Playbill.com poting non Bway related articles

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 3:11pm

I feel like playbill.com is continually posting articles less and less related to Bway and theatre and I find it pretty outrageous. It says at the top "Broadway, Off-Broadway and London News"...

It posted that Jennifer Grey won Dancing with the Stars... she is the daughter a Bway star and was in a movie made into a musical. Why don't they post articles about some Bway star's child's gradation or wedding. Why is DWTS Bway news??

Also today, there is a video that was posted:
http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/video/4441.html
This video is an interview/advertisment for Brazil Brazil a restarant "near" the Theatre Disctrict... I could understand a video about Sardi's or some theatre related or famed history location - but Brazil Brazil? Why not a video about McDonalds on 42nd, that's right in the Theatre District???

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 3:24pm

It's odd to complain about Playbill's lack of Broadway focus on a forum run by a site that puts GLEE on the front page every time a cast member sneezes.

[PRFRMR20]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 3:33pm

I was thinking about mentioning something about GLEE, but I figured that technically... there are two Bway actors that are leads of the show so it is more related to Bway than the off-spring of an actor or a restaurant a block away from a theater.
Updated On: 11/24/10 at 03:33 PM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 3:36pm

And I HATE that font they use.

[mikem]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 3:48pm

Jennifer Grey has appeared on Broadway, although admittedly it was a long time ago. (She was the lead in Twilight of the Golds in 1993.) Four of the six musical numbers in the Dancing with the Stars Monday finals show are from songs featured in musicals (Dreamgirls, Chicago, Roar of the Greasepaint, and Dirty Dancing), so I don't think it's a major foul for there to be a brief Playbill article on the subject (although the article doesn't actually mention any of the things I just listed). But I agree it's pretty close to off-topic.

The Brazil Brazil video seems to pretty clearly be a paid advertisement, which is similar to the ones found for restaurants in the magazine that are allegedly recommended by Broadway actors. I think they should label these things as advertisements, personally.

I actually think that BWW's articles can be a lot more tenuous in their Broadway connection than the Dancing with the Stars one. There was once photos from a POLO competition that didn't have any Broadway person involved -- I'm still scratching my head over that one.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 5:07pm

BroadwayWorld is far worse than Playbill when it comes to this. Should Bristol Palin dancing to Cell Block Tango really be posted here, just because Cell Block Tango is a showtune? And the Glee coverage is a bit over-the-top. Playbill covers it too, but not nearly to the extent that BWW does.

Playbill is my primary theatre newsource.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 6:27pm

I agree. They're going to use up all the space on the internet with this tangential s--t and pretty soon there won't be any room for legitimate (ie BroadWAY) theatre (not with an er) news.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 7:51pm

Can someone please explain what this GLEE thing is? I keep hearing lots about it but haven't bothered to check it out.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/24/10 at 10:04pm

With many misgivings, I finally decided to watch GLEE just to see what all the brouhaha was about -- I lasted 20 minutes into the show and couldn't take any more (it was the one that Carol Burnett was in). The writing was atrocious and whoever got the idea that Matthew Morrison was some kind of sex symbol needs their head examined (I base this more on his performances in Hairspray, Light in the Piazza and South Pacific). I take some comfort in knowing that this, too, will pass, but, as the trend seems to be that shows get worse and worse, I shudder to think what replaces it.

[staunchcharacter]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 3:44am

I don't think Glee is that bad (Besides Kurt's awful rendition of Rose's turn)

[binau]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 5:26am

There was a great post on ATC about Glee's Rose's Turn, quoting the Frank Rich/Sondheim discussion:

"Rich asked, 'Is it odd to see your songs, like 'Rose's Turn,' sung completely out of context by a gay boy?' And Sondheim quipped, 'I've seen them sung completely out of context in a production of 'Gypsy'!' "

In this thread: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1922135

Updated On: 11/25/10 at 05:26 AM

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/26/10 at 6:58am

"This video is an interview/advertisment for Brazil Brazil a restarant "near" the Theatre Disctrict... I could understand a video about Sardi's or some theatre related or famed history location - but Brazil Brazil? Why not a video about McDonalds on 42nd, that's right in the Theatre District???"

First of all, if you noticed Playbill.com has a restaurant database. I think it is very helpful; although it isn't theater-related, people always seem to ask what are some good places to eat before or after a show. Having a database on the website is a smart idea.

Also, in order to appeal to a more mainstream audience, sites like Playbill and BWW are going to post articles on topics like Glee and DWTS. Even if it is just about someone dancing to a Broadway showtune. If they can find the slightest Broadway connection, they'll post it.