WCU Theatre Students Set Goal of $25,000 for 25th Annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights
AIDS Benefit
The student-led University Theatre group at West Chester University (WCU) is celebrating a milestone with the 25th annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids (BC/EFA) Benefit Performance and Silent Auction. From December 6 – 8, 2024, students will transform the lobby and interior of the MainStage Theatre, E. O. Bull Center, 2 E. Rosedale Avenue, West Chester, for performances and a silent auction. Performances are December 6 & 7 at 7:30 p.m., and December 7 & 8 at 2 p.m. For tickets and details visit: wcupatix.com/theatreanddance.
Should the students be successful and meet their fundraising goal of $25,000, it would be the highest amount raised in the event’s 25-year history. Last year’s event raised about $20,000 and the total raised over the event’s entire history is nearly $150,000. WCU’s annual benefit, one of the largest external sources of funding for BC/EFA, is always a student-directed and produced event that features variety show-style acts that star West Chester University students. The production, a funny and often moving mix of performances, has become a campus highlight.
Tom Viola, the Executive Director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, says, “All of us at BC/EFA congratulate and thank the past and current WCU students whose talent, creativity, and dedication is igniting action through the arts. Their commitment to kindness and good will is the wind in our sails upon which we all will ride into the future. The money they raise provides resources for BC/EFA to provide meals, health care, medicines, emergency assistance, and hope to hundreds of thousands, including 25 social service providers across the state of Pennsylvania.”
About 75 WCU students who participate both on-stage and off are part of this 2024 fundraising event. Theatre students perform musical theatre and dance numbers from shows that include Mamma Mia, La La Land, Footloose, and more. Other campus groups that participate include Top Drawer Swing Dance, High Street Harmonix, The Suspensions, Irish Dance Team, Deep Dish Pizzazz, and Change of Scene. The performances are accompanied by a group of 10 live musicians.
Grace Medea, a senior Education double major from Califon, New Jersey, is the event’s Director.
Medea says, "The 25th anniversary of our benefit is a celebration of the passion and dedication of the WCU students who have shaped this event over the years. We hope to leave behind a legacy of collaboration and inclusion, reminding future Broadway Cares events that like a mosaic, every person, every contribution, and every step along the way plays a role in creating something impactful."
The December 7 performance at 7:30 p.m. will include WCU alumni who have participated in the past along with special guests including Taylor Mattes ’19, a WCU alumna and the current Community Engagement Coordinator with BC/EFA in New York City.
This year’s silent auction – held in the lobby prior to each performance – will be the largest ever with items that include signed Broadway posters, hotel stays, spa packages, multiple restaurant gift cards and baskets, drive in movie tickets, and theme park tickets.