BCEFA FLEA 2019 COLLECTORS UNITE — Page 5

Certainly agree with everyone commenting on the pricing. I normally go in the morning and then go back around 4:30-5 for the sales, and this year they seemed to be doing far less of that. Stuff seemed priced higher from last year, which was disappointing. I wish that the curtain call table had been given more space, since it was always mobbed. Despite that, I still had a good year and got some exciting finds!

My haul:

• Angels In America opening night bag
• Fun Home pride shirt and Airplane sketch
• Hercules bracelet, fun home and fortress of solitude pins from the public
• Bernadette Peters Hello Dolly poster
• Original Carousel production poster (for a friend)
• Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street poster
• Next to Normal OBC playbill, Little Shop OBC playbill, Indecent opening night playbill, Sunday In The Park OBC playbill

SandyDee said: "This was my first BCEFA Flea, and it was exactly what I was expecting. I got there at noon, so I didn't expect much in terms of like...holy grail items.Honestly the Mean Girls and Hadestown tables were the best to walk by. When I got there Hadestown was pimping a photo holding their Tony for $20, which is definitely a decent donation idea. I just wish that they'd just...I dunno moved the tables a bit farther apart for slightly more wiggle room? Admittedly I didn't go early so the side of the crowd was expected, I just didn't really consider how many people would just plant where they stood on the sidewalk.

I walked away with a signed window card for The Crucible (which was literally being discounted from $75to $50 as I was deciding) and a ribbon pin ($1)."

Thing is, the tables WERE more spread out and were moved closer together. No idea why.

I went ridiculously early to wait at Hadestown, anticipating a repeat of Great Comet two years ago. As a newcomer I was very happy with my finds. Lots of collector items I would not be able to get anywhere else. A wine glass from Hamilton (from Satisfied), fan, candle, and opening night gift from hadestown, a bunch of little things that I would like to have but can't afford to buy on ebay and ship... Stuff wise I was happy. Prices seemed very hit and miss, I found Hadestown prices a downright steal (don't know if they went up later in the day I was one of the first), Hamilton to have some decent deals on some items, where some tables seemed overpriced and I could get it elsewhere cheaper.



The only thing I wanted and couldn't find was some great comet playbills.



Organization wise it seemed a bit of a mess, especially tables with boxes of playbills to root through. Just too many people for that. I had been considering autographs but was very happy to decide I didn't want it that bad and not deal with the madhouse.



The tony award thing is great. I'd totally pay $20 to hold a tony award, just for the novelty.



Overall it was a much more exhausting experience than I was expecting but I was really pleased with what I got.

I found the Hadestown table to be super disappointing. I’m a huge fan of Amber but those candles were creepy looking. They looked like they were going to be used to summon her in a ritual that requires a blood sacrifice.

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Jordan - I had a similar conversation with the man at the Dancers Over 40 table who swore a squiggly line was Stephanie’s signature and I was like - no, sir - it’s not. I had gone fairly early in the morning and was about to buy one of the posters (they had two designs - the Marquee logo and the trio of Chers) when myself and these two girls discovered Stephanie hadn’t signed them and it was very disappointing. One of the girls and I met up again at the table later on and that’s when the man at the table told us about the squiggly line being her signature and both of us told him it wasn’t possible. Toward the end of the day, they were selling School of Rock posters they “believed” were signed by Alex Brightman but from the look of the signature it was not him.

Overall, I think spent the least I’ve ever spent in total (I brought $90 but only spent $28 ) and I’m pretty happy with my findings. I have gotten more into the habit of only buying things I will use or really really want over the years and it’s done me well. As many mentioned, you couldn’t get anywhere near the Curtain Call table and I did try many times, but simply couldn’t deal with the chaos.

As others noted, a lot of stiff prices and people not willing to haggle or lower the price by day’s end. I had been circling a few items at the Dear Evan Hansen table and nothing seemed to be dropping too much.

I always enjoy Flea Market because it’s such a fun day to see friends and performers alike and share in a big day for the Broadway community but it’s definitely messy.

• Dear Evan Hansen unsigned Arena Stage poster ($5)
• Dear Evan Hansen tour poster ($1)
• Dear Evan Hansen Broadway (Taylor Trensch cast) ($1)
• Legally Blonde West End tote bag with “Harvard Law? What? Like it’s hard” on the back ($2)
• Hamilton tour DC tote bag that says Tomorrow there will be more of us ($10)
• I Belong at The Prom button ($2)
• Charlie Brown Christmas mug (a gift for my aunt -$1)
• An Act Of God mug (another gift for my aunt - $1)
• A pad of At This Performance slips that say the role of Solider/Alex in Sunday in the Park with George will be played by Andrew Kober ($5)

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Updated On: 9/23/19 at 01:08 AM

June - If it’s the poster from the Dancers Over 40 table, the signature on the upper left corner is Justin Colette (closing Dewey on Broadway) and the other signature they claimed to be Alex Brightman but wasn’t I’m not sure who it was.

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Thanks for explaining The Cher Show posters. Glad I was not interested in them at all then. At least I could tell that Kristin Chenoweth did sign my On the 20th Century playbill.

I have to say, I did get a lot of stuff I liked, but it definitely wasn't the best flea market in the 10 years I've been going. Prices were insane at some tables for essentially lackluster items. The creative selling from the past isn't there anymore either. It also is annoying how they advertise this running from 10-7, but it seems like people start packing up between 4 and 6 now. Or is the 7pm end time always been more for the auction part? I've never stayed to watch.

My haul included:
Shuffle Along opening night gift
On the 20th Century signed playbill
Lots of cups
La Cage Aux Folles magnet
Bye Bye Birdie tee
In the Heights Chasing the Dream special from PBS
Frozen from Denver tee
Older Broadway cares tee with show logos on it
Moulin Rouge pride Playbill
Hello Dolly Water bottle

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ClumsyDude15 said: "I have gotten more into the habit of only buying things I will use or really really want over the years and it’s done me well.As many mentioned, you couldn’t get anywhere near the Curtain Call table and I did try many times, but simply couldn’t deal with the chaos."

I agree with you. This is my 5th time going to flea and I used to buy so many small things from various tables but this time around just bought a few items. Yes that curtain call table was chaotic and I only spent 2 mins there before moving on. I did appreciate the people manning the table raising some items above their heads to advertise to everyone all the Be More chill/Prom merch they had.

My budget was $100 and bought the following:

Dear Evan Hansen teddy bear (Bloomingdale's 2016 edition) - $50

Beetlejuice bowtie (handmade by wardrobe team member Steph Cathro) - $25

Once on this Island sippy cups - 11 for $10.

I thought about waiting until later in the day to haggle for the items above but I figure it's for charity and I pay roughly $35-$50 for rush tickets so to me it's fine. I remember that teddy bear back in holiday season 2016 but opted not to get any since I didn't have much disposable income at the time. I wear cute bowties throughout the year so I thought it was innovative for Beetlejuice wardrobe to make a few for BCEFA. Lastly, I loved the look of the orange juice in the Once on this Island sippy cup I had this morning! lmao. Overall am happy with my finds and BCEFA flea experience this year!

JuneJune said: "Was anyone at that table that decided to go "$1 for everything you can hold" at around 4:00? Geez, that was crazy. A lot of pushing towards the front and no one letting anyone leave. I'm guessing this is what Curtain Call looked like before 10:00?


Ugh, yes there were some terribly rude people at that table. Saw one older guy pushing a cart grab a whole armful of random posters off the table, which included about 15 Network posters and all the posters for another show I forget right now. A young girl was so upset he grabbed literally every poster from some show she was looking for. WTF do you need 10 copies of the same poster for?

And at the Curtain Call table, there were these people who just planted themselves at the front of the table and would not let anyone even get next to them to see what was there. It was obvious they weren't even buying stuff for themselves. (A very large man barking "Give me that!!" to every Small t-shirt being held up?)

Overall I thought the crowds were more manageable than in previous years, but that table was a nightmare. The poor sellers kept having to yell at people trying to get behind the table to stay back.

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Maybe I'll go early next year for the Curtain Call table if the selection is going to be so dismal elsewhere. I don't mind getting into it. I just want to haul some shirts and closed show merch. I feel like I mostly bought stuff this year because it was priced well and not because I really wanted it.

I really wish they would put all the tables with Playbills together. I feel like I wasted a lot of time figuring out which tables just had Playbills only to then have to get back through the crowd to move on.

My haul--

• Canvas To Kill a Mockingbird tote ($5). I think this was originally distributed for an event at Sardi's, per an ebay listing.
• The Prom Tony voter book/brochure ($3). This includes a signed "We Look to You" sheet music.
• The Prom coasters ($5)
• The Ferryman Tony voter book ($3)
• The Ferryman T-shirt ($5)
• Angels in America USB audiobook ($25). This was an advanced copy of the audiobook from the publisher. Saw it for much cheaper at another table but I'm super happy with this purchase.
• Unsigned Oklahoma window card ($5)
• Les Mis standing poster thing from the Phantom table ($1). Honestly not even sure what it is.
• Network/UBS crew hat ($25) for my friend!
• Grab bag of random stuff from Curtain Call table ($5)
• 2 TDF pick-a-tic wins for an Monday Night Magic and Bacchae at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (spent $40)
• Broadway Green Alliance notepad made from Playbill understudy inserts ($5)

Updated On: 9/23/19 at 10:56 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "Those Alliance notepads were $5 as they were packing up. Every year I stock up on those at the end of the day and get like 3 for $1. That was some bullshirt this year. "

Jordan I tried for Ritz notepads. Same deal. They wanted $5 no budging. Guess they like carrying them back.

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Jordan Catalano said: "It seems every table this year really enjoys lugging things back.

Of all the stuff I managed to get yesterday though, the weirdest most random find was a big pair of sunglasses signed by Elaine Stritch for $2. How could I pass that up? "

I mean that’s amazing!!! How is something signed by Stritch $2 and a damn pad is five. They have no idea what they’re doing.

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There were several very high priced items sold at the Grand Auction (Phantom's walk-on went for $13,000 and was doubled, a musical note from Dear Evan Hansen was $11,000, I think something else was also around $10,000) so whatever if anything they may have lost at the tables was more than made up for in the auctions. I'm not sure if there'll be any notable difference in the grand total this year. (The previous two years' totals had a huge increase from past years, not sure why, so even if this year is less than 2018 I don't know if that could be blamed on high prices alone.)

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