BCEFA FLEA 2019 COLLECTORS UNITE — Page 6

Cape Twirl of Doom said: "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.)"

I recall watching the grand auction live two years ago and 3-4 people were competitively bidding on the Springsteen opening night tickets + party passes. I forget the winning bid but it was definitely over $10k. As always for any high bids, they offered the 2nd highest bidder and maybe even the 3rd bidder a set of opening night tickets at over $10k. Of course at that moment they all said yes... so that was an easy $30k haul by BCEFA just from one auction item.

Updated On: 9/23/19 at 12:25 PM

Still recovering from yesterday‘s flea market extravaganza. I have been to many flea markets over the past few years and if you play your cards right you can really score some extremely collectible items at amazing prices. The only unfortunate part where that some tables were extremely crowded and the weather was quite hot that day as well.
Every year there is usually one item that I am on a mission to find and this year it was the Hadestown opening night coin that allowed you into the party after the premiere. On first glance none of the tables including Hadestown had this item. An adjacent table selling rarities from many shows then started putting some of these coins on their table. Two young girls had grabbed them before I even had a chance to pick one up.One of them was so nice she gave me two of the four she had picked up. My holy Grail for the day!!
Going back to the table 2 hours later I noticed one more just been put out and with lightning speed grabbed that one as well and half the price I paid earlier in the day!
Below is a list of other collectibles I was lucky enough to find
Moulin Rouge table - this was a peculiar table that did not have very much stock yet one or two pieces that looked highly desirable. I have no information if they were opening night gifts so if anyone has any information with the show I would appreciate some comments..
Moulin Rouge pride T-shirt 40 bucks not sure if still available
Opening night gift from Danny Burstein to the cast I presume The label reads “happy f&cking opening from Danny “( Beautiful candle in a glass jar ) Hysterical!! 5 bucks!
Danny...if you’re reading this please tell me if it’s authentic ..Lol!
Tall Beer glass with a photo of the cast and a beautiful cellophane wrapping with ribbon on top. I grabbed it and only realized once I got home that there was a battery attached to it and the inside lights up red. 5 bucks!
Deck of moulin Rouge playing cards with a color photo of the cast on each card and a beautiful plastic holder. Five bucks!. Not sure if this an opening night gift?
Two 50 franc bills signed by Karen Aaron and Danny. Quite beautiful and will look great in a frame. They were asking 50 bucks and let it go for 40 since I buy two of them! Perfect for framing!
Very disappointed they had no moulin Rouge signed play bills or window cards as I was interested in getting one of each. They even had it on their price list so it’s a mystery as to what happened there? Any comments from those on the inside?
Their more pricey items such as an autographed bloody handkerchief signed by Karen Olivo was listed at $500.Crazy!
Hadestown Signed sheet music from Annais Mitchell for the song way down Hadestown 30 bucks. Will look beautifully framed with my playbill.
King Kong coasters in a beautiful holder. One dollar! Hello Dolly with Bette Midler huge spiral book with collected reviews of the show. Two dollars
Aint too proud coasters 4 for two dollars. What was funny is the vendors and some of the cast at the Aint too proud table had never seen them and wanted some .... I sent them to that table.
Was debating buying Bruce Springsteen opening night sign playbill with silver closing show ticket in a beautiful frame but their price of $500 was just too steep. Looked like they didn’t sell any of the three when I went back at the end of the day.
Many tony voter books including come from away with USB, the prom, boys in the band and a gorgeous book from aint too proud to beg (that they should be selling in the theater).... all 2 bucks each!
Thank God for Tony voter books as they are most of the time nicer than programs they sell at the theater for 1/5 the cost !
Be more chill large squeezable oversized pills. One dollar each!
King Kong keychain made from cables from the puppet lines.
I agree with some of the people above that say that some vendor sold items with incomplete autographs. I was at the Aint too proud table and had my eye on the opening night playbillstand by the entire cast of 50 bucks which I was willing to pay until I noticed that Ephraim’s signature was missing from all of them. What’s the point?
I only knew this when I asked one of the cast members which signature was his and they said well I guess he didn’t sign these ?? She was shocked as well.. Lol
Fortunately his signature as well as the entire cast was on the regular playbill which they were happy to sell to me for $15 from the original list price of 30! Window cards were beautiful but too pricey at 100 bucks each. I also noticed that most of the Cher merchandise was missing Stephanie J block signature and the vendors apparently seem to be clueless about this as well. Thankfully I didn’t buy any of those...
Other interesting items I saw but decided not to purchase was an Off Broadway playbill from Hamilton signed by Lin for $200.
Would’ve been interested in the Hadestown signed feathers and vials of blood and whistle but didn’t notice them in time...Hopefully they’ll have more next year.
At the Hadestown table they weren’t budging on the prices of the more expensive items such as the signed play bills and window cards. They seemed to be left with quite a few of them at the end of the day.
Thanks to all who commented on my post and keep your comments and lists of great finds coming !

