Oklahoma Playbill

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 12:16am

I am looking for a picture of the original Oklahoma playbill. I tried doing a google search and found these two pictures. I was wondering which one was the original (if any of them).

Thanks so much in advance!

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 12:57am

Wow, that's a really good question. Both of those graphics are very closely associated with the production. Now I'm curious, too!

[ThoroughlyModern]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 1:34am

It looks like the top image is from the original Playbill.
Outside cover
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=30ubjft&s=4
Inside
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=29xetf5&s=4

And the second image is possibly from the the program. Or maybe a later printing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/OKLAHOMA-PLAYBILL-AND-ORIGINAL-PROGRAM_W0QQitemZ140300077730QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090208?IMSfp=TL090208162003r8274#ebayphotohosting

Sorry about the links. I can't seem to post the pictures on here. Hope that helps.



Updated On: 2/11/09 at 01:34 AM

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 2:12am

I wish I had a definitive answer. Both say THE PLAYBILL FOR THE ST. JAMES THEATRE so evidently both were used during the original run.

The Max Wilk book on the show has a photo of the playbill with the surrey photo and what appears to be the date June 13, 1943, written in the bottom right hand corner (it's a little hard to read).

The design on the other is the original poster design, as seen on page 175 of Tim Carter's book on the show.

Taking a guess, it seems possible that when the show opened, the poster design was used on the playbill, then they may have switched to the photo once the show was an established hit. I wonder if perhaps later in the run they switched back to the poster design (since it's clearly the original cast in the photo) or perhaps some other design or a new photo.

[jo]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 6:47am

I don't know if this helps --

I have a copy of the London Playbill for the RNT revival of the show in 1998-1999. The Playbill contains a chronology of events, photos, as well as some anecdotes on how the show became the landmark American musical.

The second photo on the Opening Post is identified as a poster for the retitled ( versus the original show "Away We Go!") show. Maybe the second photo was also used as the cover for the Playbill?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 7:25am

I think the bottom one is a later version. It was definitely the cover for the National Tour(s) souvenir brochures, I have two of them. (One Pre- and one Post- Allegro)

[PalJoey]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 9:24am

I'm pretty sure that the standard design for playbills in the early 1940s was a sepia production photograph and not the poster, which was probably used later in the run, when the cast changed, so they wouldn't have to keep changing the photograph.

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 2/11/09 at 8:08pm

Thank you guys so much for all your help!