It was William Shakespeare who wrote “O, spirit of love, how quick and fresh art thou.” Those romantic words are found on our SHAKESPEAREAN LOVE PILLOWS along with several other of the Bard’s thoughts on love, making it the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. He was also one to urge someone to “hang one’s bugle in an invisible baldric,” so depending on the type of Valentine’s Day you prefer to celebrate you may want to try the SHAKESPEAREAN BAWDY PILLOWS instead.  Can’t decide? Both pillows are available together as a set—and they’re both soft and comfortable!

Obviously, Shakespeare was a true romantic and sometimes a bit bawdy, but he also could throw an insulting zinger with the best of them. These 12 oz. SHAKESPEARE MUGS let you choose whichever side of the Bard suits you best when drinking your morning coffee—LOVE, INSULTS or BAWDY. Buy one or all three for a tempestuous Valentine gift.

Our popular plush SHAKESPEARE DOLL can sit on your desk, ride in your car or accompany you to bed… but unfortunately can’t recite a sonnet to you. Wearing great period garb (he even has faux-leather boots!), this 14” tall Bard is perfect for Valentine’s Day or an opening night gift, too. Other Shakespearean items available include a SHAKESPEARE COMPACT MIRROR, SHAKESPEARE MAGNETIC POETRY, and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHINGS STICKY NOTES

A cute new pin just in time for Valentine’s Day is simply and appropriately called the HEART PIN. The deep-red enamel tie-tac pin measures only ½”, so to ensure you have enough heart to go ‘round, they come two per pack.

We have two more items made especially to warm someone’s heart. First is the CRYSTAL HEART BOX, a heart-shaped crystal keepsake box with a ribbon etched on its lid—perfect for storing special jewelry or mementos. Or show your love and support with our silver-plated link RED RIBBON HEART CHARM BRACELET. A lovely red ribbon graces the 1” heart charm which dangles from the 7 ½” bracelet and comes in a black velour drawstring pouch.

Things are starting to heat up despite the cold weather as we start planning the 20th anniversary of BROADWAY BARES on June 20. To begin commemorating this milestone, we’ve unearthed a DVD of event creator JERRY MITCHELL’s solo strip from the very first BROADWAY BARES event, held at New York’s Splash Bar in 1992. At the time, Mitchell was dancing nearly naked on stage in the Tony®-winning The Will Rogers Follies, and after this small show featuring seven dancers performing solo strips, a legendary event was born. Check out Mitchell’s autographed BROADWAY BARES: BACKSTAGE PASS book on sale this month only!

Our STAFF PICK OF THE MONTH comes from Shipping Manager MICHAEL SIMMONS DEFORD who chooses the BROADWAY BEAR NOTE CARDS: “Hurray! The holidays are finally over, and Santa was very good to me this year. So was everyone else…almost. Now it’s time for my favorite part, sending thank you notes on these fabulous Broadway Bears note cards. They’re blank inside so I can be as nice (or as mean) as I want. And there are over thirty  incredibly costumed bears on the front of each card. I love the Phantom bear on the bottom row of the Class of 1981, but my favorite is Mufasa from The Lion King from the Class of 2003.”  Check out this year’s Bears on our web-site and bid on-line, or call 212-840-0770 x 268 to get your tickets to the February 14th event.

Your generosity has come in the form of donations, volunteering, fundraising efforts, and special event participation -- for that we can never thank you enough. When it comes time for you to show your gratitude to loved ones this Valentine's Day, you can still keep Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS in mind. When you purchase flowers and gift baskets online from our Flower Petal.com website, 12% of the proceeds are sent to Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. In fact, you can visit http://broadwaycares.flowerpetal.com any time of the year to send flowers and gifts for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and holidays -- with every purchase you make, you will be supporting our efforts.

These are great ways to say “I Love You” to both your loved one AND to Broadway Cares!