, Michael McElroy, Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Ruthie Ann Miles, Bonnie Milligan, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Debra Monk, Jessie Mueller, Javier Muñoz, Kelli O’Hara, Karen Olivo, Alfie Parker Jr., Jim Parsons, Brandon Pearson, Bernadette Peters, Eric Petersen, Eve Plumb, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Andrew Rannells, Alex Ringler, Chita Rivera, Roslyn Ruff, Michael James Scott, Sis and Elizabeth Stanley, Ryan Steele, Dennis Stowe, Lillias White, Curtis Wiley and Tony Yazbeck.
You want more? How about special guests Chasten Buttigieg, Anderson Cooper, Ariana DeBose, Don Lemon, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robin Roberts, Tony Shalhoub and Ben Vereen?
Being this is a Broadway event, we can’t leave out the rest of the company: Danyel Fulton, Shelon Henry, Diana Huey, Aaron Libby, Nathan Lucrezio, Melinda Porto, Shelby Ringdahl, Vishal Vaidya and Blake Zolfo.
Robert Bartley is the writer/director; he also created Broadway Backwards. Mary-Mitchell Campbell is the music supervisor and Ted Arthur is the music director.
As impressive as all of this is, the best thing about Broadway Backwards is that it is a great fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. To date these shows have raised nearly $4.4 million dollars! Each of the last three shows has raised over half a million dollars.
You can watch Broadway Backwards on the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS website and also on their YouTube channel. The show will remain available through 11:59 PM EDT on April 3rd only.
These three clips give you just a taste of what to expect. This is truly the highlight of the week. Tune in, donate if you can, and just wait to be blown away.
Photo: Broadway Backwards 2021 Logo (courtesy of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS)