Playbill Stealing — Page 2

Playbills are mini-magazines that are put out each month. Inside there are advertisements, theatre related articles, and cast lists/biographies from the show you're at. Each show has the same playbill. If you go to see Hair on Friday and Ragtime on Saturday the articles will be the same in both playbills.

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Updated On: 11/13/09 at 07:44 PM

I take an extra one from the usher's stack also....I really don't want one from the floor, because somebodies sweaty fingerprint might be on it. Also, when I do take an extra one I hide the one I already have ,,,,,I guess because I think a cop will tackle me to the ground or something?? lol not sure why I care if someone sees me.........

Dsnookie,

I just looked at my copies --

*Opening Night Playbill (signed) - dark grey/slightly purple tint
*Other Playbills ( I saw it 5 times from Oct 10- 18 ) had dark grey with almost bluish tint
*Playbill from the last time I saw it ( signed) - more purplish with dark grey tint

Now I have a collection of differently hued covers

Sorry - but I think there was no distinction at all -- they were simply the result of the color tints that came out from the printers. They probably try to minimize the costs of printing and were not too careful with quality control.

Your copy is okay - what you have is all they've got!

Jo

Updated On: 11/13/09 at 08:09 PM

And for the record Eris and Weez: Here is an actual photo of Emma and Winston (here with their intellectual peer, Drunk Chita Rivera).

Updated On: 11/13/09 at 08:11 PM

Yes.

jo, okay.

It is also possible to distinguish color playbills from black and white ones by the www.playbill.com logo at the bottom of the front cover.




but if you dont think they are different, I agree to disagree

Chenofan, they can't be stolen. They don't belong to anyone.

BobbyBubby: Notice the quotation marks around "steal". Do I need to come through your computer and make air quotes for you?

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No problem, dsnookie

Thanks for that bit of info on the www.playbill.com color block at the bottom -- I am afraid that in all my playbills of the show, all had a yellow band of color. Maybe the newer ones are in white?

Postscript: My signed poster has arrived -- and the same black and white artist rendering on a larger scale against a very dark and inky border now looks like art photography! The signatures were also carefully placed near the title, not marring the melded images by which the artist has captured the essence of the play. It will look very good mounted on a wall, maybe because it is "art noir"

Jo

Updated On: 11/14/09 at 08:46 PM

I ALWAYS take at least 5 when leaving the theater. I don't think it matters. Tonight at Ragtime they had Opening Night Playbills printed and I took at least 7 or 8 of them.

^^What? Are you trying to be funny? I don't get it.

Having ushered, I will usually give out extra Playbills to anyone who asks for one. I do get annoyed when they grab them off the stack as I'm holding a heavy handful of them, but I don't say anything. I think it's better though to take them from the piles at the end of the show. You don't have to hold onto them throughout (smushed in your bag, curled up in your pocket, wet from your sweaty grip) and we ushers (well, me anyway) won't mind. The only thing that happened to me was once, we had forgotten a stack of Playbills (50) downstairs, and before we knew it, the house was full - and we had to go get more. It didn't help matters that almost 20 people that night wanted an extra Playbill. We ran around stealing a few from each usher. But when all is said and done, ask for an extra, and I'll give it to you with no fuss. I didn't buy the darn things.

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I always take at least five extra. Theres nothing wrong with taking extra because they're never gonna do anything with those programs anyway.