Have you ever wanted to own a signed Dear Evan Hansen arm cast? Or maybe a tube of Moulin Rouge confetti? Even a square foot of the 2017 Tony Awards’ red carpet? The Broadway Flea Market is heaven for theater goers and avid collectors of the miscellaneous.
The annual event occurs every September, running from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., and includes a midday live auction for the greater and more unexpected show items, like Daniel Radcliffe’s signed sneakers from his time in Merrily We Roll Along, with a winning bid of $11,000. The event runs along West 44th and 45th streets, in front of many of the Broadway theaters, with tables on tables of current shows, past shows, and Broadway related organizations and companies. Along with merchandise, there is also an opportunity to buy tickets for meet and greets and photo ops with some of your favorite Broadway stars, this year featuring Jordan Fisher, Maia Reficco, and Andrew Barth Feldman.
The best reason to check out the Broadway Flea Market is because each year, it’s produced and organized by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Tony-winning nonprofit. The money raised from the merchandise sales goes towards medical research, medications, counseling, and housing for people across the U.S. living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses. Over the past 38 years this event has been taking place, it has raised over $20.2 million, according to a press release from Broadway Cares.
As a forever Broadway lover myself, I have been visiting the Flea Market each year for a while now, saving up cash and creating a map throughout the theater district so I can find the best merchandise from my favorite shows. Also, as an avid trinket collector, the Broadway Flea is a dangerous spending zone for me. I have purchased items including the Dear Evan Hansen arm cast I mentioned earlier, a current Orpheus-signed Hadestown poster, and a Mike Faist trading card. The Flea Market occurred this past Sunday, Sept. 22, and brought out a very large crowd because of the current popular shows. The Outsiders, The Notebook, Moulin Rouge, Hamilton, Back to the Future, and Wicked were some of the shows with their own tables this year, as well as outside organizations like The Metropolitan Opera and Broadway Makers Alliance.
If you have the chance to visit the Broadway Flea Market one year, or every year, mark your calendar when the date is announced and start planning for your favorite shows to visit, items to buy or bid on, and actors to meet! This event is a great opportunity to be where other theater lovers are and to donate money toward Broadway’s leading nonprofit, Broadway Cares, to help raise funds for people living with HIV/AIDS.