Everything to Know About the 2023 Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction
Among the treasures and experiences are handwritten and signed musical phrases, lunches and backstage meetings with Broadway stars, props used in performances & more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Sep. 12, 2023
It’s time to visit your Broadway happy place. The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction will return to the heart of New York City’s Theater District with unique collectables, unparalleled experiences and celebrated stars on Sunday, October 1, 2023.
The outdoor celebration, which runs from 10 am to 7 pm, is produced by and benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Pre-bidding on extraordinary live and silent auction items that can only be found at the #BroadwayFlea is now live. Among the bevy of one-of-a-kind treasures and exclusive experiences are handwritten and signed musical phrases, lunches and backstage meetings with Broadway stars, props used in performances, rare collectibles from vintage Broadway and autographed Playbills and posters from current and classic Broadway shows.
Treasure-filled tables from Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, theater owners and producing organizations, unions, guilds, marketing groups, ticket agencies, concessionaires and fan clubs will line West 44th and West 45th Streets. The first shows joining the lineup are & Juliet, Here Lies Love, The Lion King, Kimberly Akimbo, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Six and Sweeney Todd, plus special tables honoring The Phantom of the Opera and the 40th anniversary of the original cast of La Cage aux Folles. More participating shows will be announced in the coming weeks.
Every dollar donated during the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction will help ensure a safety net of services for those in the performing arts and help provide access to lifesaving medications, counseling, healthy meals, housing and more to those across the country living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses.
Among the initial live and silent auction lots now up for early online bidding at broadwaycares.org, with more being added daily, are:
● Lunch with Academy Award winner and esteemed Tony Awards host Ariana DeBose
● A private meet-and-greet with Josh Groban, as well as two VIP seats to see him in the Tony Award-nominated revival of Sweeney Todd
● Musical phrases handwritten and signed by Jason Robert Brown from Parade, Stephen Schwartz from Wicked, Stephen Sondheim from A Little Night Music and more
● A Mean Girls script signed by Tina Fey
● A custom Harold Hill Broadway Funko POP! figurine signed by Hugh Jackman
● One-of-a-kind show memorabilia autographed by Sara Bareilles, Christian Borle, Wayne Brady, Carol Channing, Jessica Chastain, Kristin Chenoweth, Common, Daniel Craig, Gavin Creel, Andre De Shields, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sutton Foster, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, J. Harrison Ghee, Joel Grey, Katharine Hepburn, Michael R. Jackson, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Pedro Pascal, Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Debra Messing, Bette Midler, Alex Newell, Eva Noblezada, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Hal Prince, Andrew Rannells, Lea Salonga, Stephen Sondheim, Phillipa Soo, Bruce Springsteen, Elaine Stritch, Lily Tomlin, Aaron Tveit, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and many more
Theater lovers around the world also will be able to digitally join in the Flea Market fun with the return of the online #FleaBay auctions on eBay. Details will be announced soon.
Find Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction tables on West 44th and West 45th Streets, the silent auction in Shubert Alley and the live grand auction wrapping up the day in the Times Square pedestrian plaza between 45th and 46th Streets. Bidding will continue for the silent auction items in Shubert Alley during the in-person event, with lots rotating every 30 minutes between 10 am and 4 pm.
Broadway and TV favorite Bryan Batt, who’s currently starring in Pay the Writer at Signature Theatre, returns as host of the live auction alongside esteemed auctioneer Nick Nicholson. Back to the Future: The Musical’s Jelani Remy will co-host the silent auction with veteran Michael Goddard.
The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is one of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ longest-held traditions. The event had its humble beginnings more than three decades ago with two tables set up by cast members of A Chorus Line outside their stage door in Shubert Alley. Now, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is one of the most anticipated events of the season for theater lovers.
Last year’s event raised a record-breaking $1,043,825. Since 1987, the 36 editions of the event have raised more than $17.5 million.
The Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is supported by Broadway Cares corporate sponsors The New York Times and United Airlines.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses across the United States.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts and the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative. Broadway Cares also awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance.
For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org.
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