It’s almost time for the annual Broadway Bares fundraiser to raise money for Broadway Cares.
The theme for the 2026 Burlesque event is “License to Strip”.
Set for June 21 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City; there will be two performances – one at 9:30pm and one at midnight. Available at BroadwayCares.org, tickets begin at $75 each with VIP packages available.
According to the press notes, this year’s event “secrets will be spilled, disguises discarded and inhibitions detonated in a tantalizing, top-secret turn on the beloved spectacle,” with over 200 dancers and performers.
Broadway veterans Kellen Stancil, Paula DeLuise, Savannah Joy Cobb, Jerry Mitchell, and Nick Kenkel will serve as directors and producers. They will be joined by John Alix, Mike Baerga, Jessica castro, Armando Farfan Jr, Billy Griffin, Miles Keeney, Tanner Lane, Reed Luplau, Sarah Meahl, Jenny Oehlwein, Julius Anthony rubio, and Sani Talmor as choreographers.
Kellen Stancil spoke on the event saying, “I’m beyond thrilled to return to the director’s chair for Broadway Bares, a show that lives at the intersection of legacy, liberation, and flat-out jaw-dropping dance. I’ve grown up with Broadway Bares—from dancer to choreographer to director—and nothing compares to that moment when the lights hit, the crowd roars, and you feel hundreds of artists moving as one, and a community supporting each other. It’s a bold, beautiful celebration of all bodies, and it’s about to leave you breathless.”
Executive director of Broadway Cares Danny Whitman added, “Broadway Bares is fearless fun with a powerful purpose. Behind every strut, spin, and sparkle is something deeply real. It’s meals on tables, medication in hand, health care, stability, and hope. That one electric night fuels lifesaving care for people in our community and across the country, reminding us that joy can be a force for lasting change.”
Broadway Bares was created in 1992 as a way to raise awareness and help those who had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. That first event raised $8,000. Last year the fundraiser brough in nearly $2.5 million.