By Brenna Corporal
It’s that time of year again! Time for the BC/EFA BROADWAY FLEA MARKET!!!!! THE (in my opinion) BEST BROADWAY FAN EVENT OF THE YEAR! If you can only get to one Broadway fan event all year, try your best to get to this year’s Broadway Flea Market on Sunday, September 21, 2014 in Shubert Alley at 10AM. Why is Broadway having a flea market, you may ask? To raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, the Broadway community’s outstanding charity that benefits people living with Aids and other diseases, as well as victims of poverty. (If you can’t get to the Flea Market, I highly encourage you to donate anyway if you can- it is a GREAT cause.) The Broadway Flea Market was started in 1986 as a way to benefit BC/EFA. It has now grown into an annual event, drawing thousands of Broadway fans.
What can you find at the Broadway Flea Market? EVERYTHING. From Playbills dating back to the mid 1900′s, to actual props from Broadway shows, to tee shirts and posters, and even Broadway stars! There’s an Autograph Table and Photo Booth. (Last year, I was THISCLOSE to meeting Jeremy Jordan at the Photo Booth, but the line was cut off right before i was up. Fingers crossed for this year!)
There are live auctions and silent auctions going on all day with fabulous items to be bought- tickets to Broadway shows, signed memorabilia, and even walk on roles in some Broadway shows! But one of the best parts of the day is being able to meet and interact with so many Broadway fans just like yourself- you find someone who freaks out over the prop from Newsies or the poster of Gypsy just like you did and you realize that there are so many theatre fans out there that you automatically feel connected to.
As I mentioned, the Flea Market was created to benefit BC/EFA. Last year, the Flea Market raised an incredible $631,222, all for charity. I was there, and I bought a BC/EFA tee shirt, a pack of Newsies trading cards, an actual newspaper used in Newsies, and a signed prop from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella- an invitation to the banquet! Everywhere you turned, you saw someone you recognized- I saw Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, Zachary Levi, Stark Sands, Annaleigh Ashford, Rachel Bay Jones, Matthew J. Thomas, Greg Hildreth, Paul Wontorek, and basically the entire male ensemble of Newsies! And perhaps my favorite moment- my mother bumped into Billy Porter (!!!) and he looked down at her and said, “Well hello!!!” How cool is that?! You can’t find it anywhere else but the Broadway Flea Market.
To watch a video of highlights from last year, click here. You’ll see just how much fun this event is. I hope you can make it this year! I know I’ll be there!
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