Broadway Costume Sale Draws Halloween Hordes

[Lady Seahawke]

and note the price....I am now crying...

Broadway Costume Sale Draws Halloween Hordes

Tue Oct 26, 4:58 PM ET Entertainment - Reuters Industry

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers lined up around the block on Tuesday to get their hands on cowboy hats, velvet capes, Roman armor and pirate outfits that were among thousands of Broadway costumes in a pre-Halloween clearance sale.

The Theatre Development Fund is paring down its collection of 80,000 costumes, donated by Broadway theaters and the Metropolitan Opera (news - web sites), which are loaned out to not-for-profit theater groups, colleges and schools.

"We're moving down to a smaller space so we have to lose about a quarter of the stuff," said Gregory Poplyk, a costume designer and director of the theater fund.

Nearby, one woman was trying on a medieval blue velvet dress with puffed sleeves, while others who had waited in line for up to four hours sought out that perfect outfit for Halloween.

"I'm enlivening my alter egos -- pirate, hippy, country boy," said 36-year-old Norman Gaines, a New York City Transit Authority employee, sporting an extravagant hat from a Metropolitan Opera production of "Il Trovatore" and a yellow silk jacket over his work suit.

The moving sale lasts for three days, or until the 20,000 costumes up for grabs are gone, and the group is hoping to raise as much as $50,000 to put back into the business, which runs at a loss.

At a price of $20 for a shopping bag with whatever could be crammed into it, the goods were going fast though buyers were limited to five bags each. The price drops to $10 on Wednesday and just $1 per bag on Thursday.

Ballroom dancing instructor Kelli Holmes from New Jersey was piling up her treasures -- including a flying saucer hat and a black and white furry animal costume -- on the arms and head of a friend. She had one regret. "It doesn't say what show it's from, it would be nice to know," she said.