Broadway Flea Market

The annual Broadway Flea Market took place yesterday at the Shubert Alley and along West 44th Street. Theater fans converged at the venue searching for one-of-a-kind theatre memorabilia, lost cast recordings, signed show posters, Playbills, and rare costume sketches. Some of the items auctioned off included shirts worn by Hugh Jackman and Ricky Martin.

Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction 2010

BC/EFA auctioneer Lorna Kelly and actor Bryan Batt (TV’s “Mad Men”) at the Grand Auction in Shubert Alley

Broadway memorabilia flea market at West 44th Street

The 24th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction took place last Sunday, Sept. 26 in Shubert Alley in Manhattan’s theater district. Playbill.com reported that the event raised a total of $476,917 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since its debut in 1987, the 24 editions of The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction have raised a grand total of $8,638,669 for BC/EFA. A total of $239,342 was raised by 72 tables: Highest earners were the booths hosted by the Broadway show Wicked ($19,834) and ”Broadway Beat” ($12,171).

This year's Silent Auction included 114 items and raised $55,925. The top item sold was an A Little Night Music “Soon” musical phrase, handwritten and signed by Stephen Sondheim that went for $3,500.

This year’s grand auction, with BC/EFA auctioneer Lorna Kelly and actor Bryan Batt (TV’s “Mad Men”), featured 44 “lots,” which raised $126,650. The top-selling item was a walk-on role in the Broadway show Wicked that sold for $16,500.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised over $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.