Return to Archives Main Page

Archive - DO40 2012 Summer Flea Market

DO40 at the Annual BC/EFA Flea Market!

Bobby Hedglin-Taylor, Susan Sigrist, Marcus Galante, Mary Lou Barber,
James Dybas, Frank Davis and Karin Baker

What a great day for giving! What a great day for caring! Dancers Over 40 would like to thank everyone for participating in the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AID Flea Market Sept. 23rd. We’re beaming with pride that our organization raised $2000.00 today for the fight against HIV and all the related issues affecting the theatrical community at large.

James Dybas, Bobby Hedglin-Taylor, Mary Lou Barber, Joy Serio Dunbar

First, the crowd. They loved us and we loved them for loving us… as Gwen would say. They even took pictures of the SIGNS we put up (we’re a very clever bunch!). $1.00 for two Playbills (all alphabetized, of course!) brought them to our table, but they stayed, talked to us about our mission, asked questions, and bought more, and came back again and bought other loftier items (Terence, we finally sold your small, metal wind-up car, after two years!). Miccah, thanks for stopping by and introducing yourself, new member!! And then they got down to the business of buying an assortment of goodies: canvases of Gwen Verdon and Agnes de Mille, a quintet of canvases with the Sweet Charity ladies (thank you, Cassie!), 42nd Street mementos made by Leo Herbert (son of Victor and husband of DO40 member Janice), the prop master of the show, sheet music, books, DVDs, signed photos and CDs (MUAH, Tony Sheldon!) and those fabulous West Side Story boys, Harvey Evans, Bert Michaels, David Bean and Eddie Verso, signing their new book about the making of WSS – the movie. (Sold out – of course!) And much, much more. They engaged us, we engaged them, and the time just flew by.

Bobby Hedglin-Taylor and Lora Martens

The volunteers. Never a down time on the assembly line! We’ve never had so many of our members volunteer so much of their time to help out. In no particular order, Lawrence Merritt, Mary Lou Barber, Karin Baker, Bobby Hedglin-Taylor, Lora Martens, Susan Sigrist, Joy Serio Dunbar, Frank Davis, Tony Sheldon, Harvey Evans, Bert Michaels, David Bean, Eddie Verso, James Dybas, Tom McRoberts , Marcus Galante, Deb Abel, Carol Sundquist, Jonathan Cerullo – crossing fingers that everyone has been included! (Featured in the photo, some of the mid-day crew: Bobby Hedglin-Taylor, Susan Sigrist, Marcus Galante, Mary Lou Barber, James Dybas, Frank Davis and Karin Baker).

Marcus Galante and PRISCILLA's Tony Sheldon

The donors! We couldn’t possibly list them all. We have regulars, we have surprise donors, there are holdovers (like Terence’s car!) and things that sell immediately. We have wonderful Broadway luminaries who donate their time and sign things, even when the merchandise wasn’t bought at our table! DO40 sold not one item over 100.00 and yet we hit the $2000.00 mark!!! How and Why? Simple. It’s our mission and our motto – to preserve the History, Legacy and Lives of our members and to pass on our knowledge to the next generation. What better way to do this than with the objects that we have loved and cherished over the years? The scripts we used, the songs we sang, the librettos, and everything else that made us the dancers we are.

The West Side Story Movie dancers - and authors: David Bean, Harvey Evans, Eddie Verso, Bert Michaels

Broadway Cares/EFA. Tom Viola. Kim Russell. We could not have done this without you. Thank you so much for your support, for believing in us, and caring so much for our mission. And so glad that it intersects with yours, in so many ways. Our members are there for you for at each and every BC/EFA event, in many capacities, and have been, since your inception. It’s just something we do, no questions asked. And as for the rest of your troupe -- every BC/EFA volunteer we encountered, from helping to rid our tables of litter, to First Aid (yep, we needed a little), to changing all of those pesky dollar bills into 20s, were extremely helpful, courteous and sometimes just too darn cute for words (you know who you are!).

DO40 President John Sefakis, Frank Davis, Karin Baker, Mary Lou Barber and James Dybas

It’s difficult to convey our thanks to everyone without sounding somber and serious, so I hope you understand our injection of levity into this lengthy love letter to you all. People are still fighting for their lives, and to have such a joyous day can be overwhelming to the senses.

And to quote one of my favorite scribes, Rabindranath Tagore:

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy."

Until next time, John Sefakis 

James Dybas holding up his muse, Gwen Verdon