When, how and where are playbills printed?

[steven22]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:42pm

When are the playbills for broadway shows printed?..and how long before a show does the theater put a little insert it with the understudies?...i've always wondered...

[Marianne2]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:46pm

I would imagine they would print them month to month, or if there was a change in cast. Maybe a little more frequently than that, but that's just my guess. And they probably put the understudy things in the day of or maybe even before a performance because they never know when people are going to call out sick or with some emergency.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:46pm

Double post.

Updated On: 4/6/08 at 04:46 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:54pm

They're printed at a printing plant, tied in bundles, and brought to the individual theaters by Playbill's delivery service.

Unless there is a cast change or conversion from color to black-and-white, they're printed by the month.

Understudy slips are added by the ushers right before the house opens.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 4:54pm

I would imagine they would print them month to month, or if there was a change in cast. Maybe a little more frequently than that, but that's just my guess.

Check the first few pages. Playbill is a monthly publication. Conveniently, the month and year are published in each issue. And each month, it progresses forward.

[fnyboi88]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 5:25pm

I think they're printed somewhere in Queens. When there was a power outage in Queens (2006) we were only given one Playbill per couple of people due to it @ Spamalot.

Updated On: 4/6/08 at 05:25 PM

[Glitter and be Gay]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 7:17pm

Theater's Memory Bank Expands
The New York Times
By JONATHAN MANDELL
Published: August 25, 2002

DO not ask Philip S. Birsh, president and publisher of Playbill magazine, about 'Kiss Me, Kate' or Swoosie Kurtz or Tony Kushner; he is more comfortable talking about his three Komori color printing presses. Mr. Birsh does not go to the theater that much.

'I don't have time,' he said recently as he walked through the Playbill printing plant in Woodside, Queens, overseeing another daily press run of about 60,000 Playbills, soon to increase to 80,000. 'I'd like to see shows, but I have three children, and a company to run.'


Theater's Memory Bank Expands

[musicandtemiror]

Posted: 4/6/08 at 8:11pm

That was really nice to know.
Thanks
I always wondered when and how.

Thanks

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 4/7/08 at 5:13pm

This would be a great question for that Playbill.com Question of the Week thing. Maybe they'll pick you and you'll get a free mug out of the deal.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/7/08 at 6:31pm

That was a very informative article, and pretty much the same practices occur today (it was written in 2002). Programs are delivered weekly...I'm not sure if all theatres receive them on the same day or if they are staggered. Ushers insert replacement slips into the programs the day of the performance. They are never inserted in advance, though if their are extra inserted programs ushers will keep them and use them at the next performance if they expect the same insert to be used (and much of the time it is speculation on their part).

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/7/08 at 6:50pm

Thank you for posting that article Glitter. I printed it and will read it this evening at home while waiting for my friend to call me and tell me how fabulous the Sondheim show was this evening!!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/7/08 at 6:53pm

"They are never inserted in advance, though if their are extra inserted programs ushers will keep them and use them at the next performance if they expect the same insert to be used (and much of the time it is speculation on their part)."

I believe that happened to me once. I had a slip in my Playbill stating that an understudy would be going on. And yet, when she made her entrance it was the regular actress. Unless they've started using clones as understudies which is a different thread all together.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/7/08 at 8:54pm

Thanks for posting the link to that article, Glitter!

A great, informative piece.

[AStack75]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 1:05am

Interesting article.

"Then as now, the company paid the theaters for the right to distribute its programs free to theatergoers, and made its money from the advertising."

Did not know that. Makes sense though.

[jake6970]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 1:08am

One time at Hairspray, I saw an evening show where Michelle Dowdy played Tracy and another girl played her at the matinee. At the night show, they were giving out matinee playbills so I went through the entire performance thinking Tracy was Lori Eve instead of Michelle.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 1:09am

I believe understudy slips are printed in advance and kept at the theatre in case an understudy is needed to go on the day of a performance. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 1:58am

"I believe understudy slips are printed in advance and kept at the theatre in case an understudy is needed to go on the day of a performance. Correct me if I'm wrong."

I would imagine so because you never have much notice if someone gets sick. A few hours - sometimes maybe even less.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 2:12am

Elves. It's all elves. The entire job was outsourced to them by The League of New York Theater Producers several decades ago.

So far so good....

[WhitehallandMarks]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 11:06am

One time at Hairspray, I saw an evening show where Michelle Dowdy played Tracy and another girl played her at the matinee. At the night show, they were giving out matinee playbills so I went through the entire performance thinking Tracy was Lori Eve instead of Michelle.

Wow. A lot of people could (and should) be in trouble for that. That's an Equity fine right there if I'm not mistaken.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 11:28am

I believe that happened to me once. I had a slip in my Playbill stating that an understudy would be going on. And yet, when she made her entrance it was the regular actress. Unless they've started using clones as understudies which is a different thread all together.

That happened to me at Drowsy once. I had a slip in my playbill that said Stacia Fernandez was on as Trix, but that was not the case. My first clue should have been that it said "The company of The Drowsy Chaperone welcomes Cindy Williams as Mrs. Tottendale" when she had been in the show for over a week.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 11:34am

Imagine a show without Playbills?

[fnyboi88]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 11:35am

I would be sad

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 11:57am

"Wow. A lot of people could (and should) be in trouble for that. That's an Equity fine right there if I'm not mistaken."

Don't make rude comments (the "and should") if you don't know how things work. Ushers have only a half hour to insert as many as 7 inserts (The Color Purple and Hairspray are notorious for this). The policy is that NO programs without inserts are to be handed out. It is nearly impossible to fill programs with two inserts...imagine having three or more. If you went to a show and were refused a program because they ran out of inserted programs you would be furious and probably complaining about it here. Ushers generally habd out un-inserted Playbills when they run out, but technically they aren't supposed to. The case where you get wrong inserts can only happen in three cases: (1) out of two or more inserts, only one was changed from the previous performance and the usher was only replacing that insert and, like most people, may have missed one or two; (2) instead of waiting to be handed a program, the cutomer grabs a program from a stack of Playbills that were not being passed out; and (3) the usher saw that programs were already inserted and assumed for whatever reason they were with the appropriate inserts. Technically, the house manager isn't supposed to open the house unless the ushers are finished with inserts, but they don't really seem to care if the ushers are ready or not. And the sad truth is that the ushers are the ones who get in trouble, when in fact it isn't really their fault.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 2:53pm

Yeah, being an usher is a thankless job. I did it a few times for shows at school, and nobody cares about what you are doing. Actually, I got in trouble for opening my door early at one, because I didn't know they had a specific door opening time. Actually, I didn't know because I did the same thing a couple days earlier, and it was okay. Plus, it's difficult when people don't tell you things in advance. Fortunately, it was only my roommate I had to deal with, even though I didn't like her that much.

And it does have to be hard to put all the inserts in, and getting them totally right. I remember looking at the one from A Chorus Line that my parents went to, and pretty much it looked like there were at least 10 inserts in this. It was like the whole company was out at this performance, or a mistake was made.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/8/08 at 2:55pm

steven22- you may wanna ask broadwaymatt - he works for playbill or e-mail Steve Gans -head of Playbill.

I am sure they would appreciate your questions? they are such nice guys!

J*