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Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ #RedBuckets will return to theaters on Friday, March 13, 2026, held by dedicated cast members and volunteers at Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring productions across the country. With the launch of Broadway Cares’ annual Spring Fundraising Competition, artists and audiences once again join forces to turn curtain calls into moments of generosity and impact.
Through Sunday, April 26, 2026, every donation dropped into a Red Bucket helps provide essential support for people facing illness, hunger and financial hardship. Just $10 in a bucket covers the cost of an HIV test at a health clinic, and a $100 donation for a signed poster or Playbill provides two weeks of nutritious meals for families in need this spring and beyond.
Broadway shows scheduled to begin their appeals this weekend are The Book of Mormon, Buena Vista Social Club, Chess, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Just in Time, The Lion King, Maybe Happy Ending, Oh, Mary!, The Outsidersand Ragtime, as well as Off-Broadway’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Little Shop of Horrors and The Play That Goes Wrong. Starting next week are & Juliet, Aladdin, Death Becomes Her, Every Brilliant Thing, Hadestown, Hamilton, MJ, Operation Mincemeat, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) and Wicked, and Off-Broadway’s Heathers.
Additionally, the national tours of & Juliet, Beauty and the Beast, Hamilton – Angelica tour, Hell’s Kitchen, MJ, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Notebook, The Outsiders, The Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot, Suffs, Wicked – Munchkinland tour and The Wiz are launching into spring fundraising over the next week.
More shows participating will be announced during the six-week fundraising campaign. The shows’ fundraising schedules are subject to change.
In exchange for a donation, audiences at many shows can receive autographed posters, unique memorabilia and one-of-a-kind experiences. Last fall, 55 Broadway, Off-Broadway and national tours raised a record-shattering $7.3 million during the Red Bucket Follies fundraising competition.
Donations raised through the in-theater fundraising will be put to work immediately, providing vital support for people across the entertainment industry and beyond. Gifts dropped into Red Buckets help Broadway Cares remain the single largest supporter of the safety net of programs at the Entertainment Community Fund, which serves everyone in entertainment and the performing arts. Through Broadway Cares’ National Grants Program, donations also support more than 450 organizations nationwide, providing nutritious meals, health care and hope for those in need. In times of crisis, audiences’ generosity makes it possible for Broadway Cares to award one-time humanitarian grants delivering emergency aid across the U.S. and around the world.
“At a moment when so many people are searching for connection and care, the theater community continues to show up for one another and millions more across the country,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Danny Whitman said. “When Red Buckets appear in the hands of theater artists and volunteers, generosity becomes action, ensuring our most vulnerable receive lifesaving meals, medication, health care and hope.”
In 2025, Broadway Cares’ annual grantmaking hit a record $18.3 million, including $8.4 million to the Entertainment Community Fund and $9.5 million through the National Grants Program.
