Dating playbills?

[Emi892]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 11:12pm

i live in London and i have a small collection of playbills

i just wondered how you figure out the dates of them if you dont know the date they were obtained (i have some from shows i've been to myself and others that i was given or bought etc etc)

i also was curious to know the general value of different playbills, is there some sort of "list"? not that i intend to sell them i've just heard of some being quite valuble and i was curious :)

[TimeSquare3]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 11:20pm

Flip to the table of contents (2 pages in), it lists the month & year.

[Emi892]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 9:08am

thanks :)

in regards to valuing playbills i assume it relies on specific peoples interest in cast etc more than anything else..?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:12pm

^ The cast, the show, and some other things.

And it's all relative. I paid $20 for "Carrie" but my "High Button Shoes" Closing Night was only $4.

[Emi892]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:23pm

is there a way to tell if its an opening or closing night?

is the month and year matching up the closest you're going to get to figuring that out? other than trusting a seller or having been there yourself

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:25pm

Opening Night playbills have it written on the credits page.

Closing Night is sometimes marked, but a lot of times, it's down to "What cast and month/year is this?" My HBS may not be closing, but it's from the final month, so I choose to believe it's closing.

[Emi892]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 1:42pm

this may sound stupid but which page... the one near the middle with the show title and starring cast/creative?

and what sort of mark or note am i looking for?
would it just say opening night -date-?

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 2:06pm

Both opening and closing night playbills have dates on the title page, where the cast and creative is credited.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/3/09 at 2:13pm

^ Not all of them having closing. I was at the final performance of November, and it made no reference to that whatsoever in the playbill.