Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction Raises More Than $500,000

The 20th Annual Flea Market & Grand Auction held on September 24 raised a grand total of $505,832 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS BC/EFA. Since its debut in 1987, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction has raised $6,551,418.

The Flea Market and Grand Auction is an annual outdoor fair in which Broadway, off-Broadway and other members of the theatrical community donate and sell their wares to benefit BC/EFA. The event also included the Celebrity Table, where celebrities gathered throughout the day to sign autographs and pose for photos in exchange for donations. The climax of the day was the Grand Auction, in which unique items were auctioned off live.

Some 56 tables stretched across Shubert Alley and West 44th Street. Raising the most money this year: the booth hosted by the United Scenic Artists, offering original drawings of costumes and other design elements, which raised $24,311. The show booth that raised the most money was The Phantom of the Opera with $13,230.

Highlights from this year's 72-piece silent auction included the original stage door from the Nederlander Theatre signed by the original cast of Rent, which sold for $2,300, and a backstage celebrity autograph book donated by the company of Avenue Q, which sold for $1,300.

This year's grand auction included the original Avenue Q Trekkie Monster puppet created by Rick Lyon, along with a special puppet lesson, which sold for $10,500. A pair of orchestra seats to the opening night celebration and party of Les Miserables on November 9 went for $9,500 and walk-on roles in the hit Broadway musicals Jersey Boys and Rent went for $8,500 each.