Everything's Coming Up Green... On Broadway

Starlight Express Costumed Bear

Auctioned off by Broadway Cares

Love Broadway shows? Hum show tunes in your shower? Now you can combine your sustainable sensibilities with your love of musical theater.    That's right: Broadway has gone green.    New York's theater community has been on the philanthropic bandwagon for a long time, but they've recently made a big environmental pitch called Broadway Goes Green. While most of Green Broadway’s initiatives are aimed at making the shows themselves more environmentally friendly (using less light bulbs, recycling sets, and making sure all products are up to eco standards), the New York Times reports that selling off merchandise from recently closed shows is a way that fans can participate in the green and gold. 

"A Chorus Line” with its long running iconic popularity merited its own auction when the show finally closed. But others are harder to find just the right fan with funds who wants to show off Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in their foyer or has a hankering for one of the hats from Wicked. Every year there is a Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction in the fall. Free and open to the public, the Flea Market is a great source for photos, cast recordings, signed show poster, costume sketches and theater-related gifts. At the Celebrity Autograph Table, stars from recent shows sign autographs and pose for photos in exchange for donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.    For next year, specific items for sale at the Flea Market, packages to be auctioned, and stars to appear at the Celebrity Autograph Table will be announced at www.BroadwayCares.org. For more philanthropy-related green Broadway activity, Broadway Cares also recently held teddy bear auction, in which the cuddly stuffed animals (donated by the North American Bear Company) were outfitted by Broadway’s top costume designers and auctioned off to the highest bidder.  The main auction is closed, but there are still a few left at www.Broadwaycares.org.