May 27, 2008
Bare Naked
To get people in the giving spirit, everyone has a different approach: Sally Struthers trots out angel-faced orphans on TV; choreographer Jerry Mitchell trots out nearly-nude Broadway dancers on stage. We prefer Mitchell’s method. Now, his annual Broadway Bares fundraiser’s 17 years of cheekiness and chiseled bodies are chronicled in the provocative book Backstage Pass (out June 3).
The show grew from a small group of friends stripping at NYC bar Splash into a star-studded extravaganza (celebs like Rosie O’Donnell participate — clothed, thankfully) with hundreds of dancers, raising nearly $5 million for AIDS charities. (Proceeds from the book also go to these foundations.)
The book’s sleek, sexy photographs (backstage, on stage and the ad campaigns) capture each year’s theme. For 1999’s “Calendar Girl,” March is represented by a hard-bodied babe with a rainbow on his chest leading to a pot of gold covering his, uh, treasure. And strategically placed shields and capes make the boys and girls of 2002’s “A Comic Strip” the comeliest superheroes we’ve ever seen. But words don’t do it justice, so go ahead and have a peek. It’s for a good cause.
Backstage Pass: Broadway Bares will be available June 3 from Universe Press.
(Photo at top: Pages 100 & 101 (Cowboy): Photo © Damon Fourie from Backstage Pass by Jerry Mitchell, Universe Publishing, 2008)
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