The First Ladies of Broadway gathered for the 9th annual “Nothing Like a Dame” revue at the St. James Theatre, presented by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) to benefit The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative of the Actors’ Fund of America. The Initiative is the brainchild of breast-cancer survivor/Fund trustee, actor, and director Phyllis Newman. BC/EFA is a 16-year-old nonprofit organization committed to fund-raising and grant-making for AIDS-related causes nationwide.

Those joining talents onstage included: Phyllis Newman, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, Tovah Feldshuh, Sutton Foster, Julie Halston, Heather Headley, Christine Ebersole, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Zoe Caldwell, Kate Burton, Kate Clinton, Cynthia Nixon, and Karen Ziemba. Special guests included Joan Hamburg and Liz Smith, as well as three of Broadway’s super trios: the peppy “Radio” girls from Tony Kushner’s musical verse play Caroline, or Change; The Dynamites of Hairspray, and The Street Urchins of Little Shop of Horrors, along with The Ladies of Movin’ Out.

At the revue’s conclusion, Nathan Lane and Zoe Caldwell presented a $250,000 check to Actors’ Fund Executive Director Joe Benincasa, Phyllis Newman, and General Manager Maria Di Dia. There is truly nothing like the dames, and the magnetic force of their combined talents!