Broadway Flea Market Raises Money for Broadway Cares, Red Cross, Twin Towers Fund Sept. 30 | Playbill

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News Broadway Flea Market Raises Money for Broadway Cares, Red Cross, Twin Towers Fund Sept. 30 Broadway's normal fall cleaning at the 15th Annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction will be filled with even more meaning in 2001. The event, which raises money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, changed its date from Sept. 23 to the 30th and will donate a portion of the proceeds from the combination garage sale and bidding war to the Twin Towers Fund, which benefits the families of firefighters, police officers and civillians lost in the World Trade Center tragedy, as well as to the American Red Cross.

Broadway's normal fall cleaning at the 15th Annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction will be filled with even more meaning in 2001. The event, which raises money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, changed its date from Sept. 23 to the 30th and will donate a portion of the proceeds from the combination garage sale and bidding war to the Twin Towers Fund, which benefits the families of firefighters, police officers and civillians lost in the World Trade Center tragedy, as well as to the American Red Cross.

The Flea Market will be held 10 AM to 7 PM in Shubert Alley. The Grand Auction, which features TV and theatre walk-ons (including Rent and The Producers), as well as valuable autographed photographs, posters, playbills and costumes, will be held at 4:30 PM (on-line bidding through BC/EFA is possible at their website). Other popular fundraisers include the Celebrity Table, where Broadway and daytime stars gather to meet and pose with the public, and the silent auction.

001's celebrity table will feature The Producers' Brad Oscar, Roger Bart and Gary Beach, The Full Monty's Patrick Wilson, Andre De Shields, Romain Fruge, Emily Skinner and Jason Danieley, Dylan Baker, Beauty and the Beast's Bryan Batt and Steve Blanchard, Alice Ripley, Dance of Death's Ian McKellan and Helen Mirren, Stones in His Pockets' Sean Campion and Conleth Hill, Jim Dale, Burke Moses, Randy Graff, Cherry Jones, Dana Ivey, Polly Bergen, Keir Dullea, Joel Grey, Celeste Holm, Lucie Arnaz and original Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford.

In 2000, the Broadway Flea Market raised $574,000 for BC/EFA. For more information on the flea market including a list of online auction items, visit http://www.bcefa.org.

* Eye-balling 2000's Broadway Flea Market Sept. 24, things seemed a bit...smaller. What can one expect from a full fall season that has only one show (The Best Man) currently on the boards with a slew (at least eight) expected in the next few weeks?

Still, the lack of productions and their subsequent booths didn't hamper the raising of a half million grand total - $574,000 - for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. That's up $23,000 from 1999's $551,000.

Broadway fans could, as always, pick through tables full of items, from cast members garage sale-esque knick-knacks to baked goods to old playbills, magazines, books and scripts. But the truely creative shows offer many different one-of-a-kind pieces, unique to the Flea Market.

Shoppers could take home:

A David Letterman cue card—$5
One of Dave's famous pie charts—$10
A framed La Cage Aux Folles window card—$20
A 24601 Les Millenium t-shirt—$20
Take Your Picture as a Music Man Band Member—$2
A Bring 'Em Bach Alive poster, signed by Jekyll & Hyde's Sebastian Bach— $35
Broadway Bares Wrapping Paper—$5
Kiss of the Spider Woman Sweatshirt—$10
"Don Juan Triumphant" score carried in Phantom of the Opera—$2
The Price signed by Arthur Miller—$20
2000 Tony Awards Poster—$1
Hot Honey Ham Sandwich from Chicago—$4
Rosie O'Donnell Umbrella—$15
Dirty Blonde Mascara or Eye Liner—$.50
"Before The Captains of Industry Became Computer Geeks" Ragtime Promotional Poster—$20
Take Your Picture as Boyd Gaines or the "Girl in the Yellow Dress" in the Contact Poster—$5
Two Raffle Tickets for Michael Crawford Baskets Including Autographed photos, CDs, Teddy Bears and Videos—$5
Cats Costume—$100

Besides the popular booths were the regular attractions - the celebrity table, the silent auction and the Grand Auction.

Among the celebrity table signers were Aida's Adam Pascal and Sherie Rene Scott, Contact's Boyd Gaines, Music Man's Rebecca Luker, Paul Benedict and Ruth Williamson, Kiss Me, Kate's Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Ron Holgate and Stanley Wayne Mathis, Saturday Night Fever's Paige Price and Orfeh and The Dinner Party's Henry Winkler.

This year's silent and grand auctions featured another round of goodies for theatre lovers, from rare autographs and items to personalized music written by Ragtime's Stephen Flaherty. The usual walk-ons abounded with Rent, Saturday Night Fever, Jekyll & Hyde and a chance at the conductor's chair with Music Man, as well as VIP tours and guest spots on TV's "Sex and the City," "The West Wing," "Providence," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Also available were signed photos of Angela Lansbury, Heather Headley, Carol Burnett, Douglas Sills, Dame Edna or Dame Judi Dench, Paige Price's solid gold Saturday Night Fever medallion (the musical's opening night gift to the principals), a one-of-a-kind Phantom of the Opera basket, a "Does Anyone Still Wear a Hat?" hat autographed by Stephen Sondheim, costumes worn by The Real Thing's Tony Award-winning stars Jennifer Ehle and Stephen Dillane, six rejected show card designs for Side Show, Faith Prince's Little Shop of Horrors cast jacket, a Chita Rivera Anything Goes package, chances to attend the opening night parties of The Full Monty, The Rocky Horror Show, Jane Eyre and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, plus a unique Follies package that includes attendance at the first day of rehearsal, an orchestra rehearsal, a tech rehearsal, tickets to the invited dress and to the opening night performance with the party to follow.

The top fund-raiser of these items was the Miss Saigon walk-on, which netted $21,000 - the musical will close Dec. 31, 2000. Also big money-makers were tickets to Barbara Streisand's farewell performances at Madison Square Garden ($17,000 per pair) and the chance to conduct The Music Man orchestra ($5,250).

Also present at the Flea Market were Classial Action, classical music's AIDS fund-raising organization, and Dancers Responding to AIDS. Patrons could also take a spin for prizes on the Wheel of Divas with female impersonator versions of Cher, Carol Channing and others.

The 1999 flea market ran from 10AM until 7PM on 44th Street and in Shubert Alley. For more information on the Flea Market and other BC/EFA events, please visit their website at www.bcefa.org or call (212) 840-0770.

— By Christine Ehren

 
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