Photo: Curtis Brown
Queer icons and adored allies will perform songs from the musical theater canon through the lens of the LGBTQ+ experience at next month’s in-person return of Broadway Backwards, which is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and benefits Broadway Cares and New York City’s LGBT Community Center.
Among the first special guests being announced today are LGBT performers Alexandra Billings, Jenn Colella, Matt Doyle, Claybourne Elder, Lauren Patten, George Salazar and Brandon Uranowitz, as well as beloved allies Wayne Brady, Len Cariou, Lena Hall, Bernadette Peters, Mary Testa and Lillias White.
The LGBTQ+ celebration also will feature an ensemble performing fully staged production numbers, a live orchestra and more special guests to be announced in the coming weeks. Colella, who hosted the last in-person performance in 2019 and starred in last year’s virtual edition, will host the 2022 event.
Broadway Backwards returns at 8 pm on Monday, May 23, 2022, to the stage of Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street, NYC). Tickets are on sale now at broadwaycares.org with availability extremely limited for several ticketing levels.
This year’s show will be written and directed by Broadway Backwards creator Robert Bartley. He will be joined by Mary-Mitchell Campbell as music supervisor and Ted Arthur as music director. Bartley will co-choreograph the production with Joshua Buscher-West, James Kinney and Adam Roberts. The production stage manager is Gregory R. Covert.
Ticket prices for Broadway Backwards (#BroadwayBackwards) range from $100-$1,100. Sponsorship packages also are available, offering premium seats and a special post-show cocktail reception. Ticket details are at broadwaycares.org.
Broadway Backwards began as a grassroots concert performed at the Center in 2006. The event quickly grew and now is performed every year in a Broadway theater. Since 2006, the evening has raised more than $6 million.
In 2020, Broadway Backwards was just four days away when the pandemic shut down theaters and most of New York City, forcing the event to be canceled. The 2021 virtual edition raised a record $749,555.
Major sponsors of Broadway Backwards include City National Bank, Paramount, United, A+E Networks, New York Marriott Marquis and The New York Times.