Theatre fans throughout the world have been responding to our annual auction for a cause. They've either donated items or have been bidding like crazy. As you know, if you read this column regularly, that this year our auction proceeds are going to a dancer who was paralyzed last year while in the Jolson tour. We have 75 great theatre items up on the eBay auctioning block which I hope you'll take a look at.

In normal auctions one tries to get an item for the least one can, but in this case many are bidding knowing that their money will help spread a little Christmas cheer. The countdown has begun. Items will be auctioned off within the next 5 to 9 days. When it's all over I'll be doing lots of e-mailing asking the winners to get their checks to us fast so that we can get the proceeds in time for Christmas to where they belong. The checks will be made payable to the dancer and Talkin' Broadway, as well as some of our volunteer donors, will donate the shipping costs of the items. (Even though bidders will pay the shipping costs we are forwarding that as well.)

Here's some of the recent items we've added:

• Star in Your Own Broadway Musical IM-Poster (currently at $212.50)

• A Night on the Town - Dinner at Sardi's & Chicago Tix (currently at $157.50)

• Lots of Scarlet Pimpernel, Phantom of the Opera and Chicago stuff.

• Many 14 X 22 Broadway Posters.

• Books and autographed CD's. And on and on and on.

Head on over to eBay and, perhaps, do a little Christmas shopping at our annual Talkin' Broadway auction for a cause. For we need a little Christmas right this very minute!

They will light the tree in Duffy Square tonight but it's different than in other years when BC/EFA sponsored it. Then, it was a tribute to AIDS victims to those in the biz. I suppose we all have to move on. However, as much as I've written over the years, perhaps the one thing I'm most proud of is a thing called A Tree Grows in Duffy Square. We ran it for a few years in this column, but we'll just link it now as times, I guess, have changed.

Bid early in our auction and bid often. See you Friday!

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