Four Flea Market Highlights from 2011

This past Sunday was the 25th Annual BC/EFA Flea Market which began on 44^th Street and spilled into Times Square’s pedestrian plaza. It also sucked up basically an entire day of my life. But it’s okay. Because The Groff was there. And the flea market one of those special days each year where you can be with your people and celebrate your love of theater in public, all while stocking up on things you never knew you needed. Like someone else’s old Playbills. Because you don’t have enough of your own already.

Jonathan Groff is the most famous person on Broadway. As if you didn’t know that already.
He had his own dedicated line at the photo-booth. And when Mr. Groff arrived and departed from said photo-booth—wearing a red plaid shirt and smiling like the sun—he was flanked by no less than four security personnel. And screaming girls chased after him (the boys who gave chase did a lot less screaming). And it was both awesome and sort of depressing. Like he was simultaneously more awesome, and less ours to love. Like the world has him now, and it will never be the same.

Daniel Radcliffe is the best ever. But really.
Okay. So he’s actually the most famous person on Broadway. But he’s not really of us, you know? It’s somehow different. Still. He’s the best. And I know that because Mary Faber chatted with me about how it’s impossible not to love him while my friend bought what was basically the COOLEST thing on offer at the whole flea market: a bottle of Maple Syrup autographed by Mr. Radcliffe himself. You see, Radcakes has been receiving bottles of the stuff in droves since he raved about it in the New York Times and in the name of the BCEFA cause, he donated all of them, signed in silver marker.  Radcliffe thus created an insanely unique, memorable Broadway tchotchke and really captured the spirit of what the flea market is all about.

Donny and Marie went home with the Mormons.
One table across from the Minskoff was hawking larger-than-life-sized cutouts of Donny and Marie, likely left over from their Holiday Special.  In a this-is-too-perfect-to-be-real turn of events, the cast of The Book of Mormon ponied up to purchase the pair, who will now take up residence backstage at the Eugene O’Neill.  Real life, y’all, the Mormons bought the Mormons and took them home.

I fell in love at the Spider-Man table.
And it wasn’t with Reeve Carney. Or Chris Tierney (who I apparently missed by mere minutes). Much like Mr. Radcliffe, the Spider-folks seemed to have a great handle on what would make really memorable, exciting theater-related collectibles—and it wasn’t just signed copies of the Shirtless Spider-Men issue of Time Out. There were all kinds of fun, one-of-a-kind accessories crafted from items that had once been used on stage at the Foxwoods Theater. I fell particularly hard for the bracelets woven from cords that had once been used to drop fly Spider-Man himself around the theater and were now in retirement. In fact, I fell so hard that I had to take one home myself—mine is adorned with a scrap of Spidey costume that I have convinced myself Chris Tierney once wore. I obviously adore it. You obviously wish you had one yourself.