Playbill is a NY theater tradition. I hope it doesn't disappear. I enjoy reading about the people in the shows and interviews with other theater people. Don't let another NY tradition go the way of the subway token.
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How tacky. Yes, we are literate people and want something to read, not snappy junk! How sad that Playbill is the largest national publication related to the performing arts, if not the only.
I refer to my copy of the siddur as my Praybill. Is that wrong?
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Thanks for a very informative feature on “Playbill” Jonathan, and for a related and delightful forecast. These made me think of something composer Richard Rodgers said in an interview used in the PBS “American Masters” documentary about his life and work. Asked if her remembered the very first lyric Oscar Hammerstein had ever sent him he replied: “Oh yes, ‘There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow.’”
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Let’s talk more about Playbill....and Bravo!
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Fun Alert - Today's "New York Today" Playbill article is linked on Talkin Broadway / All That Chat. This may be the first time ever.
https://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2417575
(Talkin Broadway posts only stay up for a few weeks, so after May 2018, the link above may not work.)
Congrats to Jonathan! Can I sneak in my YouTube tribute to All That Chatters from back in the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iahkfqVVUD4
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I love my collection of Playbills, many have autographs from waiting outside with my mom hoping to see the actors after the show. Now I'm so happy that my daughter, who's a HUGE theatre geek, and I continue the tradition of collecting them, then getting them signed.
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Shameful that New York City still allows plastic bags when other progressive cities around the country have banned them. Some grocery stores such as Fairway don’t even have a paper option! Once they are banned, people start bringing their own bags. Not a hard cultural habit to break. I’m sick of getting looked at like I’m crazy when I refuse a bag for a single item at the bodega!
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@Isabella: "I’m sick of getting looked at like I’m crazy when I refuse a bag for a single item at the bodega!"
Overreacting much? I have no problem saying "Thanks, I don't need a bag" and that's the end of the conversation.
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Living in a small studio in the city, I use plastic bags for garbage. It seems sanitary. What is the alternative ?
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Actually, some stores give you an argument if you don't want a plastic bag. That surprised me too. And I am still the only person who shops at my neighborhood grocery (on the Upper East Side, not a poor neighborhood!) who takes a reusable bag. There are a lot of lazy rich people out there.
END TO PARKING BLUES
Alternate parking
Exists underground.
Hey, you up there,
Look what I found!
5
Very relieved to see that Playbill is not going the way of so many things past -- not everyone is into this digital smartphone craze.
Some folks, especially those visiting our fair city, like to have something to hold onto after they've plonked down zillions for a Broadway show...LONG LIVE PLAYBILL ( in print)!!!
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Love the coverage of Playbill! Thanks for taking us "backstage" to find out more about an "ordinary" item in the lives of New Yorkers - an item that turns out to be more interesting & complex than we think it is!
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That was really interesting to learn the process. Hoping the print magazine doesn’t disappear! Can I share a Playbill memory, sparked by the Ethel Merman forecast link:
True family folklore: My brother and I exist only because of Ethel Merman being a big star. My mom and her guy then (1950 or so) went to see a SRO show starring Ethel Merman, all dressed up for their perfect seats. A house person quietly tells them they have to vacate the seats; the tickets were fake. They get up calmly, and walk the long way out of the theater. As life goes, they're embarrassed, so with not much said, after a while, it’s clear they’ve broken up, that near-Ethel Merman night [it had to be "Call Me Madam"] was their last date. Mom (of course, still not Mom yet) goes to a dance, and working the door table was a charming new-ish to NY guy who would later be Dad. [Mom’s name is Rosalie, and Dad would actually talk-sing “Everything’s coming up Rosie” for her.]
Mom and Dad first told us this story on the subway to see Merman in “Hello Dolly.” They still have the Playbill, which I saw when I was in Florida for their 65th anniversary a few months ago, signed not by Merman (she didn’t say hello between shows on 2-show days; the delightful St. James doorman said Ethel gave her all for us at the matinee, and knew she had to do the same that night, - but her co-star Jack Goode who hilariously played Horace was happy to say hello and sign all our Playbills.)
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This couldn’t fit the other comment, so a quick Playbill postscript:
My Mom and Dad took a printout the first time I was ever quoted in a Playbill article (Mom was so happy: “Playbill talked to you?”) and had it on their fridge in Luna Park until that fridge was replaced:
http://www.playbill.com/article/world-premiere-of-last-starfighter-music...
Looking back, I think the Storm Theatre’s publicity person actually created that quote, ran it by me during a rehearsal, then released it. The magic of theatre and Playbill!
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Ah, Freddie, you really ARE a librettist, both professionally and on here for the edification of NY Times readers! Bravo!
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Love this story, Freddie!
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I will always cherish my Playbill collection! There are even a few shows I don’t exactly remember since I saw them so long ago. It is a tangible record of my pursuit of culture. The theater is like nothing else (ok, maybe a live sporting event), in that, it only occurs ONCE!
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