Broadway Bares 18: Wonderland

The annual Broadway Bares event, in which the New York theater community's hottest men and women perform ultra-sexy, brilliantly choreographed strip routines and bare (almost) all for the benefit of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, is always a sold-out success. But the 2008 edition, held at Roseland for two performances on June 22 and directed by Denis Jones, seemed even more exciting than usual — perhaps due to increased interest created by the publication of the gorgeous, hard-cover coffee table book Broadway Bares: Backstage Pass (Rizzoli).

The theme of this year's show was “Wonderland,” and the audience thrilled as Alice (Mary Birdsong) encountered all kinds of weird, sexy creatures after falling down the rabbit role. Nathan Lane, Andrea Martin, and other notables made appearances. So did BB creator Jerry Mitchell, who's now a reality TV star. But, as usual, the main focus was on Broadway's hottest bodies in full display.

Mary Birdsong (Alice) and company in the opening number

Welcome to Wonderland....

...a place where anything can happen, and usually does

Fun on the runway