Tony Award Up for Grabs on eBay

For those of you who have long dreamed of adding a coveted Tony Award to your mantle, here’s your big chance: one of costume designer Florence Klotz’s many statues is up for auction on eBay. The Tony, which Klotz won in 1985 for costumes she designed for the short-lived musical Grind, is currently listed with a starting bid of $10,000. Theater fans with bigger bankrolls can also guarantee grabbing the award by buying it outright for $20,000.

In addition to the trophy, the winning bidder will also receive original design sketches of the costumes Klotz created for cast members Ben Vereen and Stubby Kaye.

Set in a Burlesque Theatre in 1930s Chicago, Grind opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on April 16, 1985. The show, featuring a book by Fay Kanin, music by Larry Grossman and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh, starred Vereen and Stubby Kaye, with the legendary Harold Prince at the helm and Paul Gemignani acting as musical director. Though the show closed after just 71 performances, it was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score; besides Klotz, actress Leilani Jones also scored a win for Best Featured Actress.

Klotz, who designed costumes for shows including the 1957 revival of Carousel, The Owl and the Pussycat, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Harold and Maude, A Doll’s Life, City of Angels, Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Showboat, won a total of six Tony Awards for her creations over the course of an almost fifty year career on Broadway. Klotz also worked in film, nabbing a 1978 Academy Award nomination for the big screen’s A Little Night Music costume design.

The designer passed away November 1, 2006, at age 86.