Just curious - - anyone know the story behind why The New Amsterdam Theatre has a "Showbill" versus a "Playbill"??
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
http://www.playbill.com/features/article/ask-playbill.com-playbill-and-showbill-144670
I recall it being discussed here before, with the answer being Disney doesn't like the alcohol ads Playbill uses. The Disney shows in other theaters have no authority to change it so they stay playbills.
The funny part is I've not seen an overwhelming number of alcohol ads in Playbill of late. (I did a little trip down memory lane with my 80s and 90s Playbills-they were chock full of cigarette and liquor ads. That sure has changed. I might have spotted about a half dozen liquor ads since 1992 and nary a cigarette one.)
If you look on the Playbillvault, nearly every show's main billing page had a large alcohol or cigarette ad at the bottom in the '60s & '70s.
You're telling me! And even into the 80s. I sure remember a time when lots of people smoked. And the ads in the Playbills are a sign of the changing times and taboos. (Although I must say I've noticed a lot of smokers lately.)
It's hilarious to look at how many people smoked in children's movies from the '70s. Now they wouldn't even dare MENTION such an obscene topic!
Did you notice how there were ads for other stuff in those earlier Playbills? (Adult stuff...)
Videos