well, i have about 20 right now of shows ive seen (out of towner!), but I'm signed up for a Playbill Opening Night Playbill Service so i get Opening Night show playbills for the next year in the mail! :)
i have one from every show i have seen on and off broadway starting from peter pan to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
"At the opening night party, they had clowns on stilts, jugglers, a chocolate fountain, popcorn, hot dogs. [My son] looked at me like I had been holding back. Like, 'This is what you do?' I had to tell him, 'No, no, darling. Opening nights don't usually look like this.' It's usually a dark bar with a bottle of vodka." ?Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's Jan Maxwell
plus i proudly share the title of the shortest member over the age of 10 with wickedrentq!
I have one for every show I've seen since A Chorus Line in 1987, and a few extras here and there from ones people have brought me - totalling probably about 125 or so.
I have two boxes overflowing with them. Each playbill is in a sealed plastic bag. (Yes I have too much time on my hand). They go back to Cats from 1983 (My first show).
"Judy Garland, Jimmy Dean, You tragedy Queen" ~ Taboo
"Watching a frat boy realize just what he put his d!ck in...ex's getting std's...schadenfruede" ~ Ave Q
"when dangers near, exploit their fear" ~ Reefer Madness the Musical
I have every show I've ever seen, minus The Phantom of the Opera, which I lost. I didn't like Phantom, but I wish I had the Playbill just to complete my collection. oh well..
One from every show I've ever seen, including if I've seen a show more then once. Going back to A Chorus Line, my first show on Broadway in 1987. I have to do something more to preserve them.
I guess I'm downright anal about them! I have 15 Playbill binders for the shows I've been to, 1 leather Playbill with slipcases for all those 'special' limited editions or signed Playbills, and over a thousand loose Playbills.....alphabeticalized for easy access (and to give away).
I've also collected a program, a poster and coffee mug from every show I've attended that had those items for sale at the theatre.
I have an "On the Twentieth Century" Playbill for each month it played on Broadway, including the Feb. 19, 1978, opening night edition. I also have the Boston tryout Playbill from the show. The show only ran 13 months, so it's not as many Playbills as you think. I'm a fanatical "On the Twentieth Century" collector, as you might have noticed. Updated On: 2/10/06 at 11:31 AM
I have saved the Playbill( and the program if not Playbill) for every Boradway and out of town show I have seen since May 1960. I'd estimate that they now number over a thousand and include most of the successful and "biggies" as well as many, many not so big or famous or successful. I also maintain a database of all the shows/concerts I've seen including relevant info. Obsessive-compulsive? YES!
I need to find a good way to organize mine. I saw the playbill binders but I didn't really like it and thought I could make my own - except that I couldn't find those plastic 3 hole punched sheets in playbill size.