Broadway Bares: Strip U, the 27th edition of the annual burlesque-style fundraiser in New York, earned $1,568,114, a jump from last year鈥檚 $1,482,724 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, but slightly down from 2015鈥檚 record-breaking total of $1,598,501. Attendees watched 181 of the hottest male and female dancers in New York City鈥攋oined by a slate of special guests鈥攑erforming with an absolute minimum of costuming.
For the fifth year in a row, Nick Kenkel manned the director鈥檚 chair for Broadway's biggest, barest burlesque show, which offered a university-themed show. The 2017 edition of the fundraiser was presented June 18 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan for two performances, 9:30 PM and midnight.
鈥淎n unrivaled evening of seductive striptease production numbers with an academic twist,鈥� is the way the show described itself, taking place at 鈥渢he only college campus where clothing is optional and bodacious burlesque is always in the curriculum.... Imagine the Broadway Bares take on a science lab exploding with sizzling chemistry or sculpted studs exhibiting model behavior in art class." The performance ended with a 鈥渞otation,鈥� in which audience members were urged to stuff $20 bills into those jocks and g-strings.
Among highlights:
In keeping with the college theme, Strip U began with Orientation and ended with Graduation, which bookended 10 lascivious "classes." The show was framed by a blue-nosed inspector from the U.S. Department of Education鈥攂earing the curious name Dick Hunter鈥攚ho kept snooping for reasons to eliminate Strip U鈥檚 federal funding.
Choreographed by Richard J. Hinds, 鈥滷ine Art鈥� showed an art class in which the Daisy Dukes-clad students pulled off the clothes of their callipygian male model to the tune of Ed Sheeran鈥檚 鈥淪hape of You.鈥�
鈥淕oing Greek鈥� visited a frat house where Animal House-style partiers danced to 鈥淪hout,鈥� and shed their togas as gold lam茅-clad acrobatic goddesses whirled above the stage on spherical cages, arranged by Paul Stancato.
In 鈥淧ump 101,鈥� a teddy-clad and platform-shod teacher instructed his students how to walk in high heels during a cheeky rendition of Beyonc茅鈥檚 鈥淕rown Woman,鈥� choreographed by Kellen Stancil.
Choreographed by John Alix, 鈥淔eminist Studies鈥� started with 1915-style suffragettes dancing in long skirts, which soon were flung aside to the tune of Katy Perry鈥檚 鈥淩oar,鈥� as young women of various eras showed off their empowerment, ending with huge photos of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, which brought cheers from the crowd.
Among special guests, Internet personality Randy Rainbow hosted the 鈥淧sych鈥� class, a lesson on Pavlov鈥檚 dogs choreographed by Sidney Erik Wright to the songs 鈥淵ou Can鈥檛 Teach an Old Dog New Tricks鈥� by Seasick Steve and 鈥淟ose Control鈥� by Hedley.
The boys were up next for a lacrosse scrimmage, choreographed by Charlie Sutton, that featured Pat Benatar鈥檚 鈥淗it Me With Your Best Shot鈥� and 鈥淏ang Bang鈥� by Jesse J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj.
In a nod to , the students of 鈥淐hem Lab鈥� cooked up a hunky Frankenstein-type dancer in a tub of chemicals, which provoked them to throw off their clothes and go into a frenzy, choreographed by Michael Lee Scott to the tune of 鈥淐owboy Casanova鈥� by Carrie Underwood,
The show "climaxed" with 鈥淐ommencement,鈥� in which a student graduated 鈥渟umma cum loudly,鈥� accompanied by a production number choreographed by Kenkel in which dozens of students danced while acrobats in diaphanous robes took to three of the suspended spherical cages, whirling above the crowd in crisscrossing light beams.
Other stand-out numbers from the night included 鈥淧ep Rally,鈥� choreographed by Laya Barak (and featuring The Lion King鈥檚 Mufasa and Simba, L. Steven Taylor and Jelani Remy); 鈥淥bservatory,鈥� choreographed by Nick Kenkel with aerialists choreographed by Armando Farfan Jr.; and 鈥淪tudy Abroad,鈥� choreographed by Sekou McMiller
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