SHOWBILL vs. PLAYBILL

[BrdwyBnd2005]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:23am

Sorry . . . Is this a retarded question, but what is the difference between a SHOWBILL and a PLAYBILL. I think I know, but I'm not too sure.

Help a brotha out!

Thanks.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:37am

In terms of broadway the only show to get a showbill at is Poppins. Disney uses what they call Showbills ( which has the same kind of cover as a playbill) for the New Amsterdam. They created this because they wanted to have it show more information about the spcific disney show and not theatre news in general which is what the playbill shows.

Ther articles In the current showbill at the new amsterdam are all about Poppins and the creative process ect ect.

[sgv123]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:42am

i think lion king is showbill too.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 1:43am

Search =)

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 2:10am

There are currently four archived topics with this exact title that pop up just on the first page if you had done a search.

Basically, if I understand this correctly, SHOWBILL is owned by PLAYBILL -- that is, it's the same company. And it is not just Disney who can or does use them. Any company can use them if they pay more money. SHOWBILL simply gives the company, theatre or show producers more control of the article content and advertisements used in the programs they distribute. That's it.
Updated On: 8/21/07 at 02:10 AM

[jaystarr]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 4:26pm

Updated On: 8/21/07 at 04:26 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 4:56pm

i think CatsNY revival is right,

However, disney is the only one that has enough money to use them And they only use them at the new amsterdam theatre. When Lion king moved to the Minskoff they went to use the typical playbill.

[markymatt]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:48pm

Playbill has the difinitive answer to this question on their site today, so I thought I'd bump this up:


ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Playbill and Showbill

[henryt]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:55pm

That's very interesting. I never would have guessed!

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:42pm

So if Playbill PAYS the theatre to use their programs, then why do some shows go black & white while others remain in color?

[markymatt]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:49pm

Good question. Maybe they get paid less for color programs?

[myManCape]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 5:40pm

If you read between the lines its more then just the liquor and tobacco. Disney wants to control all of the ads. For a similar reason Showbills were used at the Ford Center to eliminate ads from other companies.

And search this topic is discussed weekly.

[markymatt]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 5:42pm

Thank you, I did search which is why I bumped up an older thread as opposed to starting a new one.

[myManCape]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 6:36pm

Sorry Matt, Didnt notice the dates.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 6:50pm

Interesting, I'd never heard of Showbill before today. The Broadway tours I see are all Playbill and the local theater's produce their own "Playbills"/programs.

[Glitter and be Gay]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 10:35pm

"So if Playbill PAYS the theatre to use their programs, then why do some shows go black & white while others remain in color?"

Ooh, ooh, Mr. Cahtah!

A black & white cover comes at no cost to the producers of a show. There is a charge for a color cover, as color printing is more expensive. Some producers opt not to pay this charge, and so the Playbills for those shows have black and white covers.

Other producers opt to pay for the color cover and keep it for the duration of the run.

Still others start out with a color cover, business is not so great, they start looking at any way to cut costs, and ditch the color cover. And others plan in advance on paying for the color cover only until the show opens, and then switching to black and white after that.

And that's the reason why you'll sometimes see both black and white and color Playbill covers for the same show. I love having inside sources.

[myManCape]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 12:17am

"I love having inside sources." Was that necessary? And it does not take an inside source to figure that out. Color = more, B&W = less. Tell your source thanks for solving the mystery of life.

[bially082]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 1:19am

MyManCape-....agreed....

[Dover]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 2:15am

I never knew Playbill owned Showbill. I guess it makes good business sense. It's been a long time, but I seem to remember some opera companies use (or used to use) Showbill as well. Am I crazy?

I for one am working on a new show and took it as a great sign for my continued employment to see we had color Playbills at first preview. I wouldn't have really expected that. In general you can tell a lot about how a show is doing from how quickly they start using B&W.

[jake230306]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 2:57am

I'm actually really fascinated by all this lol! Really interesting. I've always been so confused by showbills.

[markymatt]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 10:25am

myManCape--I made a very similar mistake yesterday. It happens : )

[Dylan20]

Posted: 2/23/21 at 10:48am

lol I just wanted to reply to this message 14 years later! hi how r u