Joe's View

The smash-hit drama “A Steady Rain” closed on Broadway over the weekend after several months of SRO business, but stars Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig made more news yesterday.

The performers in the two-character police play broke the all-time Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fund-raising record (for the annual Gypsy of the Year Competition) by raising $1,549,952 in their post show pitches for the charity.

Jackman was already a beloved figure on Broadway for not missing performances, for giving a big boost to the Tony Awards telecast a few years back by agreeing to host it, and for making the effort to return to the stage twice since “X-Men” made him a major film commodity.

Yesterday, Jackman and Craig broke the record Jackman set seven years ago when he was in the musical “The Boy from Oz” and managed to add $632,998 to the charity’s coffers.

You hear some bad buzz around the New York theater community about film and TV stars who swoop in, snatch up plum stage roles, and then get out of town as quick as they can.

You won’t hear a bad word about Jackman, however, because unlike other film and TV folk he is famous for not missing shows (a financial disaster when a production is mounted based on the drawing power of a star) and he also puts himself out for theater charities way above and beyond the call of duty.

To give you an idea of the hard work Jackman and Craig put into auctioning off clothing, signed photos and other personal goodies (and services) after their performances, the next runner-up in the Gypsy of the Year fund drive was “The Phantom of the Opera” with $161,060 raised, and the top touring show fundraiser was “Rent” with $242,383.

Jackman and Craig demonstrated once again how eager theatergoers are to contribute to good causes when show people go the extra distance to encourage them.

All told the plays and musicals on and off Broadway and on tour raised $4,630,695 for BC/EFA. To do that in this economy, from people who have already spent quite a bit of money to see a show, is another tribute to the extraordinary power actors have over us.