Stars from All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital are reuniting for an absolutely fabulous upcoming special called ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway.
The star-studded event is scheduled to stream (for free!) at 8PM ET on Thursday, February 11, and will include performances by AMC alums Bobbie Eakes (Krystal Carey), Melissa Claire Egan (Annie Lavery), Vincent Irizarry (David Hayward), Eva LaRue (Maria Santos), Susan Lucci (Erica Kane), Cameron Mathison (Ryan Lavery), Eden Riegel (Bianca Montgomery), Chrishell Stause (Amanda Dillon), and Walt Willey (Jack Montgomery); OLTL alums Kristen Alderson (Starr Manning), BethAnn Fuenmayor (Talia Sahid), Kathy Brier (Marcie Walsh), Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer), David Gregory (Robert Ford), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline Williamson), Catherine Hickland (Lindsay Rappaport), Mark Lawson (Brody Lovett), Hillary B. Smith (Nora Buchanan), Jason Tam (Markko Rivera), and Brittany Underwood (Langston Wilde); and GH stars Bradford Anderson (Damien Spinelli), Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny Zacchara), and Anthony Geary (ex-Luke Spencer).
"This event is truly one of a kind," says Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola of the event, which will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. "We are so thankful to the stars from ABC Daytime for joining us again as we relive moments from this delightful tradition, while helping to provide lifesaving medication, healthy meals, and emergency support to those struggling during this ongoing pandemic."
ABC Daytime Salutes Broadway Cares began in 2005 as a one-night benefit concert to celebrate All My Children's 35th anniversary. With overwhelming support from fans, the event continued for six more years and included cast members from One Life to Live, General Hospital, and co-hosts of The View. The annual evening -- which featured dynamic production numbers, heartfelt ballads, and hilarious skits -- raised an incredible $1.85 million over its seven-year run. Now, ten years after its final performance, the iconic ABC Daytime actors are revisiting their performances as they help raise money for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was such an incredible privilege and joy to join my fellow costars to perform in the seven ABC Daytime Salutes concerts to benefit Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS," says AMC's Susan Lucci. "There are no fans like ABC Daytime fans. Their love and support continue to astonish us. We can't wait to share these special performances with them and help raise money for so many in need during this difficult time."
Lucci followed up her official statement with an Instagram post in which she shares that she is thrilled to be taking part in this "fabulous online event revisiting seven years of singing, dancing and plot twists, featuring your favorite ABC Daytime stars."
The streaming event will be directed by John Dietrich, who also directed each of the live stage performances. Viewers can expect to hear "a bevy of Broadway classics and jazzy standards."
UPDATE (February 3, 2021): Great news for ABC Daytime fans -- several more stars have signed on to be a part of the upcoming ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway performance, scheduled to stream on Thursday, February 13.
The free event will now also feature AMC alums Alicia Minshew (Kendall Hart) and Tonya Pinkins (Livia Frye); OLTL alums Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan) and Bree Williamson (Jessica Buchanan; ex-Claudette Boland, GH); and GH stars Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos). The View’s Whoopi Goldberg will also take part in a welcome segment, while GH star Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) will perform an original dance from the set of GH.
Additionally, more details about the one-on-one video chats benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS have been made available. Fans will have the opportunity to meet their favorite actors in private video chats on Saturday, February 13. The one-on-one video chats are similar to FaceTime calls and will be handled through the Looped app. To learn more and to reserve your chat slots, click here.
UPDATE (February 19,2021): Soap Central is happy to report that the nostalgic ABC Daytime: Back on Broadway event featuring the stars of All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital raised a generous $130,565 to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The streaming total includes a matching donation of $50,000 made by Broadway Cares supporters The Dream Alliance.
As noted by Broadway World, when the donations given during the February 11 streaming event are added to those from the seven-year run of the annual concerts, ABC Daytime stars and their fans have raised an astounding $2,020,565 for Broadway Cares.
For more information about how you can further help Broadway Cares provide life saving medication, healthy meals, and emergency support to those struggling during this ongoing pandemic, click here.
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