Top Hats and Tail

Featuring some of theaters biggest stars clad in little more than a strategically draped necktie or a frothy squiggle of Reddi-wip, Broadway Bares: Backstage Pass (Universe, $55) is a campy celebration of the Great White Ways saucier side. The book chronicles the rise of the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS foundations burlesque fund-raiser and offers studio stills, salacious performance shots, and year-by-year behind-the-scenes glimpses of what it takes to mount the bawdy annual event, which has run for 18 years. Proceeds benefit BC/EFA, providing one more reason to pick up a copy for your coffee table -- or your bedroom. See more of Backstage Pass at Popnography. Send a letter to the editor about this article.