Billy Hipkins
I'm just sayin'. . .
For the BENEFIT of
Miss JENNIE GOURLAY
Miss JENNIE GOURLAY
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Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is an organization near and dear to my heart. For decades now they have been lending support not only to members of the New York theatre community, but also to countless other individuals and support groups, anywhere, anytime there is a need. Learn more about them here:
Among their many annual events is the Easter Bonnet Competition! My very favorite day of the year! Here’s more on that:
https://broadwaycares.org/category/post-event/easter-bonnet-competition/
Over the years I have written many skits, song parodies, and epics (and even won several awards for them) and to date I’ve built 15 Easter Bonnets (2 of them winning the coveted ‘Best Bonnet Design’ Award) for this annual love fest. In 2018 I was honored to write, direct, and build the bonnet for the show’s big Opening Number, a dream collaboration with choreographer James Kinney. We decided it was time to tell the Broadway kids today how this all started and why we’re still doing this event 32 years later. Take a look:
I built the Bonnet for my ‘Escape to Margaritaville’ family:
Here’s the National Tours number I did the lyric and bonnet for (another collaboration with James Kinney):
This one I’m real proud of. While at ‘Beauty and the Beast’ I came up with ‘Hey Big Blender’ to spoof the revival of ‘Sweet Charity’. I put Mickey in a blender. Disney was less than thrilled…
Well, that wasn’t far enough for me so the next year I proofed Disney’s take over of Times Square and the world. To my knowledge, no Disney show has been allowed to stage their own skit idea without corporate approval since. I’m mighty proud of that fact too:
My ‘Fiddler’ spoof, also for ‘Beauty and the Beast’. I put myself front and center on this one, sure, why not?