B&W/Colour playbills

[binau]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 6:40am

Hi,

I thought that Playbill pays productions to hand out playbills, however if that is the case then why do shows sometimes (often?) switch to B&W when money is running tight?

Unless they have to pay for the printing of the cover or something :-?

thanks

[winston89]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 7:03am

Because Playbill would print the cover in black and white for no extra cost. If the producers want the cover to be in color then they have to pay for it themselves which adds up because color ink is expensive. So, for most shows after they open or if they aren't doing so well then they will switch over and use the black and white ones which would not add any extra cost to the production.

[saveusmike]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 12:31pm

Winstons right but there is something that puzzles me. Why did Rock of Ages switch to black and white so quick??

The show isint doing bad at all and alot of people (when I saw it) were jamming the stage door to get it signed, so I doubt people were just throwing them on the floor.

Did they just do it to save more money?

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 12:51pm

When I saw Billy Elliot in March, I got a black and white playbill. It was grossing over $1 million a week. As for the Rock of Ages question, there is an intern for the show on this board who might be able to answer the question.

[TreyKenyon]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 1:01pm

I wondered the same thing about Rock of Ages. Though, from a business point of view, I wonder why any show has color Playbills. I don't know what the actual cost is to get color Playbills, but if its even a moderate expense, why wouldn't a show go to B&W? I mean, most people don't really care too much about the cover of the Playbill (plenty of people just leave them at the theatre), so why even bother spending the extra money?

[mikem]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 1:36pm

I think that shows are switching to B&W faster than they used to, with Billy Elliot and God of Carnage being prime examples of hits that switched fast.

I think that a color Playbill is part of marketing. It is more likely to be kept and maybe even displayed. It catches your eye and is more "special" than a B&W Playbill. Also, a color Playbill for a long-running show is an external way of the producers indicating that the show is doing well financially.

Updated On: 8/16/09 at 01:36 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 11:07pm

And, there are long running shows that have color playbills and those that don't. The Lion King for example, does in fact have a color playbill after ten years, Wicked has one after all these years and they are in color as well. Whereas, there is something like Mamma Mia! which doesn't have a color playbill despite being a huge hit internationally.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/17/09 at 12:25am

The Lion King doesn't use Playbill, they have "showbills" so Disney can control all the content.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/17/09 at 12:29am

Not true. Ever since they moved to the Minskoff they started using playbills. Poppins does have showbills at the New Amsterdam and even the 42nd street revival had them so that the producers could control the content and make it more central to the show. But, you're incorrect about Lion King. Yes, when they played in the New Amsterdam they did have Showbills, but, since they moved, they are now using playbills.

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 8/17/09 at 8:40am

The reason they use Showbills at JUST the New Amsterdam shows is because it is a Disney-owned house, am I correct? Because I even have a Stagebill from early on in The Lion King's Run, which was totally produced by Disney by themselves...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/17/09 at 10:59am

Showbill is still a product of the same company that produces Playbill.

Here is the link explaining the differences:

http://www.playbill.com/features/article/112023-ASK_PLAYBILL.COM_Playbill%AE_and_Showbill%AE

[54streetDIVA]

Posted: 8/17/09 at 3:10pm

I wish they were all in Color, they are always take me back to the show

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 11/21/09 at 11:03pm

I just found out that the In The Heights Playbill is in black and white. Honestly, I'm crushed. :/

[dshnookie]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 5:48am

In the Next Room and Finian's Rainbow are still in color.

I do think of all the current running shows, the ones that really should be/and look best in color are Finian's and In the Heights.

[winston89]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 8:13am

I agree. I had seen someone walk around Times Square a little while ago holding a black and white playbill for In The Heights and I hated it.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 10:06am

I think that black and white should be a sign that a show is closing or something. I don't know. They just look bad in black and white.

[bway1261]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:30am

"In the Next Room and Finian's Rainbow are still in color."

I'm glad to hear that Finian's is still in color. I'm seeing it next week and was hoping it would be. I think it would look horrible in black and white.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:34am

My ITH playbill is in color so I guessed they changed to B/W @ some point.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:38am

In the Heights must have made the switch to black and white within the last 6 months because I saw the show in late April and the Playbill was still in color.

[winston89]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 11:41am

I would say that it was clearly very recently that In The Heights changed their playbill from color to black and white. It must have been not even two weeks ago when I was walking in the theatre district and saw a black and white playbill for it.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 12:12pm

I have a 1982 Playbill of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and it's in black and white. Anybody else see the irony in that?

[dshnookie]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 1:58pm

The last time I saw In The Heights was on 10/17 and the playbill was in black and white. I didnt even bother to keep it. When I put my HAIR playbill away, I glanced at my ITH color playbill and couldnt imagine it being anything but.

While I do agree that changing to b&w may be a way for struggling shows to cut costs, I dont think it means they're all about to close. When I first saw Billy Elliot a month into its run, the playbill was in color and now - arent they in b&w? same for Mamma Mia.

My Hair playbill is in b&w and that seems to still be going strong. My Legally Blonde one too and I saw that four months after it opened (and ran for another year and few months). However, 9 to 5 switched to b&w very soon and thats now gone. I saw Hairspray the summer before it closed and it was in color, then a month or two later they were in black and white before the show closed that January. Yet, Spamalot was still in color a month or two before it closed. My point is, it's difficult to predict anything based on how a playbill is printed and whether it switches from color to b&w. Although for some shows it doesnt matter (God of Carnage, RENT, Equus) and some even look great in black and white (August: OC), I will say that I do prefer color ones to b&w :)

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 2:15pm

If only they had Playbills in two types (color/black and white) so when we go to the theatre, we can choose. If that was an actual option, I would keep a feww of both.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 2:19pm

I don't think B&W Playbills should be an indication of a show's closing. Eventually, most shows have to cut costs somewhere even if they aren't doing horribly. I like collecting Playbills, but I guess it isn't a huge deal to me if they're B&W.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 11/22/09 at 3:46pm

dshnookie, i actually do have to agree with you when you say that some playbills look nice in B&W