Broadway Backwards Raises Record Amount With Tituss Burgess, Lena Hall, and More

Last night's 10th anniversary of Broadway Backwards capped off an evening of performances with news that this year’s event raised a record $466,717 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

The event featured a 66-person cast, an onstage orchestra of 13, and 20 numbers with performances by Tituss Burgess (The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch), Norm Lewis (The Phantom of the Opera), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Lillias White (Texas in Paris), and more Broadway favorites. There was also a a special appearance by recent Kennedy Center Honoree Lily Tomlin (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe). Current Broadway stars Julie Halston (On the Town) and Rob McClure (Honeymoon in Vegas) served as hosts.

In a special performance, the all-male string quartet Well-Strung, flipped an Edvard Grieg classical music piece into a mash-up with the "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen.

Broadway Backwards is an annual celebration where gays and lesbians see their stories told through the songs of musical theater. The event is produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and was presented again in the historic Al Hirschfeld Theatre, home to the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots.