Up until a couple days ago, I had no intention of going to the 25th annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway flea market in Shubert Alley and 44th Street. I’d never gone and had never really given it a thought before and honestly I don’t know why. Then talking about weekend plans with Steve, who suggested going to have a look, I thought, “Why not?” Then gradually my excitement for the event built and built until I was the excitable little kid on Christmas Eve. I love browsing through flea markets and second hand stores (you never know what treasures you will find) and well, it goes without saying I love Broadway. The thought of combining the two was overwhelming. Sure there were other things like fancy auctions (silent and live), celebrity signings and photo ops, but I was more interested in the things I would find and the people I would see around the market.
My day started early. In fact, I was aware how early and how long the day would be that I went to bed before midnight for the first time in seven years. (I know, right…?) I met Steve outside Junior’s a little after 10:00 and the crowd was already out in full force. Neither of us had done it before, but we were both quite excited. The first person I saw was good ol’ reliable Noah, who beelined it to the tables to get Bernadette’s concert on DVD. Noah gave me a brief orientation of the layout and warned me not to blow all my money in fell swoop. Rest assured I didn’t, but boy was I tempted.
Tables from the various shows and organizations were set up in an L-shape down 44th Street from 8th Avenue and swinging to the left into Shubert Alley. I had gone in early because I knew Steve had a matinee but I decided on the way down that I would stay for the duration: many other twitter and blog friends would be around and it seemed like a fun way of catching up with folks. While I was expecting to spend quality time with some, I didn’t realize how many I would be meeting in person for the first time.
What I loved about the entire day was that everyone was in high spirits. I was able to slip into full conversations with total strangers about shows or records or anything that happened to be going on at that moment. Vendors were cheerfully hawking their wares (My favorite was the grandmother holding the sign “Will read a Vagina Monologue for donation”). There was this feeling of good cheer all over the place, friends and strangers gathered in this collective of good will that exemplified the generosity and overall awesomeness of the Broadway community. You could browse tables for show merchandise, old and new. Playbills, programs, window cards, props, cast album LPs and CDs, sheet music, shirts, keychains, and even baked goods.
All things considered, I think I exercised great restraint in my selections. My main goal was to find a window card from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, which I knew was would be a challenge. I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t find it, but I searched high and low. I was also really amazed by my friends who were also on the look out! The first thing I bought was an old libretto of The Consul published by Schirmer’s. For $2! I later found a window card for my beloved revival of Ragtime for a mere $5. (At this point, I was seriously realizing just how much trouble I could get into).
I’d been weaving through the crowd and its an easy environment to get separated from your cohorts. One minute I was with Steve, the next I was on my own (though it turned out that Steve was being exceptionally generous elsewhere). That fluidity was indicative of the day, you sort of meandered every which way and would eventually happen upon someone. I got to have some quality conversation with Kevin David Thomas of A Little Night Music at their table (I was tempted with a sparkly Miss Saigon sweatshirt, but I passed) and he was one of the most enthusiastic about my 1600 quest. That’s where I happened upon the one and only Robbie Rozelle, who was making the rounds. With the exception of Steve, Linda Buchwald (Pataphysical Sci) and Byrne Harrison (StageBuzz), all my encounters were quite random. There were two close friends from high school and my best friend’s cousins. Small world, isn’t it? Plus I got to see Seth Christenfeld and meet David Rigano and James Sims. If I’m forgetting anyone, I do apologize.
I received a text from Follies enthusiast and friend Chris Lavin, who was browsing before heading to work on a show downtown, that he was looking for me. He approached me with this cardboard box filled with LPs which he promptly handed to me. Turns out he was at one of the tables near POTO, about to browse this particular box when the someone working the table said “$3 and whole thing is yours.” He felt he couldn’t pass up that golden opportunity. So he rifled through for what he wanted (all original cast LPs of Sondheim shows from 1970-1984) and left the rest for me. Thus began the image of me, trundling about the bazaar with the box o’ stuff. I put my Ragtime window card in there, the keychain, my playbills and the Coram Boy magnet. Trekking around with your own box brings around reactions of bemusement and curiosity (lots of people asked if I was selling).
My LP acquisitions: Side By Side By Sondheim, Carnival, The Boy Friend (film soundtrack with Twiggy), Brigadoon (with Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy & Susan Johnson), Sunday in the Park with George, Christy, Henry Sweet Henry, The Rothschilds, Sweet Charity, I Do! I Do!, Raisin, A Doll’s Life, Philemon, Paint Your Wagon and Milk and Honey (the reissue; I already have the original using the show logo).
Playbill treasures: Sugar Babies, She Loves Me (original!!), Tovarich (Vivien Leigh’s Tony winning musical star turn!), Private Lives (Tammy Grimes), 6 Rms Riv Vu, A Time for Singing, Beekman Place (Arlene Francis!), Me and My Girl (from London’s Adelphi, original cast Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson as Sally), City of Angels, Goldilocks, The Norman Conquests (OBC), The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, My Fair Lady (Rex Harrison’s 1981 revival at the Uris) and Lettice & Lovage.
Later in the day, I also had the opportunity to meet Mary Stout as she browsed through the market. Her charm is endless; we chatted for a few moments about the wonderful AMC series Remember WENN, which is where I first saw her years ago. We both agreed it was far too short-lived and deserved a DVD release. (Hey Rupert Holmes, get on that!!) Byrne took our picture, and is the only pictorial evidence of my box o’ stuff (and no, I have no idea why I didn’t put it down for the shot):
The most unexpected purchase of the day: a “Gingy” signed by Tyne Daly from the Love, Loss and What I Wore. I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but well it’s for a good cause. My buddy Jodi Schoenbrun-Carter, who works on the show as its associate general manager, was working effortless at their table to bring in the funds. It proved near impossible to maneuver with my now-iconic box o’ stuff and this large sketch. (There was one guy working the event whose path I kept crossing and each time he seemed more and more amazed that I will still standing). Byrne was kind enough to help me carry it, because there was still quite a bit of flea market time left. Eventually he was braving the crowds with it as a shield. It was quite a cumbersome load altogether that he graciously offered to store my original “Tyne” until my next NYC visit.
You’d think my day would be over once I was east of Broadway, but no. There were two folks walking immediately behind me with their wares talking about the Belasco and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and I found a moment of rare inspiration to chime in on their conversation, to talk about the “flop houses.” I think they were at first taken aback, but they saw the Ragtime poster sticking out and we sparked up a delightful conversation all the way into Grand Central. Ashley and Robbie are avid Broadwayites; the talk ran the gamut from Gypsy with Bernadette and Patti to the [tos] crew to our final shout-out to Madeline Kahn as we parted ways. That geniality is indicative of the flea market experience. I doubt I could have asked for a better day, with its mix of friends old and new. And it was all for a good cause.
BC/EFA is reporting today that the flea market made a total of $476,917! Not bad, friends, not bad. I look forward to next year to see if we can best that tally (and the continuation of my 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue quest). If you were unable to attend this year, you can still make a donation via their website.
Kevin, Happy to have spent a nice slice of the day with you, even if we kept losing each other. After this year, I don’t think I could even think of missing the Broadway Flea Market next year.
Great meeting you too!
And I will continue the hunt for 1600 PA AVE……
Agreed. I never want to miss one of these ever again!!
A friend of a friend was super excited to find a Playbill of “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” – what’s the story with that show?
I sold you “The Consul” – I had no idea what to charge – was $2 a bargain?? You seemed quite happy!
Jan, It was most certainly was!! And I most certainly was! Thank you!!