THE NEW YORK PETITION

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market, September 26, 1999

This Petition is from New York where the campaign had a table at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market.    We raised over $900 for AIDS research by selling bags of candy with our campaign buttons attached.  By the busy reaction to our table all day we would have to agree that New Yorkers really want Michael Crawford to star as the Phantom in the film!  There were people lining up to sign our petition, some would walk by and say, "I don't sign petitions," then see what it was for and say, "OH, I'll sign THAT."  Others would bring back friends and family to sign too.  The general reaction was, "Well of course, who else would be the Phantom?"  People were absolutely astounded that anyone else would even be considered.  When one woman was told that they were contemplating using Antonio Banderas, she grabbed the petition and said she wished she could sign it 20 times.  Broadway cast members signed including some from the New York production of The Phantom of the Opera, as did a little boy who was in Les Miserables.  We had men and women signing, teenagers who said they had heard so much about Michael Crawford's performance and were devastated to have missed it signed in the hopes they could finally get to see him in the role.  People from around the world including Germany, South Africa, Scotland, Singapore and Australia signed the petition on this day.  In all, around 1000 signatures were collected at our table before the closing of the Flea Market, a remarkable amount of support and all of us here at the campaign thank everyone who participated.

Here are some pictures of the New York Petition: