The Battle of the Bills: Playbill vs. Stagebill

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Күн бұрын

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@WaitintheWings 10 ай бұрын

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@utubrGaming 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the documentary! I'm just wondering, would you be able to create a video about Frank Wildhorn, and why he's basically despised by American critics, but beloved in Japan, Korea and Germany? Or how theatre could be made financially viable? It's not really a secret out there that the economics of making a profit for a Broadway show are... Pretty well stacked against them. A few hundred consecutive shows, minimum to turn a profit, and you damn well either be an adaptation of a pop culture work, or a Tony winner to last a run long enough to get there, and a dozen or so new musicals per year, and a score or so of new plays, all fighting for limited stage real estate. And when shows lose money, they BLEED it to the tune of thousands per week, or a total loss of six to seven digits at the end of run. So the question is - HOW should the economics of theatre change to make it not only more profitable, but also potentially more quantitatively accessible?

@brennanmcduffee57 10 ай бұрын

I love that Brendon has graduated to full Defunctland levels of making great videos about incredibly niche topics. Complete with a Michael Eisner jump scare and everything!

@Bowling_Dude 10 ай бұрын

I wish Kevin would make a random appearance here. he is a patreon afterall.

@iloveallrats 10 ай бұрын

that's literally what I thought 😭

@Paper-dust 10 ай бұрын

As somebody who's a West End theatregoer, Playbills aren't even a thing there. Instead, the theatre programs are made by the owners of the theatres, and aren't free, meaning that all of them are unique. The profits go back to the theatre. EDIT: It really is a trade-off as they aren't free, but it also means more creative freedom goes into them. It also means they only advertise anything from the production companies, theatre companies and/or sponsors, and very few other ads.

@Nadia1989 10 ай бұрын

Yes! I collect programs and I love each theatre's design, and how they change through the years.

@strawhatsmanager 10 ай бұрын

yesss when i was visiting we went to see wicked and i was shocked the programs were paid but when we got them i fully understood why and i think that i prefer it to the american ones

@williams_a_i7764 10 ай бұрын

Pretty much the same here in Australia. The sell for between $10-$50 depending on the show/company. The richer/bigger the theatre company, the fancier the programme.

@TheDimensionDweller 10 ай бұрын

It hurts to pay for them but I have to agree that the creative freedom and quality this allows them is striking. I have a program for The Play That Goes Wrong from the West End and from the American Touring production and the extra gags and pictures in the West End program are marvelous

@memorian8472 10 ай бұрын

That actually sounds pretty cool

@ryanschwartz4959 10 ай бұрын

You know, some Playbills apparently allow for a certain level of customization in the show-specific section. For example: -The original production of Spamalot had an entire fake program for a Finnish "moosical" before the real program begins. -Noises Off, The Play That Goes Wrong, and Peter Pan Goes Wrong had fictional programs for the shows within the shows. -Six had a section with a brief biography for each Queen.

@protomenfan200x 10 ай бұрын

I loved what they did for the Broadway version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch! The program was for “Hurt Locker: the Musical,” the fake (shuttered) show that was used to justify why Hedwig was performing on Broadway. The actual credits were hidden in the middle of the booklet, after a whole collection of fake bios and ads. (The lead of the fake show was Adele Dazeem’s sister, for example lol.) And rather than handing them out as you walked in, they were just scattered all over the floor and chairs, as if they’d been left behind when the opening night audience walked out en masse. It was so clever!!

@clc00711 7 ай бұрын

I think Book of Mormon had actual ads from the LDS church saying “You've seen the play, now read the book”... Nothing if not great marketers, those Mormons!

@daaesviolin 10 ай бұрын

I’m an archivist who works with theatre collections a lot and we handle playbills all the time. This video is truly helpful to contextualize these materials! Thank you!

@tedioustotoro4885 10 ай бұрын

As a UK theatre fan, I didn’t even know Playbills were free and weren’t custom to the show. UK theatre programs are closer to Stagebills and Showbillls with the ads, if there are any, being only for things by the theatre company, the production company, or the sponsors. Of the programs from the six shows I saw last year, the only ads I can find for big companies not related to the theatre/show are a couple of alcohol ads in the back of my Groundhog Day program.

