The 2013 Flea Market Thread- Page 4

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:31am

I was surprised Jersey Boys didn't have a table this year. Are they hoping to have a bigger one next year with a bunch of movie stuff and stage production stuff? That'd be fun.

[mikem]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:59am

I thought some of the Pippin pricing was a little high. The board that Fastrada stands in front of during the knife part was originally priced at $800, which was too much. I didn't understand how the tambourine thing worked -- was it a silent auction? It wasn't really labeled. And I wasn't sure why they had Priscilla ping pong balls at that table -- was a cast member in Priscilla before?

The Kinky Boots signed boots were awfully expensive at $500, but the price was for a pair and they are all leather, so the boots probably cost quite a bit to manufacture. I wonder if they sold any at that price, though. I noticed the Annie table was selling signed Jane Lynch sneakers for $500 also, which I doubt they got.

I actually thought all of this past season's shows that had a table (Annie, Matilda, Pippin, Cinderella, Motown, Bountiful, Kinky Boots) did a nice job, particularly Cinderella and Pippin. But part of what was missing is that there's usually a decent amount of stuff from recently closed shows, which I didn't see in general (except for Hands on a Hardbody and Bring It On). I didn't see much of anything from Drood, A Christmas Story, The Assembled Parties, The Heiress, or Virginia Woolf, for example. A lot of the Tony promo stuff was for last year's Tonys (I saw a lot of Clybourne Park and Nice Work stuff).

[frankenleeestein]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 1:05am

What's the etiquette for taking photos with actors outside of the photo booth? I mean, a photo with Corey Cott was $50, but I saw photos of people with him all over Facebook in what seemed to be just some random place in the flea market.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 4:51am

I think the shoes from Kinky Boots were all still there at 5:15pm. I don't recall making it to the Pippin table. It was so chaotic and I skipped tables that were hard to get at early on. So I probably missed some later on as well. I did see some playbills for The Heiress and Lucky Guy, for whoever said they didn't see that type of stuff.

[Elke]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 6:20am

I flew in from Belgium especially for the Flea Market (6th year in a row) and didn't regret it at all. Just wish it was easier to transport posters, they're too sturdy to roll them up. Anyway, these are the goodies I found...

SIGNED PLAYBILLS (plus a ton of regular unsigned ones)
Enron ($10)
Curtains ($7.50)
Sting event that I can't remember the name of right now ($15)
All Shook Up ($7.50)
Hollywood Arms ($1)
Hands On A Hardbody ($5)
Other Desert Cities Off-Broadway ($2)

SCRIPTS
Lucky Guy ($5)
Hands On A Hardbody ($5)

PROGRAMS
Evita ($5)
Once ($5)
Nice Work If You Can Get It ($5)
Jesus Christ Superstar ($1)
Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway (free)

PROPS
Newsies baseball bat ($40)
Newsies paper ($1)
Matilda kids tie ($20)
Cinderella signed invitation ($5)
Annie letter and movie ticket stub ($1 each)

OTHER MERCH
Catch Me If You Can t-shirt ($1)
Hands On A Hardbody t-shirt ($5)
Hands On A Hardbody air refresheners (free)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 7:50am

It wasn't really labeled. And I wasn't sure why they had Priscilla ping pong balls at that table -- was a cast member in Priscilla before?

Probably. Sometimes cast or crew just bring stuff from their own stashes of stuff. The tables aren't entirely made up of merch from that particular show. It's from that particular company. That's why you saw that Jersey Boys bag at Motown, Lestat stuff at Book of Mormon, Martin Guerre watches at Phantom, etc...

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 8:30am

Using the world "vulture" is a bit insulting, as I'm one one of those people who gets there early. In the past, I've volunteered and was there from 6am on. This year, I was unable to volunteer. But when I got there a little before 10 (and I was really just trying to figure out what table was where), I got yelled at several times. Literally yelled at.

The people who are there early are the ones who are serious spenders. We'll be there all day and all night to support BC/EFA and browse for our favorite things. I don't mind being told "We're not ready yet, but can you come back in 10 minutes?" and I'd be happy to. But being yelled at is another story.

I love the flea market. But I preferred Roseland to yesterday. It was crazy-town in Schubert Alley yesterday, and i barely spent 2 hours at the market. Normally, I never leave!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 8:30am

Also, the Kinky Boots boots were $1,000 when the day began!

