EASTER BONNET COMPETITION
Never mind it was three weeks after the bunny actually brought the colored eggs, spring is the season for elaborate hats, and few toppers top the creations concocted by the casts of several Broadway shows and road companies to promote their productions and raise money for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS and other theater causes.
The Once guitar bonnet, an exaggeration of Ann Richards’ white hairdo and a colorful bouquet that popped out of a top hat were just some of the creations presented in skits and a final fashion show parade.
Outfitted in True Colors leotard costumes, the cast of Kinky Boots won the Best Presentation award. Tying for the Special Design honor were the Lion King’s lion head bonnet and Spiderman’s Pippin-tribute circus hat, which transformed into an illuminated web. Nathan Lane, Cyndi Lauper, and Harvey Fierstein were among the stars who took turns emceeing—along with new Broadway leading man Tom Hanks whose show Lucky Guy was the number one red bucket fund raiser netting $301,549, partly by auctioning off Hanks’ tee shirts for $800.
Full of theater lore in-jokes and timely remarks, the 27th annual show this year raised more than four and a-quarter-million-dollars, great entertainment for a very great cause. www.broadwaycares.org
KICKY KILTS
A highlight of Tartan Week is the From Scotland with Love plaid and kilts fashion show. This year subtitled The Scottish Lion Meets the Asian Dragon, the show led off with a Chinese dragon dance before Good Morning America co-host Josh Elliott, decked out in a kilt of Elliott plaid, introduced the models including Miss Scotland Ellen Tracey, Jamie Choi, Miss Asia USA, Southeast Asian supermodel Ling Tan, and Mahatma Ghandi’s grandson Arun, who also modeled a kilt in World Peace Plaid.
Besides showcasing Scottish fashions, the show raised money for noble causes with proceeds this year designed for the Wounded Warrior Project and for the McConnell International Foundation, which supports young people in countries devastated by civil war and poverty. www.fromscotlandwithlove.net
MATRIX AWARDS
The New York Women in Communications chose the mistress of “Can We Talk? Joan Rivers, who knows something about getting her point across to emcee their 2013 Matrix Awards presented to leaders in the fields of marketing, public relations, journalism, advertising and media. Each honoree is paired with a celebrity presenter.
Award-winner Audra McDonald was introduced by City Council member Christine Quinn. Model Iman presented HSN CEO and Director Mindy Grossman; head of NBC Universal Bonnie Hammer was lauded by Ryan Seacrest; Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski introduced Bank of America’s Anne Finucane. Others receiving the awards were Kara Swisher, Jacki Kelley and Cosmopolitan magazine Editor Joanna Coles. In addition to the honorees, guests greeted 18 scholarship recipients of the Rising Stars in Communications awards. www.nywici.org
