DVDizzy Forum

Last November’s sold-out, one-night-only benefit concert featuring 79 performers from Disney’s 25 years on Broadway will be streamed April 13 to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. In addition to the taped performances, live guest interviews with Disney stars from their homes will be interspersed throughout the evening. Ryan McCartan (Frozen, TV’s Liv and Maddie) will host the stream live from his family’s basement.

The event will be streamed at broadwaycares.org, youtube.com/BCEFA and facebook.com/BCEFA. The stream will also be available through media partners Playbill.com, abc7ny.com and the sites of the ABC Owned Television Stations around the country. The concert, titled Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway, was presented onstage November 4, 2019, at the New Amsterdam Theatre to mark the silver anniversary event of Disney’s arrival on Broadway. The event raised $570,426 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The streamed show will feature performances by Jelani Alladin (Hercules), Sierra Boggess (The Little Mermaid, School of Rock – The Musical), Christian Borle (Little Shop of Horrors, Mary Poppins), Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), Kerry Butler (Beetlejuice, Beauty and the Beast), Lauryn Ciardullo (Aladdin), Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!, Waitress), Merle Dandridge (Tarzan, Aida), Lindiwe Dlamini (The Lion King), Bongi Duma (The Lion King), Susan Egan (Beauty and the Beast), Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen), Bradley Gibson (The Lion King), Whoopi Goldberg (TV’s The View), Mandy Gonzalez (Hamilton, Aida), April Holloway (Aladdin), James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin, Hamilton), Adam Jacobs (Aladdin), Ramona Keller (Hercules), Nina LaFarga (Frozen), Tamika Lawrence (Hercules, Come From Away), Norm Lewis (Once on This Island, The Little Mermaid), Kara Lindsay (Newsies, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical), Tshidi Manye (The Lion King), Sbusiso Ngema (The Lion King), Ashley Park (Mean Girls, Grand Horizons), Adam Pascal (Rent), Krysta Rodriguez (Hercules), Michael James Scott (Aladdin), Sherie Rene Scott (The Little Mermaid), Kissy Simmons (The Lion King), Josh Strickland (Tarzan), Katie Terza (Aladdin), Marisha Wallace (Aladdin, Something Rotten!), Rema Webb (Hercules, The Lion King), Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King) and Syndee Winters (Hamilton, The Lion King). The show also includes the reunion of 18 Newsies from the show’s Broadway and national touring productions, and a performance from Broadway Inspirational Voices.

“The event last November was such an unforgettable evening of Disney on Broadway magic,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola said. “We are so grateful to all our friends at Disney Theatrical Productions for generously joining us in sharing this evening again, supporting our entertainment industry friends and colleagues who are out of work and facing serious health and personal challenges due to this devastating coronavirus pandemic.”

Celebrating 25 Magical Years of Disney on Broadway will be streamed at 7 pm ET on Monday, April 13.

The show also includes the reunion of 18 Newsies from the show’s Broadway and national touring productions

James Monroe Iglehart, Heather Headley, Ryan McCartan, Ciara Renee, Steven Taylor, Jelani Alladin, McKenzie Kurtz, Adrienne Walker, and Michael James Scott performed an emotional rendition of Alan Menken's "Go the Distance" from Hercules.

“They are trying to raise money to help your members and the entire community...It’s your decision but it seems a harsh and punitive one to your members and the larger community.”

Broadway Cares argued that it could not afford to pay the musicians for an already recorded concert without also paying the other unions. It noted that it had already given $50,000 this year to musicians’ assistance programs, and offered to give another $25,000 to a musicians’ emergency fund, which Viola said would be more than the value of the payment Hair was seeking.