[broadway_show_fan]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 8:42am

ILRPinkGirl - I would say that your travel mug must be from 9 to 5. With music by Dolly Parton and book by Patricia Resnick, I think "Dolly and Pat" = 9 to 5 is a safe bet.
http://ibdb.com/production.php?id=480320

I had a wonderful day at the Flea Market! My newest love is "Matilda," so I spent a lot of time and money at their table. My Flea Market companion and I bought:

• original cast signed window cards
• Lauren Ward's original shoes from the Stratford production, signed by Lauren Ward
• 4 different clip-on ties, signed by varying cast members (Gabe, Ryan Steele, 2 mixes of kids)
• unique Billy Elliot sweatshirt donated by a dialect coach who was involved in both productions
• broken ruler, signed by Jack Broderick
• 2 Scrabble tile-styled magnets spelling "JENNY" and "HONEY"
• handwritten, in-character note used by Mr. Wormwood before "Telly" in Act II, signed by Gabe Ebert
• producers' opening night gift of cubes with different words/designs on them
• pencil case like the ones the kids use in the show with MATILDA on top in letter tiles
• stethoscope prop, signed by John Arthur Greene
• photo frame with letter tiles
• slice of the Trunchbull's private chocolate cake
• newt prop used during performance
• prop "10" score paddle from "Loud," signed by Lesli Margherita
• Matilda opening night gift pencil with opening night date
• Playbill, signed by Jill Paice
• photo booth photo with the Matildas

Newsies things for a friend's friend:
• prop pape which I got signed by many cast members
• trading cards, set of 12
• keychains

BC/EFA table:
• 2011 snowglobe
• logo glasses
• logo placemats/napkins
• Christmas ornament

other:
• a "Ragtime" revival opening night scarf
• a "Victor/Victoria" hat, signed by Greg Jbara
• "A Christmas Story" script
• 2 lapel pins: "Mamma Mia!" and "A Chorus Line"
• "Company" DVD (Raul Esparza revival)
• "High Fidelity" t-shirt
• Sandy "pawtograph"
• Bill Berloni book, signed
• silent auction item: Public Theater's "Giant" Playbill, signed by whole cast
• silent auction item: "How to Succeed" window card, signed by whole cast

We went to the "Matilda" table at 9:40 or so, and we did 2 large purchases by 10:05. The people at "Matilda" didn't seem to mind so much - they were more apologetic that things weren't completely set up than upset we (and many others) were browsing, and asking for our understanding.

The live auction items climbed up in price a lot faster than I'd expected. There were four or five I was eyeing, and there was one I really wanted, and they all went far beyond what I'd expected based on other years. I guess the BIG big spenders were willing to cough up that much, so good for them and good for BC/EFA! Maybe someday I'll be fortunate enough to have that much money to spend at the auctions. :)

[Eris0303]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 8:55am

What's the etiquette for taking photos with actors outside of the photo booth? I mean, a photo with Corey Cott was $50, but I saw photos of people with him all over Facebook in what seemed to be just some random place in the flea market.

The photo booth volunteers try to stop it from happening as people often will stake out the exit and try to grab a photo with someone as they come down the steps from the Junior's porch. But, if you happen to run into them somewhere other than Shubert Alley it's up to the performer if they want to pose with you or not. I know someone who approached Bebe outside the booth and she charged $10 for BC/EFA.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 9:33am

Much appreciation to everyone that went to the Flea Market and posted their experiences. You completely solidified my decision to stay home and avoid the event yet another year!

I used to go every year. Looked forward to going. Loved getting there early. Seems like the rude behavior gets worse every year!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 9:40am

Maybe wait until 2015. At least then there might be fewer piles of ubiquitous Cry-Baby merch.

[DivaBrigader]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 10:13am

It was a lovely early fall day at the flea market...and boy was it windy in the alley! This year I chose not to do the photo booth (the Matildas were the only people I really wanted to get and $75 was too steep for me) so I focused solely on grabbing some primo merch. (As an aside, there were a few bigger names I would have loved to have seen participating but I gather BC/EFA reaches out and the stars either RSVP no or don't respond. I was thinking particularly about SJP and Elizabeth Olsen.)

Purchases:
"Annie" publicity event media wall - $10
"Annie" keychain (opening night at MSG in 199 - $1
"Drowsy Chaperone" margarita shaker - $10
"Les Mis" poster - $5
Rendering of "Funny Girl" set - $5
Poster of "Jane Eyre" at Papermill starring Anne Hathaway and Laura Benanti - $5
SAG Awards baseball cap - $3
"Sound of Music" movie premiere program - $5
1977 Tonys program - $10
"Viva Forever" tshirt (!!!) - $10
Livin' "Evita" Loca tshirt - $1
Four "Follies" tumblers - $4
Pictures with the orphans - $10

Always a great event, happy with my purchases, fantastic to see friends both old and new.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 10:44am

Playitagain, wow. Incredible find! In my post I was talking about getting any kind of t shirt from VF,didn't expect the flea market had ones you couldn't buy at the merch stand.