@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive 9 ай бұрын

I did not even realize Playbill was a company. I thought it was just a generic industry wide term for a program booklet.

@KevimationYT 10 ай бұрын

I now need a musical that is the history of this rivalry. Imagine the musical number as playbill wins over these major clients. Or even better yet when they convince tinder to join playbill!!!!! And the set could have huge chunks of playbill the playbill hanging all over it. Anyways great video!

@froginaclog 10 ай бұрын

AND THE PLAYBILL COULD BE OF A HALF PLAYBILL HALF STAGEBILL. I love this idea so much omllll

@nikkimirhosseyni9535 10 ай бұрын

Title: Top Billing

@froginaclog 10 ай бұрын

@@nikkimirhosseyni9535 that’s so smart!

@ryanschwartz4959 10 ай бұрын

23:43 That... would explain why many UK theatres, especially on London's West End, charge theatregoers for their custom programs.

@NeonFraction 10 ай бұрын

"Theater pamphlets? I'll probably switch to watching something else halfway through." 17 minutes later I'm glued to the edge of my seat. What a video! Amazing work!

@haydenoneverything2002 10 ай бұрын

Quick mention of the show "Thoughts of a Colored Man" at 6:44. An alumni from my university wrote that show (Keenan Scott II)! Thought it was cool to see it in the video!

@machna 10 ай бұрын

NGL that was the best SquareSpace ad I've ever seen. I actually watched it. Kudos to Mr. McBaskeball for a fine performance.

@belle132 10 ай бұрын

The gasp I gusped when Playbill got the Lincoln Center contract! The drama of it all

@BriarMB13 10 ай бұрын

Hi just a 1:30 into the video and you've rocked my world. What do you MEAN playbill is a company and not just like....a name for the booklet we give out before shows??? Hello??? I've done theatre for years, HELLO????

@TheFilmguy450 10 ай бұрын

I thought I was the only one to have just discovered this! Wild, right?

@MM-jf1me 10 ай бұрын

Same, same, same! Had to look it up -- Playbill selected the perfect company name as theatre programs have been called playbills for hundreds of years -- if they were a newspaper, their name would be Newspaper. Finding this out helped me regain a bit of my equilibrium. 😅

@caitlynskiff2001 10 ай бұрын

Say what you will about Michael Eisner, dude is very polarizing in the Disney fan community, but he really did do a lot of things right. And honestly if it wasn't for him and the Disney company, New York and Broadway would be so different. Great video, ever would have thought about learning the history of Playbill.

@alouise 10 ай бұрын

As someone not from NYC (though Ive visited a few times) I didn't even know there was once a rival to Playbill. This was a great video.

@ccuda480 10 ай бұрын

I had wondered why my Harry Potter program is a showbill not playbill….the more you know.

@mijavera 10 ай бұрын

This is the kind of stuff I love!!! Musicals - check! Marketing history - check!! Great research - double check!!!!!

@robotmary121 10 ай бұрын

Thank you for this😂 Ya’ll cant even imagine the horror that i faced as an annoying 14-year-old broadway fan when i finally got to see my first broadway show and the nice usher at the New Amsterdam Theater handed me a “Showbill” instead of a Playbill…

@marquisehebbler9471 10 ай бұрын

This is why “non-compete” clauses are necessary 😂 omg what a ride!

@hothotheat3000 10 ай бұрын

Playbill is so iconic. It’s the ultimate souvenir for me.

@langleymneely 10 ай бұрын

I love how flexible and resourceful the channel has become since you all moved to NYC. It’s wonderful to see the success of creators I genuinely enjoy! Cheers to you all!❤

@JodiesSideEye 10 ай бұрын

Brendon, this was so good! For a second I thought this was a Defunctland doc, especially when Eisner showed up.

