Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions will resume red bucket fundraising for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS this month.
The six-week campaign, in which company members make post-show appeals to audience members, will begin March 18. This is the first full-scale return of the in-theater fundraising campaign since the theatrical shutdown.
The first batch of participating productions will be announced at a later date.
While in-person fundraising will resume this season, the Easter Bonnet Competition performances, which are typically held at the culmination of the spring campaign, will not return this year. That tradition will resume in April 2023.
“As Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring shows have returned to their theaters, it has been our utmost priority to respect the work it takes to get these productions up and running,” said BC/EFA Executive Director Tom Viola. “Delaying the return of the Easter Bonnet Competition performances until next year allows shows to step back first into fundraising efforts while maintaining their current safety protocols.”
The organization has historically held two in-theater fundraising campaigns each season, but largely suspended the practice during the pandemic. Four Broadway productions, “Girl from the North Country,” “Six,” “Thoughts of a Colored Man” and “Wicked,” as well as two touring companies of “Hamilton” began appealing for donations late last year despite the hiatus. Their efforts represented a trial run for the return to industrywide fundraising this spring.
The Red Bucket Follies are expected to return to the New Amsterdam Theatre from Dec. 5 to Dec. 6, 2022.