I loved the $5 photo with the Annie orphans!

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 11:06am

Once I again, i believe the the flea market was the way it was this year because they lost the use of the space on Broadway. They had been doing the auction there and some shows were located there. Crowds were split up between the two area. No this year, only one place to go.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 11:45am

"Using the world "vulture" is a bit insulting, as I'm one one of those people who gets there early. In the past, I've volunteered and was there from 6am on. This year, I was unable to volunteer. But when I got there a little before 10 (and I was really just trying to figure out what table was where), I got yelled at several times. Literally yelled at."

If you think you're one of the types being referred to by the word "vulture" that says more about your assessment of your behavior than anyone else's. I don't know you to know how you acted, but I do know what kind of atrocious behavior I witnessed.

"The people who are there early are the ones who are serious spenders. We'll be there all day and all night to support BC/EFA and browse for our favorite things. I don't mind being told "We're not ready yet, but can you come back in 10 minutes?" and I'd be happy to. But being yelled at is another story. "

That's just not true. Yes, you're more likely to spend more if you're there longer, but there are plenty of people who spend very significant amounts of $ without spending 7 hours there.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:15pm

I bought the Kinky Boots signed by the cast for $50 at the very end of the day. They were actually boxing up their booth. AND---Stark Sands walks up to help close their booth. So I got my picture with him and was able to explain that we bought the boots to auction off at a charity event next spring. We work with an LGBT Equality Center in Tulsa and the proceeds will go to that organization. Stark has Dallas connections and was very interested in our work in Oklahoma.

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:27pm

Well, as one of the volunteers at the tables, I personally have no problem selling before 10am, provided you are polite, paying with cash and don't try to haggle the price! Since I was at the Phantom table, I didn't really see any of the pushy craziness that seems to have been rampant elsewhere. We are pretty meticulous in making sure all our items are labeled and ready for sale before they ever hit the table, so if it's 9am and you see something you want, go ahead and pick it up, just give me the chance to actually get everything set down first. I had personally sold about $1000 of items before 9:15am!! And from what I've witnessed at Phantom, yes it's true that the big spenders are there earlier. By noon most of the big items were gone, all at their labeled pricing.

[DivaBrigader]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:38pm

Re: the "VF" tshirts

I spoke to a guy at the booth when I told him I was sending some friends over who were interested in them. He said they expected them to be entirely gone by 3pm, likely sooner, as what they had left was all that existed and no more were being printed obviously. I also spotted someone wearing a "VF" beanie.

[mikem]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:40pm

Could you guys share examples of the prices that things went for during the Grand Auction? I usually go but missed most of it this year.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 12:57pm

'What's the etiquette for taking photos ... outside the photo booth?'

In Corey Cott's case, he also stopped by the 'Newsies' table and took pictures at $10 a pop. He was joined by Ben Fankhauser and other 'News'-boys. ... At the 'Book of Mormon' and 'Cinderella' tables, I noticed that some folks asked to take pictures with cast members, and in both cases, the performers asked for a contribution to Broadway Cares, which is only fair. ... It's sucky if some people tried to get photos with celebrities as they exited the Photo Booth, without paying. After all, it's for charity.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 1:06pm

If anyone has a THE NANCE magnet to sell or spare, willing to buy or trade. Thanks!

[newintown]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 1:11pm

Two great places where you're guaranteed to see humanity at its worst (and where they'll cut you if you call them out on it): any Walmart on Thanksgiving night, and the BC/EFA Flea Market.

I think some anthropology student ought to do their dissertation on the latter.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 1:11pm

I thought the flea market only moved that 1 area out to Times Square the past couple of years because they were doing construction or something in the parking garage below Shubert Alley. I thought I read that here anyway. The area in Times Square always felt so far away from the rest of the action, in my opinion.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/23/13 at 1:19pm

Well, as one of the volunteers at the tables, I personally have no problem selling before 10am, provided you are polite, paying with cash and don't try to haggle the price!

Why? The posted hours were 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Why give people that kind of advantage? Doesn't BCEFA usually close off the streets while people set up and let everyone in at once? (Then again, I heard a lot of stuff was gone super-early from Phantom, which blindsided a lot of people.)