Jennifer Hudson and Jesse Tyler Ferguson Set for BC/EFA Easter Bonnet Competition

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has announced the celebrity presenters, judges, and special guests set for the 30th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition, which will take place Monday, April 25, and Tuesday, April 26. The shows will be hosted by the Minskoff Theatre, home to The Lion King. The Easter Bonnet Competition is the annual theater community celebration that ends six weeks of intensive fundraising efforts by dozens of Broadway, off-Broadway, and national touring productions.

Christian Borle (Something Rotten!), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Fully Committed), and Jennifer Hudson (The Color Purple) will announce the top fundraisers and the best presentation and best bonnet awards at the conclusion of Tuesday’s performance. Rachel York (Disaster!) will close each show with "Help Is on the Way," BC/EFA's traditional Easter Bonnet anthem written by David Friedman.

Broadway favorites scheduled to host this year's event include Alex Brightman (School of Rock), Kerry Butler (Disaster!), Carmen Cusack (Bright Star), Cynthia Erivo (The Color Purple), Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Adam Kantor (Fiddler on the Roof), Tshidi Manye (The Lion King), Alexandra Silber (Fiddler on the Roof), Jennifer Simard (Disaster!), and L. Steven Taylor (The Lion King). The Crucible's Tina Benko, Jason Butler Harner, Ciarán Hines, Saoirse Ronan, Ray Anthony Thomas, and Ben Whishaw also will join as hosts. Special guests Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi from She Loves Me will introduce the judges on Tuesday.

This year’s Easter Bonnet Competition judges are Nicholas Barasch (She Loves Me), Reed Birney (The Humans), Sierra Boggess (School of Rock), Joseph Leo Bwarie (Jersey Boys), Robert Creighton (Cagney), Jayne Houdyshell (The Humans), Alix Korey (Fiddler on the Roof), Kyle Scatliffe (The Color Purple), and Nancy Van Duyne, vice president of congressional affairs at United Airlines, a longtime Broadway Cares corporate sponsor. Also joining the panel are Lee Perlman and Amy Rocchi, who won their judging spots by bidding on exclusive VIP packages at the 29th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction in September.

This year’s Easter Bonnet Competition will include a performance by the Broadway Inspirational Voices, led by Michael McElroy, and an original opening number directed by T. Oliver Reid, choreographed by Rommy Sandhu and written by Jed Resnick. The show also will include a tribute to national touring productions, choreographed by Kellen Stancil, as well as a number honoring Broadway Cares’ Bucket Brigade volunteers, directed by Jonathan Cerullo. In addition, three of BC/EFA's affiliate organizations, Broadway Green Alliance, Broadway Serves, and R.Evolución Latina, will grace the stage with a number directed by Luis Salgado.

The winner of the Easter Bonnet Competition will be the company that has raised the most for Broadway Cares during the six-week fundraising campaign, which concludes Sunday, April 24.

For tickets and more information, click here.