Mocha Fapalatte for Broadway Bares

"BROADWAY BARES/SAN FRANCISCO STRIPS V: FAIRY TALES...WHERE STRIPPING PREVAILS" WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY, JUNE 19TH AT 1015 FOLSOM NIGHTCLUB. 

"Broadway Bares" is an annual benefit show produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA) in New York City. The first "Broadway Bares" was presented in 1992 by Tony Award winning choreographer/director Jerry Mitchell and the company of "The Will Rogers Follies" at Splash bar. Eight dancers "in rotation" on the bar raised more than $8,000. Since then, the event has continuously performed to sell-out crowds in some of Manhattan's largest clubs and raises over $2 million annually for BCEFA. 

In 2016, the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation (REAF) partnered with BCEFA to present the first West Coast version of this popular burlesque-style benefit show called “Broadway Bares/San Francisco Strips” at Club Fugazi (former home of Beach Blanket Babylon) and received rave reviews. Deb Leamy, a former Broadway Bares dancer who had relocated to San Francisco, spearheaded this new endeavor for REAF and directed the first three productions of this unique event– 2016’s  "Tech Tails", 2017’s "ManuSTRIPt: Literary Tales with Happy Endings" and 2018’s "CockTails: Tales of Sipping and Stripping". When Deb returned to the East Coast in late 2018, REAF created a new production team led by choreographer Damien Beard, dancer Emily Schreck and cabaret star Leanne Borghesi to produce our fourth show, "Comic Strips", at San Francisco’s DNA Lounge where the past 2 years had been staged. This year, Deb Leamy is back as director of this very fun show and assisted by Maggie Connard and Dominic Duong. 

Broadway Bares/San Francisco Strips has sold out each year and raises upwards of $50,000 to support REAF’s mission to provide aid for HIV/AIDS services, hunger programs, and programs that serve and support homeless youth.  Each year, approximately 50 dancers perform in a series of dances centered around a central theme where one or more dancers are tastefully stripped in burlesque-style routines that are fun, sexy and professional. All of our dancers and production team members volunteer their time and talent to make these events possible. It is truly a labor of love. In-kind sponsors contribute greatly to the success of this event including a team of makeup artists from MAC Cosmetics donating time and expertise to make our dancers look their sexy best. Menswear designers such as Andrew Christian also donate large quantities of intimate apparel that are showcased throughout the production. 

This year's show, "Fairy Tales...Fanciful tales where stripping prevails" will be held on Sunday, June 19, 2022 at DNA Lounge. This show was originally planned for June of 2020 but was shut down because of Covid. We are excited to bring it back after this 2-year hiatus and our dancers are ready to dance and bare their bodies to raise funds for these important causes.