That's a whole heck of a lot of Broadway!

I am EXHAUSTED!! But it was SO worth it. I was a drop in a vast ocean of giving today in the heart of the theatre district. The Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction brought out thousands of wonderful Broadway geeks with money to burn (or even more likely in a lot of cases, money to sacrifice). While I was often super busy, here are a few shots I was able to take of the goings-on...


1.There's the backdrop of the "silent" auction. (I put "silent" in quotes because there are wonderful chatty hosts who steer things along.) There at the middle right is a clock made partially from my art, and above that is a framed and matted original ink piece signed by 18 stars of the autumn's Broadway openings (for the Grand Auction later). Note my logo on the t-shirt in the foreground. They were EVERYWHERE! 2. Some sights from the day: A fellow carrying a life-size cutout of Mandy Patinkin circa 1984. 3. A character named Rose and American Idiot's foam middle fingers. 4. My friend Susan and Daniel Craig. 5. Shubert Alley.


I have to give a shout-out to my helpers throughout the day... Justin Roller my point man and Kevin Munhall who manned the early shift. There were others who were willing to help, but with a pretty small table, we were all set. And then there was the cavalcade of dear friends who stopped by to say "hello" which I was SO grateful for. I don't want to name them all to risk leaving someone out, but know that each and every loved one brought me so much joy today (including phone calls). 1. A westward shot down 44th Street. 2. Kevin and I at the table. 3. The poster in the window of a deli where I got an amazing sandwich. 4. Roller at a rare slow moment at the table. We had dropped prices and had experienced a few rain drops as seen on the signage. 5. Another view of 44th Street, this time eastward.


The Grand Auction was a trip and a half. BC/EFA main dude Tom Viola asked me to be present as they auctioned off my art... the last lot of the day. 1. The "backstage" host's cheat sheet included onstage guests' headshots. So there's Greg Jbara, Levi Kreis, Priscilla Lopez, Jonathan Freeman, John Tartaglia, Nathan Lane, Amy Irving, Anthony Rapp, Bernadette Peters, and ME! What??!! 2. Another cutout of Mandy Patinkin enjoying the auction proceedings. 3. Although I can only take marginal credit for all the amazing work that went into it, I'm still happy to say that this item fetched four figures in the auction. 4. A shot of me being nervous before having to go talk about my art on the auction stage. 5. Yes, I had to directly follow the amazing Bernadette Peters. I then proceeded to the stage where Tom Viola told the folks why I was there. I shared a few remotely coherent thoughts, and then the bidding began. My art, signed by lots of celebs, brought in $1700. I'm blown away.


So I end this day with paper cuts and ink stains on my hands, a dry scratchy throat, and a severely enlarged cranium. It will take my friends and family some doing, but I'm confident they can bring me down a few notches where I belong. Seriously, it was an amazing day and an event I was truly blessed to be a part of. Peace & love, all!