Heated Revelry: An Interview with 'Broadway Bares' Creator Jerry Mitchell
How this annual burlesque show has raised $31M+ for HIV/AIDS, one wardrobe malfunction at a time — and the star he wants for this year!
June 15, 2026
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Broadway Bares, the annual charity show that consists of original musical numbers, celebrity surprises and very few clothes. But the truth is, this show was my introduction to “Take it off!” Though I worked three blocks from it in the years before it closed, I never even set foot in the notorious Gaiety. No, it wasn’t until my acquaintance Matthew Morrison signed up to bare (almost) all in 2008 that I was lured into its web of flesh and fun — and I’ve never looked back.
Created by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell back in 1992, when he was not yet Tony winner Jerry Mitchell, the concept of Broadway Bares has always been to unite hard-working Broadway professionals with two things: (1) a way to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to fight HIV/AIDS and (2) an opportunity to be stars of a diverse and ribald show that recognizes their individual star power.
From its humble beginnings at Splash (remember Splash?!) to its current incarnation at the Hammerstein Ballroom — don’t miss the latest installment on June 21! — the show never fails to spread joy and make money for a good cause.
EMAIL ME A PIC OF/WITH YOUR TICKET TO THIS YEAR’S BROADWAY BARES (JUNE 21, 2026) AND IF YOU’RE A SUBSCRIBER, I’LL EXTEND YOU A MONTH FREE. IF YOU DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A PAID SUB, I’LL GIVE YOU A MONTH FREE: matthewrettenmund@gmail.com
It’s absolutely live and the show only happens twice in one night, so they have to roll with the punches, just like any other Broadway production. During my chat with Jerry, a siren interrupted us, prompting this priceless story from him:
“Bill Haber, my producer of Boop, told me this hilarious story about Mike Nichols when they were doing Spamalot. Mike Nichols was directing and Bill was producing, and sirens were heard outside on the street. He turned to Bill, absolutely stone-faced, and said, ‘You’re gonna have to take care of that. We can’t have any police or sirens on the street at all during the run of this show. He was absolutely serious!”
If only we had no need for them, or the power to ask them to whisper.
I spoke with Jerry about how his urge to give back became a New York institution, all his favorite Broadway Bares memories and how he handled criticisms about staging a burlesque show to fight HIV/AIDS.
Read the following lightly edited version of our conversation, or listen to the full podcast, directly above:
