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Do old Broadway playbills have any value?
A common collector’s item for theatre enthusiasts, playbills are a great way to keep a little piece of history in your home and, depending on the play and actors involved, they can be worth a fair bit of money as well.
What is the difference between a playbill and a Showbill?
On Broadway, Playbill pays the theatres for the privilege of having its Playbills handed out, as the advertisers value the Broadway audience. A Stagebill is generally used outside New York, for a commercial job — when a theatre pays Playbill to print its program.
What are inside playbills?
The basics of a playbill are: the main title of the performance, a subtitle, often the current date, future or past dates of performances, the cast and characters, scenery, short or long summaries of the scenes to be acted, whether the performance is to benefit anyone, and where tickets can be bought from.
How big is a Broadway playbill?
The Basic Playbill Frame is custom-made to fit all contemporary sized issues of Playbill magazine, which measure 5 and 3/8ths inches by 8 and 1/2 inches.
Why is a playbill called a playbill?
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. In 1934-35 the name The Playbill made its first appearance on the cover although there was still no standard logo in that period.
Are playbills only in NYC?
They can be found in all theaters on Broadway, as well as theaters all across America.
What font is used inside playbills?
The two typefaces that are recommended for the playbill are Tahoma or Verdana. Use either of these typefaces for all playbill header and body text.
What is the purpose of a playbill?
A distinction is generally made between playbills and programs, although they often serve the same purpose: distributing information within a theater. Technically, the playbill is a long, narrow theater announcement, and was frequently, but not always, posted. Most playbills are printed on one side.
What is the playbill font?
Overview Playbill font was designed by Robert Harling in 1938 and the font first appeared with the foundry Stephenson Blake. The figures are based on those of the so-called woodtypes, a style made popular through use on wanted posters in westerns. Adrian Frutiger’s Westside is a similar font.