Playbill Stealing — Page 3

"Didn't you see what Emma wrote? Nobody owns them! They're public property."

No, they're not. You people are delusional to think that you have a right to take as many Playbills as you want, or that by grabbing them from the usher's stack that you aren't stealing. The Playbills are the property of the theater that passes them out until a staff member of that theater actually hands one to you. All you people who take handfuls of Playbills can actually contribute to Playbill shortages. There are several instances where a show (Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, All My Sons, Equus, Hamlet, and yes, A Steady Rain, to name a few) have all had Playbill shortages because people like you think you can take as many as you want. Playbill doesn't send an endless supply to the theater, they send little more than the equivalent of a week's performances to each theater.

What is left over (if any) is used the next week. The only time Playbills are discarded is when there is a cast change in the program that can't be inserted (point of fact: Playbill has to pay the theater/ushers extra if an insert is required for cast changes...even understudies).

I usually ask for an extra (did so tonight at The Addams Family) and usually receive one. I rarely take more than one in addition to the one I am "entitled" to.

I have, on occasion, wanted to get autographs after a show I didn't attend and have gone into the theater when people were leaving and asked for one. I have always received one with no problem.

At one of the closing nights of 9 to 5 the security guard at the stage door had some to give to anyone who needed it for an autograph. Of course the show was closing the next day so they knew that had extra.

I do think the outrage that was displayed about taking extras is a bit over the top. If I want more than the 2 given to me on my way in, I usually grab ones left on top of people's seats when walking out. It is unlikely (and I've been an usher) that these will be put back into "the pile".

I don't usually feel the need to ever walk out with more than 3 Playbills for any show - two for me to get signed and one "spare". My impression (again, from being an usher) is that the theaters order at least twice the house capacity... which says to me that taking 2 is always okay.

In Seattle we don't even get Playbills. We get a locally made thing called an Encore Arts program. They're twice the size of a Playbill so there's plenty of room for signatures. I've got a nice pile of those from various shows. I only take extras on occasion because everyone in my family gets one and then just gives it to me afterwards. I usually only get one signed and add the rest to my growing collection. I think I only have 6 actual Playbills.

Holy Crap.

Wow. Were blaxx and I the only ones to see Winston's original picture?

Extremely disturbing.

""You guys in America are very lucky to get free Playbills, in the West End we have to buy Theatre Programmes and they cost anything between $6 - $14, but they do have a lot more info in them an some have production photos
"

I think they are different though. US have programs that cost money too, with photos etc.. and Info.

Playbills are like, advertising with a cast list and some biographies, aren't they? (I.e. programs in the UK aren't equivalent).

Without music the world would Bb."

I haven't been to London since 2000 but there is a difference. Ibelieve even then we had to pay for the regular ones--and then certain shows would have the big souvenir programs too--the musicals etc. I usually always buy one but since I ended up seeing 12 shows in 6 days in London and had no money I made do with just buying the regular ones. But it is a different situation than N AMerica (and most of the plays I saw the program came with the entire script...)

What a revelatory thread

I will take an extra off the floor, specially if it has the ass dent of the person who sat on it after leaving on their chair at intermission.

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"I do think the outrage that was displayed about taking extras is a bit over the top. If I want more than the 2 given to me on my way in, I usually grab ones left on top of people's seats when walking out. It is unlikely (and I've been an usher) that these will be put back into "the pile"."

That's not the same thing, though, as taking Playbills from bundled stacks or from the usher's pile. Playbills left behind are not reused, so it's perfectly fine to take those.

"My impression (again, from being an usher) is that the theaters order at least twice the house capacity... which says to me that taking 2 is always okay."

No, they don't. Some shows may have an advance shipment of Playbills, but they aren't "extras." During the Queens blackout a few years ago, Hairspray actually had an advance shipment of Playbills, but they couldn't be distributed because they reflected cast changes that had not yet occurred. Theaters don't order Playbills in the typical sense of ordering, since they are actually paid by Playbill to distribute them.

While I rarely take more than the one I was given unless a friend specifically asked for one, I could maybe see picking up an extra or two the first time you see a show for the reasons eris mentioned. But I know people who grab a handful no matter how many times they've seen a show. (One of them at least admits it's a compulsion - which really only makes me want to put myself between him and the stack when we see shows together.) That is what I think is ridiculous.

"re producers paying for color playbills, the producers pay for b&w ones as well, they are just cheaper, if that hasn't already been discussed."

No, they don't. Paybill pays the theater owners to distribute the Playbills. The only time a producer pays is when they want the covers to be in color. If there is a cast correction insert, Playbill pays an additional fee to the ushers.

"and re the stage door guy at the Marquis giving out extras after 9 to 5, they'll do that for any show at any performance."

That's not always true. Most stagedoors don't have Playbills. And many shows with high-profile stars will ban its staff from distributing extra Playbills, even when asked (though it is ultimately up to the staff member to decide whether or not to give out an extra Playbill).

Fosse, I was under the impression that the producers still had to pay some sort of fee for the playbills regardless of color, but I guess that was wrong.
I was also just talking about at the Marquis. Every time I've been at the stage door there (Drowsy Chaperone on), they always offer playbills to those who don't have them.

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