Playbill
ISSN 0551-0678 | |
Playbill is an American monthly magazine for
Playbill was first printed in 1884 for a single theater on 21st Street[
History
What is known today as Playbill started in 1884, when Frank Vance Strauss founded the New York Theatre Program Corporation[2] specializing in printing theater programs. Strauss reimagined the concept of a theater program, making advertisements a standard feature and thus transforming what was then a leaflet into a fully designed magazine.[3] The new format proved popular with theatergoers, who started to collect playbills as souvenirs;[3] however, the name (The) Playbill did not appear until the 1930s while earlier programs published by the company simply bore the name of the venue.[4]
In 1918, Frank Vance Strauss sold the company to his nephew, Richard M. Huber. From 1918 onward, the company started printing playbills for all of Broadway and by 1924, was printing 16,000,000 programs for over 60 theaters.[3][5] The 1920s also saw attempts to introduce consistency in the design with the covers of the magazines featuring artwork representing the theater, which would stay the same from show to show.[4] In 1934–35, the name The Playbill made its first appearance on the cover[5] although there was still no standard logo in that period. The design underwent a series of transformations with show titles occasionally switching places with The Playbill logo in various places on the cover until the magazine's logo found its permanent place at the top of the front cover[4] and the publication as it is known today became Playbill in 1957, under then-owner Gilman Kraft.[3][6]
Format
Each issue features articles focusing on actors, new
In lieu of the cast and show information, the subscription edition of Playbill contains listings of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions and news from London productions and North American touring companies.
The Playbill banner is yellow with black writing. Each June since 2014, the yellow banner has been replaced with a rainbow banner for
The Playbill banner has changed the yellow to another color on rare occasions in its history:
- October 2008 – green for the fifth anniversary of Wicked
- October 2011 – royal blue for the tenth anniversary of Mamma Mia!
- October 2013 – green for the tenth anniversary of Wicked[8]
- April 2018 – white and red for the fifth anniversary of Kinky Boots
- November 2021 – black for the 25th anniversary of Chicago
Other media
Playbill launched Playbill Online in January 1994. The free website offers news about the theater industry, focusing on New York shows but including regional theater, touring, and international stage happenings. It is read by show fans and theater practitioners, and is updated regularly. It also offers discounts on tickets and dining for its members.
In 2000, Playbill added www.playbillstore.com, an online shopping store offering official Playbill merchandise and merchandise from most current Broadway and touring productions.
In 2006, Playbill released its first records on
Playbill Radio, a 24-hour Broadway-themed internet radio station featuring news, podcasts, and a musical library of over 20,000 titles, premiered in 2007.
In 2011, Playbill launched Playbill Vault, a comprehensive online database of Broadway history. Playbill Vault provides records of Broadway productions from 1930 to the present.[9] Information on the website includes original and current casts, actor head shots, production credits, Playbill cover images, scanned Playbill Who's Who pages, production photos, and videos.
In 2012, Playbill launched Playbill Memory Bank, a website that allowed theater-goers to track their memories of their theater attendances by entering dates they attended a show, along with information like ticket scans. The site provided information about cast members, including which performer had each particular role, for roles that may have had several replacements over the life of the show. Playbill Memory Bank shut down December 31, 2016.[10]
Playbill launched its first app, called Playbill Passport, on January 4, 2016.[11]
In 2021, Playbill added a "post-the-pay" rule to their job site after a campaign by On Our Team and Costume Professionals for Wage Equity called for an increased pay transparency and equity in the theater industry.[12][13]
Competition with Stagebill
For decades, Playbill concentrated on Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters, while
In response to Stagebill's upstart incursion, Playbill began to produce Showbill, a sister publication that conformed to Disney's advertising requirements for all publications distributed in its properties.
Additionally, Playbill responded further by producing publications for classic arts venues, aggressively courting many venues that were once Stagebill clients. In the spring of 2002, Playbill signed a contract with
Museum of Broadway
Playbill is a founding member of the Museum of Broadway.[20]
References
- ^ "National Rate Card" (PDF). Playbill. January 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ "Inside description of ownership". The Playbill. 1939.
- ^ a b c d "The fascinating history of theater program". The Smith Center. July 13, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ a b c Culwell-Block, Logan (August 24, 2018). "The Evolution of the Playbill Design From 1885–2018". Playbill. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Magazine Theatre Program". Dumbarton Oaks. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ Walsh, Kevin (May 23, 2014). "Playbill's the Thing in Woodside". Brownstoner. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ "Wicked Playbill Will Be Greenified for 10th Anniversary on Broadway". Playbill. September 30, 2013. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Dries, Kate. "Daily Rehearsal: Theater nerds rejoice over Playbill Vault". WBEZ Onstage/Backstage. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2011.
- ^ "Playbill Memory Vault 2012 - 2016". facebook.com. December 6, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ "Playbill Passport App Launches: The First-Ever Mobile Companion to Broadway Programs". Playbill. March 6, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ Reid, Kerry (April 9, 2021). "Show them the money". Chicago Reader. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Martinko, Irene (April 26, 2021). "Looking at the activism that led to pay transparency on Playbill and BroadwayWorld's job postings". OnStage Blog. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Pincus-Roth, Zachary (October 18, 2007). "Ask Playbill". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Jones, Chris (June 10, 2002). "Stagebill is sold to rival Playbill". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Brodesser, Claude; Jones, Oliver (March 9, 1999). "Melodrama at Met". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ a b Mandell, Jonathan (August 25, 2002). "Theater's memory bank expands". The New York Times. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ "Playbill? Showbill? Stagebill?". Talkinbroadway.com. March 19, 1998. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Hofler, Robert (June 9, 2002). "Playbill corners legit market". Variety. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- ^ Rahmanan, Anna. "EXCLUSIVE: The Museum of Broadway has an official opening date!". TimeOut. Retrieved June 17, 2022.