Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids (BCEFA) needs our support now more than ever. Twice a year, the theatrical community comes together to raise money for BCEFA but due to the Broadway shut down, they are unable to participate in their regular post-show fundraising activities. BCEFA helps men, women and children across the country receive life saving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling, and emergency financial assistance. They are one of the leading industry-based nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. Since 1988, they’ve raised more than $300 million and last year, the Broadway community raised $6 million!

Broadway theatres shut down on March 12th by order of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and if you’re anything like us, you miss it every day. Right now, theatres have refunded tickets up until January 3, 2021, but the uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis leaves thousands of performers, backstage workers, and audience members with no real answers.

This is the first time Broadway theatres have gone dark for a prolonged period since the stagehand strike of 2007. Unlike today, that shut down was due to contract negotiations and union disputes. The Broadway stagehands – backstage workers who install and operate the sets, lights and props – had been working without a contract since July 2007. Anyone who’s seen Newsies knows what happened next.

When the queens of Six landed on Broadway in February, they already the fans – some 75,000 on Instagram alone. Most Broadway shows develop for years, through workshops, readings, out-of-town tryouts, and previews before opening on the Great White Way. Six claimed its crown a little differently, in a way that was utterly on-brand and completely millennial. The idea began the way so many good ideas do – while Toby Marlow was not paying attention in poetry class. Here’s the story of how Six took back the microphone and made her-story to land on Broadway.

Today's edition of On The Road features my beautiful friend Samantha Pollino! Sam hails from Baltimore, Maryland and earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Cincinnati. In 2006 she made her Broadway debut in the musical Hot Feet. Since then she was an original member of the 2016 Hamilton Chicago cast (ensemble), in 2018 came back to Broadway in Head Over Heels (ensemble and Philoclea understudy), and has been a member of the touring Hamilton Philip company since 2019. Sam recently took a leave of absence from tour so she could originate an ensemble role in the new musical Bliss, which just finished a successful run in Seattle! I am so proud of this dynamic beauty and am excited for you to get to know her better!

As Black History Month comes to a close, I wanted to finally feature the gorgeous and mega talented Darilyn Castillo! She is a New York native and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre at The City College of New York. Darilyn is best known for playing Peggy Schulyer/Maria Reynolds in the touring company of Hamilton.