Wait a Second - How Can I Make Extra Money with My Theater Habit?

Meandering on the web, I stumbled on an eHow article entitled Free fast and easy ways to make money in New York City.  In the article, the writer claims to be going home one night after a day of interviewing, the writer sees a crowd waiting outside a theater, curious, he joins the crowd to check it out and low and behold a Broadway star emerges from the theater. Going along with the crowd, he takes out some random piece of paper from his pockets, gets an autograph and then realizes he can replicate this at other theaters and then sell the autographs.

Easy money, right? You have take it with a grain of salt. Let me tell you about Fences. Last year, admittedly, I was caught up in Denzel Washington fever when he appeared on Broadway in Fences at the Cort Theatre. After attending a performance and exiting the theater on a hot summer day, I noticed the crowd waiting to see the superstar. I nestled into a cozy spot hoping to get a picture of him.  Well here is the photo. You tell me. Can a random person walk up and get an autograph? I was there and couldn't even get a photo. (By the way, I feel sorry for the poor soul in the taxi.)

Anyway, I digress. After reading the article, I became curious as to how much Broadway memorabilia is really worth. So, I checked out eBay and Triton Gallery and surprisingly there are signed playbills listed up to $2,000 - top dollars of course for those signed by a deceased actor. So, if you are fortunate enough to get your playbill signed, hold on to it. You never know. Your theater habit may be worth something someday.