Playbill

[Broadwayfanatic2]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 2:45pm

This may be a stupid question but why do some playbills have a coloured cover while some are black and white? I went to see a musical two years ago and I was kinda disappointed that the picture was black and white. Yesterday though, I was reading the thread about storing playbills and there was this one person who had put a photo of his/her collection on his/her wall and I noticed that some of them had a coloured cover? How come?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 2:48pm

Most shows begin production with color Playbills. Once the show takes off -- has received good reviews and is filling the house on its own merit -- the audience is getting what they paid for in what is on stage, and therefore there is little reason for the producers to spend the extra money to print color Playbills.

Updated On: 3/18/07 at 02:48 PM

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 2:50pm

It costs more to have them in color, so I think that most shows only have colored ones for a few weeks after they've opened and then switch to black and white...unless it's Wicked or a Disney show that can afford the color ones.

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 6:44pm

At $110 a seat, the color shouldn't be that much of a cost consideration, especially if you look at the advertising rates :)

[broadwayjoe476]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:05pm

bump! If im paying for the seat, convenience charge, and restoration fee there better be a fee to print the playbill in color included in there somewhere. It's rediculous, and come on, how much money are they gonna save a year?? prolly lower than $10,000. SUCKS!

[sidjones09]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:09pm

I agree. Everyone's paying the same price. Everyone should get the same Playbill.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:15pm

Of course, you have the occasional cheap theatre company that prints them in black and white no matter how well the show is doing.

I won't name names but..
Roundabout.

(My BLACK AND WHITE preview PJ Game signed Playbill)

[musicaltheater1]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:53pm

Unless the logo of the production is intentionally produced in B&W then a Playbill will issue a B&W at the last performance of the production.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/18/07 at 7:54pm

The problem is most theatergoers, especially those from out of town, do not care if in color or not

[Broadwayfanatic2]

Posted: 3/19/07 at 8:23pm

ok... thanks for your responses!

Mr. Roxy : If I want to frame a playbill (signed or not) it's just nicer to look at if it's coloured. Hmmm... I don't understand why theatregoers especially those out of town would not care. I actually think that it would be the opposite. If you only see broadway shows extremely rarely wouldn't you treasure the playbill and other souvenirs from those shows even more? Anyhow... I do agree that most of the people in attending the show wouldn't care but I sure would enjoy it!

[folkyboy]

Posted: 3/19/07 at 8:50pm

judging from how many tourists left their COLOR Curtains playbill on the floor of the Al Hirshfeld Theatre, i doubt they care. people are lame.

[Mythus]

Posted: 3/19/07 at 8:52pm

This is a bit off-topic (sort of), but it's about Playbills...when I saw La Cage during previews, the front of the Playbills were very low-quality. Grainy, slightly off-color...a friend of mine sent me a copy of the Playbill from after the show opened, and they were much better quality. So my question is...what's up with that?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/19/07 at 9:08pm

Most shows begin production with color Playbills. Once the show takes off -- has received good reviews and is filling the house on its own merit -- the audience is getting what they paid for in what is on stage, and therefore there is little reason for the producers to spend the extra money to print color Playbills.

That's the biggest load of made up crap I've ever read. It's about money. Not good reviews or the audience getting what they pay for(!!!) All of that is exceedingly subjective. If the producers are willing to give up the cash for a color playbill then a show gets color playbills. That's all it is...