Broadway Stars Get The Chills With Ice Bucket Challenge
The ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ is the happening news on social media worldwide. It has gone viral. The good thing is that it is helping a worthy cause and is fun as well! Videos of celebrities are flooding sites as they continue to take up this challenge. It is getting more money and more smiles!
Ice Bucket Challenge (IBC) began to spread like wild fire when former Boston College baseball captain, Pete Frates’ family gave the challenge to Boston area athletes and then the craze of ice challenge caught on.
The Ice Bucket Challenge is simple. Either have the bucket full of icy chilled water poured over your head or pay a hundred dollars in charity to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) association. Those who take part nominate others for the challenge.
Apart from the fun angle, it has raised some serious money! The IBC hype has helped raise more than fifty three million dollars in donation for ALS association since July 29 this year. Last year, the donations collected during the same time were a little more than two million. This difference is noteworthy and thus takes precedence over the criticism that some have targeted it with.
IBC has literally soaked people from all walks of life and Broadway stars are no exception. Les Misérables stud Ramin Karimloo also took up the Ice Bucket Challenge, so did Idina Menzel and Neil Patrick Harris and more of your favorite artists. TV, film and theater celebrities are doing their part in spreading the awareness in a positive manner.
The celebrity couple Will Swenson and Audra McDonald recently joined the list of Broadway stars taking on the IBC. Tony Award nominee, Will Swenson’s recent work in the 2104 Broadway revival of ‘Les Misérables’, as Inspector Javert earned him critical acclaim and appreciation. Audra McDonald, his wife is an equally popular singer and actress. Winner of six Tony Awards, Audra is currently performing in the Broadway production, ‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill’.
The couple took the challenge at the Zoo Atlanta where they decided to complete the challenge in a unique way by taking the help from an elephant, named Kelly. Completing the challenge, the couple in turn nominated another fellow Broadway star and multi-award winning artist, Patti LuPone.
Patti has been a Broadway star for more than thirty years now. From her Tony Award winning ‘Evita’ to the more recent ‘The Anarchist’, Patti has dominated it all. Accepting the challenge, the Tony Award winning actress expressed her relief over the rising awareness of ALS through this IBC and also urged her fans to contribute towards the cause.
Swiftly taking the plunge and completing the IBC, Patti moved on to nominate three more of her co-stars including the Broadway star Alec Baldwin. Now all eyes are on him to get all wet and do his part.
Alec made his Broadway debut in 1986 in Joe Orton’s “Loot”. His appearance in Lyle Kessler’s Broadway production, ‘Orphans’, last year showcases his timeless acting talent. The Tony Award and Academy Award nominated star is the center of attention for this ongoing wave of IBC. Let’s wait and watch how he takes on the challenge and who he nominates to carry on the message of charity and ALS awareness.