Your 2016 Broadway Black Friday Holiday Gift Gettin’ List. [UPDATED]
We’ve updated this blog with the best Broadway gifts on the market in 2018. Enjoy!
Welcome shoppers!
I know, I know, you can’t believe it. Black Friday is already here. (Has anyone seen October, by the way? Where oh where did that month go? Here October! Here, buddy!)
Black Friday, or BF, as I like to call it (‘cuz I’m hip like that) is, of course, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But if you’re like me, you do your shoppin’ from the comfort of your own home, right in front of your computer. If you’re also like me, then you try to do your shopping supes early (there I am, being hip-cat again) . . . like today-early, because it gets it out of the way, and because online shopping is a great excuse to take a break from your cuckoo family for a few hours if you’re home for Thanksgiving.
To help you save some gift-buyin’ time, I’ve compiled a list of my Top 10 Broadway gifts this holiday season. And you can grab them all with a couple of clicks (and save money too!).
And here it is, my 2016 Broadway Holiday Gift Buying Guide:
1. Be A Broadway Star Board Game
Yes, full disclaimer, this one is mine. But it’s such a no-brainer gift for anyone who loves Broadway, it’s always top of my mind for Broadway gifts. The game itself is like Life with a dash of charades . . . but Broadway style. Win Tonys, Audition for Wicked, and the person with the most fans wins. Fun, right? There’s a reason it’s the best selling Broadway gift on Amazon every year. But don’t take my word for it. If you want some objective advice, go check out the 55 FIVE star reviews on Amazon.
Playbills are probably the one thing on the planet that is given away free, yet is priceless to a Broadway fan (especially a NEW Broadway fan). Protect them in this binder that includes free sheet protectors!
3. A Broadway Puzzle of your favorite Broadway Stars!
If you’re like me, then holiday times at the parents’ house includes puzzles. So forget about the ones with windmills and skylines, how about one featuring Broadway stars!
Need a stocking stuffer or a Broadway Secret Santa gift? This is it because it’ll come in under ANY budget.
If you can’t drop the thousand-plus bucks for tickets to see Hamilton for the sweetie in your life, or you live too far away from the bright lights of Hamiltonian Broadway, this fantastic book is the next best thing. It’s 288 jam-packed pages will keep the recipient well occupied . . . maybe until ticket prices come down.
6. BroadwayHD
Another great gift for the Broadway lover who may be a plane, train or automobile away from the Great White Way . . . but still wants to see everything they can get their eyeballs on. Get ’em a subscription to BroadwayHD and see shows like last season’s award-winning revival of She Loves Me, Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma and many more.
They’re Playbill PJ’s. ‘Nuff said.
8. The Untold Stories of Broadway: Volume 3!
That’s right, Broadway peeps, the new volume is out! The first TWO collections of real stories from Broadway vets like Patti LuPone, Raul Esparza (and even a few by me) were big sellers to Broadway fans . . . so naturally I expect this one will be under a lot of trees this season. Author Jen Tepper, who also has a terrific Twitter account, has always had a way of getting people to spill their secrets (I should know, she used to work for me) . . . and these books don’t disappoint. Want to really impress someone? Get Vol 1 – 3.
9. Learn the biz of Broadway with these online courses.
Last year I started answering questions from you, my readers, with monthly webinars on everything from How To Raise Front Money to How To Make A Living Through Licensing. Because I know so many people missed those webinars, I turned them all into home study courses which you can now get in my bookstore here. Perfect for the writer in your life looking to self-produce or the budding Producer (or me about twenty years ago).
Here’s one for the Broadway fan who has everything! You’ve heard of baseball Fantasy Camp or Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp? Here comes the Broadway version. This is your chance to act, sing or dance with Broadway pros with a curated program designed just for you. Wait until your friends here that you sang on Broadway!
BONUS GIFTS!
- Anything from Broadway Cares: Give the gift that gives back when you get anything from BC/EFA. From their Broadway snow globes to Broadway ornaments to a 1992 Jerry Mitchell Broadway Bares “solo strip” DVD (hubba, hubba) these gifts will make the giver and the getter feels good all over.
- Razzle Dazzle: You may not like to read Michael Riedel’s gossipy column in the NY Post, but I promise you’re gonna love reading this tell-all about the modern history of Broadway, including all the power struggles between theater owners, unions, stars and more. You know how you were required to take US History when you were in high school? Everyone should be required to read Razzle Dazzle if you love Broadway.
- The Broadway Coloring Book: Created by my own Director of Marketing, Monica Hammond (I have such a multi-talented staff), The Broadway Coloring Book is available as an instant download PDF for you to print, color and enjoy right away or gift to friends! This 10-page coloring book features hand-drawn scenes from some classic Broadway shows, including Mamma Mia, Chicago, Cabaret, Gypsy and more! Color the costumes and sets of Broadway as many times as you like! Download your copy now!
- Once On This Island Cast Album: If you love Ahrens and Flaherty, if you love great musical theater period, you’ll love this Tony-award winning cast, and so will the theater lover in your life.
- Other honorable mentions this year go to John Breglio’s book I Wanna Be A Producer, good ol’ iTunes gift cards for the latest cast recordings, and homemade gifts on Etsy!
- Last but certainly not least, TICKETS! No list would be complete without suggesting you get tickets for the Broadway lover in your life. Unfortunately, we don’t make this easy on Broadway. You can’t get gift cards for specific shows, but you can get Telecharge Gift Cards and Ticketmaster Gift Cards.
If you’ve got an idea for a Broadway gift for the holiday season, slap it down in the comments below (I just can’t help but be hip, now can I?)
Happy Black Friday, Broadway shoppers!
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Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.