Updated On: 9/23/19 at 12:28 PM

If anyone has a UBS hat they are willing to part with or resell let me know, it would go great with my hoodie!

I had some good luck at a few of the tables, thankfully I was there early. Closer towards 11, the crowds started to get intense, and the viciousness gets to me. People lose all manners looking for treasures, I guess. I stayed under budget but grabbed a few things I was interested in, namely some signed Wait for Me music and a goblet from the PONR scene in Phantom. Even snagged a couple of Great Comet mugs, which was exciting. It wasn’t too exciting of a year, especially with all of the blasted construction near 44th and 45th and in the alley.



If anyone scored an extra of the Hadestown coin that was given to get into the opening night party, please message me! I scoured the tables but had to leave early to catch a train. I saw someone with a handful early on, and asked where she had gotten them on the table, but she gleefully informed me that she’d grabbed them all...

That was some fast counting!

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Jordan Catalano said: "Not surprised they didn’t make as much this year. I do hope they can send out a request to tables moving forward, to set realistic prices."



Yea and maybe create larger, spread out Playbill and window card library areas. Playbill and window card browsers clog up tables.

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Doing a little math: The flea market tables were off about $11,500 from last year with two less tables, the grand auction was off $26k, the silent auction was up by about $600, to a new all-time high for this part of the event, (total of 9 more auction lots from last year) and auto/photo booth was off $5000, with 18 less participants.

I enjoyed the event, got a few things I have been looking for, spent more money than I planned to as always, but I've been seeing a lot of shows in previews, and haven't heard a bucket appeal speech in a few years, so I figure I'd spend more money on bucket season than I spend at the flea market.

Updated On: 9/23/19 at 08:30 PM

I told that one guy her signature takes up a third of a poster. It’s a work of art itself, you know it’s not a scribble.

labellaragazza1 said: "If anyone scored an extra of the Hadestown coin that was given to get into the opening night party, please message me! I scoured the tables but had to leave early to catch a train. I saw someone with a handful early on, and asked where she had gotten them on the table, but she gleefully informed me that she’d grabbed them all... "

If you're referring to the wooden coins/chips with greek on them, I have an extra I'd be willing to trade for similar items. However, my understanding is that they were given to interns (according to the people at the table) and the coin that got one into the party was made of metal, I've seen a handful on ebay. Was hoping they'd have them at the flea, but I was one of the first few people and there were none. Unless they brought them later

Rainah said: "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."

Bad timing. I gave away a Great Comet playbill last week to a employee at my mother's nursing home. Her daughter has just gotten into Broadway, but I'm sure could have cared less about Great Comet (and Hello Dolly, Bette playbill). I will check my car trunk, I may still have one or two...you can have. I won't know till Thursday. I have to recover from my NYC trip so I won't know till then.

I was at the Curtain Call table several times during the day, (including when every thing went for a $1) and never really had a problem. I was really only interested in the magnets and cds, but when they reduced earlier in the day, t shirts for a $1, I bought a M Butterfly t shirt, which I'll probably never wear. The rudest experience, besides the typical bumping into you and not saying sorry or excuse me, was when I was looking at cds at some table. An old man came up to the side of me and placed his head down so he could see, inches from the cds, where I was looking. I said something to him and he just ignored me. He knew what he was doing. I didn't find what I was looking for, but bought a couple of t shirts, baseball cap, magnet and cds, each for a $1 or 2 for a $1. I spent a grand total of $11. I guess the "best" thing I bought was the boxed dvd sets, Season 1 and 4, of The Golden Girls for a $1 in excellent condition.

I used to take my dog every year with me until about 3 years ago. It’s become totally unsafe to do it now.