PLAYBILL Covers of the 2022-2023 Season

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 6/14/22 at 11:06am

It begins!

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 6/14/22 at 11:09am

Shoutout to Beetlejuice's Pride Playbill

Updated On: 6/14/22 at 11:09 AM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/1/22 at 11:11pm

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 8/2/22 at 12:13am

LAME!!!! Put Julie on it, you cowards!

[BroadwayGuy12]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 3:37pm

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 3:54pm

Most of these are exactly what I'd expect, but that Kimberly Akimbo one is a pleasant surprise! I really like it!

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 4:02pm

Death of a Salesman is good, Leopoldstadt is great...

A lot of the other covers have clip art energy. It's no Paradise Square, but it's shocking they'd pay professional ad agencies for some of this work.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 4:25pm

Re: Kpop

SO glad they have swapped out the color scheme from their original design. While it could be a bit 'more' it is far more simple and sleek than the previous design with the colorful background and white lettering.

 

Re: Kimberly Akimbo

This design works so much as a CONCEPT, I love it, BUT the excision here is rather awful. It looks more like a proposed design and not the final one. The logo on the shirt looks so cut and pasted onto the art. It's like a Redbubble tee-shirt. When the artist uploads their art and then that art is generated onto a blank stock photo to give the idea of what the shirt will look like and not a photo of the shirt itself.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 4:58pm

They should've kept the Kimberly cover to just the logo from the tshirt. That illustration is horrid. Last I checked, thumbs only have two visible joints...

It's often you can see producers' fingerprints all over a show's artwork. Rudin had his cluttered, words and words and words art for almost every one of his shows, David Stone loves an illustration (Wicked, War Paint, now Kim). 

Updated On: 9/8/22 at 04:58 PM

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 9/8/22 at 5:11pm

I don't know anything about Kimberly Akimbo, and that artwork does not make me interested in seeing it.

I liked the 1776 artwork better before they added the egg.  I guess it's supposed to be a nod to the original artwork, but it just clashes.  You've got this detailed little picture in red, white and blue overlaying a bold reddish pink type face on a deep purple background.  

And I can't get over how bad the Into the Woods artwork is.  It's just plain ugly.  

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 9/9/22 at 8:15am

The "Take Me Out" cover looks like the show has run for 6 years, and now they have to advertise what "stunt casting" they are doing to appeal to anyone and everyone to come to their show.

I wish that the Kimberly Akimbo's was a more polished illustration. I don't mind it, though. Into the Woods I think is simple, and not flashy because the show isn't flashy in this production.

I do wish we could get more of the photographs of rehearsals/productions on the covers (ie. the last revival of Carousel, The Front Page, West Side Story, or any Playbill from the late 1950's-late 1960's.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/9/22 at 9:02am

fashionguru_23 said: "I do wish we could get more of the photographs of rehearsals/productions on the covers (ie. the last revival of Carousel, The Front Page, West Side Story, or any Playbill from the late 1950's-late 1960's."

That was a Scott Rudin thing - that is, a thing he decided to revive from the 50s and 60s. To my knowledge, he's the only recent producer who has implemented it (he produced all those shows you mentioned).

[gibsons2]

Posted: 9/9/22 at 2:13pm

I wish The Piano Lesson playbill had the same design as the theater marquee which I find striking. DOAS, KPOP, 1776 and Leopoldstadt are my favorite. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 9/9/22 at 2:18pm

fashionguru_23 said: "The "Take Me Out" cover looks like the show has run for 6 years, and now they have to advertise what "stunt casting" they are doing to appeal to anyone and everyone to come to their show.""

Or they know exactly what they're selling...which is Jesse Williams (sorry JTF). The art makes complete sense.

[Emma_Pillsbury]

Posted: 9/12/22 at 3:20pm

jkcohen626 said: "Most of these are exactly what I'd expect, but that Kimberly Akimbo one is a pleasant surprise! I really like it!"

I just now realized that the logo for Kimberly Akimbo is a facsimile of the old logo for Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park!

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 9/12/22 at 3:30pm

Emma_Pillsbury said: "jkcohen626 said: "Most of these are exactly what I'd expect, but that Kimberly Akimbo one is a pleasant surprise! I really like it!"

I just now realized that the logo for Kimberly Akimbo is a facsimile of the old logo for Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park!"

Does this mean anything within the context of the show?
 

 

[MarilynMonroeSmash]

Posted: 9/12/22 at 3:49pm

fashionguru_23 said: "Emma_Pillsbury said: "jkcohen626 said: "Most of these are exactly what I'd expect, but that Kimberly Akimbo one is a pleasant surprise! I really like it!"

I just now realized that the logo for Kimberly Akimbo is a facsimile of the old logo for Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park!"

Does this mean anything within the context of the show?

Yes, Six Flags Great Adventure is very relevant to the show.


"

Y

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 9:52pm

Did not see this posted here, lots of new covers coming up in the next few weeks.





 

























 









Thoughts - Glad the original KPOP was not what they were planning on long-term, it was atrocious and the new designs are absolutely stellar. Love seeing actual key art on Where The Mountain Meets The Sea, interesting it's not in color though and Cost of Living is (whereas most of their shows aren't). Lion King is a fantastic surprise. What in the name of everything that is holy is Music Man doing (my gut tells me they're trying to lean into autographs) but it doesn't not make it... a choice for sure. Most everything else is about as expected/as I'd hoped for. Hooray

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 10:15pm

Makes me wish I had waited on KPOP now but I’m m still probably gonna see it again

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 10:39pm

That new Lion King cover looks awesome, and just in time for the 25th anniversary. 

Ohio State Murders is giving me War Paint vibes with that cover art. What a great, great piece of narrative text that I hope plays just as well on stage.

I like what they did with KPOP, all three groups being highlighted on separate Playbills.

They blew it with the & Juliet art. Why not just use the London artwork, or simply the pink ampersand with the pink background? The Broadway key art just seems very crammed IMO. 



As for everything else, mostly plain / generic. Nothing really stands out.

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 11:10pm

I love the black and gold Lion King anniversary artwork. I miss the bright pink & Juliet artwork from London. Not a fan of the new Music Man playbill.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 11:11pm

I realize they wanted a lot of pink and gold but I feel like there was a better way to do & Juliet so the words would pop.

Becky Nurse of Salem is classic. Feels like the energy went there instead of Camelot.

Ooh, what's going on with K-POP? Will they be offering them all simultaneously or cycle through them at different times? I think the solo cover works best because there isn't that blank wall at the back though I do like the one with the girl group. I wish they'd been given some intention because it just looks like a magazine photoshoot.

The Music Man... why?

Some Like It Hot continues to look like a combo between a travel ad and clip art. At least Dirty Rotten Scoundrels took place in the French Riviera. 

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 10/17/22 at 11:29pm

Beetlejuice's new cover seems to be the design from the DC tryout back in 2018. I assume this one will start in November since they have the Halloween cover right now.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 8:21am

Love the designs for & Juliet, The Lion King, and Some Like It Hot!

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 10/18/22 at 9:19am

MattieIce2018 said: "Beetlejuice's new cover seems to be the design from the DC tryout back in 2018. I assume this one will start in November since they have the Halloween cover right now."

Aha! I was wondering why it was so plain compared to what they've been doing all year! Nice throwback for their second-to-last month. 

As far as when it will appear, Playbill cover updates usually align with the beginning of a new month because that's also when the magazine component changes. I would expect to see all of the updated covers for currently running shows to appear when November Playbills begin being distributed.