Carols for a Cure

During the recent Broadway strike, the AIDS fundraising charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS lost an estimated $40,000 a day without its holiday fund appeal, which usually happens during shows' curtain calls. That makes the group's annual holiday CD, ``Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure 9'' (Rock-It Science), all the more vital.Companies from nearly all the Broadway musicals contribute songs for what amounts to a wonderfully entertaining, occasionally inspired two-disc collection.The best of the bunch is the cast of Spring Awakening singing a stunning ``What Child Is This?'' And the cast of Mamma Mia! harmonizes beautifully through ``My Gift.''For comedy, there's the cast members of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (most of whom starred in the San Francisco production) singing an original variation on of ``'Twas the Night Before Christmas.''You can find the CD at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Web site here, where there are many other fine shopping opportunities, all of which help the group catch up to its fundraising goals.Here are some suggestions:The annual Broadway Bares calendar. The 2008 edition is ``Myth Behavior." $20The annual Broadway Cares T-shirt featuring logos of 24 musicals on Broadway in 2007. $20.