Pre-Bidding Now Open on Select BROADWAY FLEA MARKET Auction Packages!

The biggest day of the year for Broadway fans will include one-of-a-kind opportunities to own a part of theatre history or to step into the footlights as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS presents the 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction (#bwayflea).

One of the most anticipated days of the year on Broadway, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is the annual event where fans and stars come together to celebrate theatre. On September 22, 2013, you can find unique showbiz treasures, meet your favorite cast members and bid on exclusive backstage experiences. Free and open to the public, the festive outdoor market takes place from 10 AM - 7 PM in the heart of the theatre district along West 44th Street (between Broadway and Eighth Avenue) and in Shubert Alley.

From walk-on appearances in Broadway's biggest hits to lunches with Tony Award winners, from Elphaba's broom in Wicked to the shirt off Tom Hanks'back, dozens of unique auction items are now available for pre-bidding at broadwaycares.org, including:

- Walk-on roles and backstage experiences at Chicago, Cinderella, Kinky Boots, The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, Once, The Phantom of the Opera and Rock of Ages with more to be announced.

- A T-shirt worn onstage and autographed by Tom Hanks during his acclaimed run of Lucky Guy on Broadway.

- One-of-a-kind show memorabilia signed by Julie Andrews, Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Douglas Fairbanks, Hugh Jackman, Ethel Merman, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Mary Tyler Moore, Sir Laurence Olivier, Julia Roberts, Elaine Stritch and more.

- Elphaba's broom prop used in the Broadway production of Wicked by Idina Menzel, who created the role and also signed the broom.

- Rare opportunities to enjoy lunch with theatrical legends Angela Lansbury and Judith Light, and the chance to meet with Hal Prince in his Rockefeller Center office.

- Intricate costumes worn by beloved characters Ariel, Ursula and Sebastian in the original Broadway production of Disney's The Little Mermaid.

- A backstage meet-and-greet with Arthur Darvill, star of the hit British television show "Doctor Who" and current star of Broadway's Once.

- Musical phrases handwritten and signed by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Billie Joe Armstrong, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg,Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Cyndi Lauper, Bobby Lopez and Jeff Marx, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Stephen Schwartz and more.

- VIP tickets and backstage meet-and-greet experiences with Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart after seeing them in the repertory Broadway revivals of No Man's Land and Waiting for Godot; with Tony and Emmy Award-winner Cherry Jones and her two-time Tony nominee co-star Celia Keenan-Bolger from The Glass Menagerie; with Kinky Boots' star trio of Billy Porter, Stark Sands and Annaleigh Ashford; and with the dazzling Dynamos of Mamma Mia!, Judy McLane, Felicia Finley and Lauren Cohn.

Silent auction lots will be opened every half hour from 10 AM until 3:30 PM; the live auction begins at 5 PM. Pre-bidding on silent and live auction lots is available online now through 10 AM ET on September 21, the day before the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction.

More than 50 tables full of Broadway memorabilia, trinkets, Playbills and one-of-a-kind treasures will line West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Among the shows scheduled to have tables this year are Annie, Cinderella, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia!,Matilda The Musical, Motown: The Musical, Newsies, Once, Pippin, The Phantom of the Opera, Rock of Ages, The Trip to Bountiful and Wicked with more added daily.

The Celebrity Autograph Table & Photo Booth will feature dozens of well-loved stars of stage and screen. The line-up of celebrities will be announced next Wednesday, September 11.

Specific items for sale at the Broadway Flea Market, other packages to be offered at the Grand Auction and a complete list of stars to appear at the Celebrity Autograph Table & Photo Booth will be announced on broadwaycares.org, on Twitter twitter.com/BCEFA and on Facebook at facebook.com/BCEFA.

Last year, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction raised a record-breaking $681,892, bringing the event's 26-year total to $9,870,369.

The 27th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction is sponsored by United Airlines and The New York Times.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS 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 theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised more than $225 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide and is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund, including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/BCEFA, follow us on Twitter attwitter.com/BCEFA, watch us on YouTube at youtube.com/BCEFAtv, pin us on Pinterest at pinterest.com/BCEFA and tag us on Instagram at instagram.com/BCEFA.