@vattenflaska 10 ай бұрын

Can I be open & honest & vulnerable in these youtube comments tonight? I'm not from an English speaking country and I just assumed playbill was the English word for a theatre program lol

@tiffanyb543 10 ай бұрын

I actually AM from an English speaking country and I still thought so😂🤦🏼‍♀️

@Sindosis 10 ай бұрын

it’s both actually

@minecat1839 8 ай бұрын

The Kleenex/QTip/BandAid effect is in full swing

@JustWandering 8 ай бұрын

I am from an English speaking country and I also assumed this. 😭

@telephonewyre 10 ай бұрын

Wow, just wow. The visuals you've made for this video are great, the colored overlays on the map? Outstanding. I love watching this channel get bigger and bigger and the videos getting even better every upload

@ThexImperfectionist 8 ай бұрын

One benefit of Playbill's dominance in the American theater scene... pretty much all theater programs conform to their look and dimension. Obviously they can't copy the header, but compared to the UK where I've seen the program dimensions vary by upwards of 50%, even regional American theater programs can usually fit in your playbill binder. I frame mine and hang them in a grid on my walls, and I can buy 8.5x11 frames in bulk (bc they're cheaper than the "official" ones) and all my playbills reliably fit.

@amylaneio 10 ай бұрын

In literal terms, chaff is the light papery covering that grows on wheat crops. When the wheat is processed, it's shaken about to separate the wheat from the chaff (another common phrase), which works becuase the wheat is heavier and sinks to the bottom. So in essence, "all wheat, no chaff" means the magazine contains only useful or good content. In other words, none of the arbitrary fluff that playbills contain in the "wrapper" section.

@strawhatsmanager 10 ай бұрын

i love the different “scenes” in this video it’s super fun !!

@rsjury 10 ай бұрын

Great Doc! I used to watch the history channel, when it was still good, and love finding these channels that produce just as good or even better docs! Thank You!

@oliviapilson 10 ай бұрын

As an American who now lives in the UK I was shocked that theatres here didn’t just give out playbills (I didn’t realize playbill itself was a company). I do always for up the £10 for a show book when I see musical though. So far the collection consists of Phantom, Hamilton, and… 💨Rebecca 💨

@movieMasterU 10 ай бұрын

Great doc! You did a brilliant job with this subject matter as you always do. Please keep up with your exceptional informative and entertaining work!

@Aaron_J_Theater 10 ай бұрын

I'm very grateful for this video! I always was curious why I had a Ragtime showbill, but everything else were playbills

@KAYoLEE 10 ай бұрын

This makes me appreciate my binders of them a little more :)

@G34-y5v 10 ай бұрын

Wow, what a fascinating deep dive into the world of Broadway programs! 🎭 It's incredible to learn about the rivalry between Playbill and Stagebill and how it shaped the landscape of theater publications. The behind-the-scenes drama and competition make for such an intriguing story.

@Piko-Blaster 10 ай бұрын

The monopolly pieces really sells it

@th3m00nstone 6 ай бұрын

ive been wondering forever why my aladdin program said stagebill and FINALLY my question has been answered

@coasterfreakawesome 10 ай бұрын

This is one of your best videos in a long time! Great work.

@sondersighs 10 ай бұрын

Oh, how I would adore and love documentaries on the history of each professional theater. If thats possible

@MasterBotttle 3 ай бұрын

Honestly, your channel deserve more actually.

@rickwilson4077 10 ай бұрын

Thank you!! I loved this video, Brendon. I think that I do prefer the less uniform Stagebills now. I want to know more about the actual show that I’m seeing!

@jc_jc_jc_jc_jc 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for answering one of my long-time questions, with such a well-researched and well-produced video! You got a new fan.

@20erzet00 10 ай бұрын

I like how you showed the rivalry on a physical map!

@jocaz4931 10 ай бұрын

Amazing content and great storytelling! I found this fascinating.

@minecat1839 8 ай бұрын

The Aladdin 10th Anniversary Playbill has very few ads for things which are not pther shows or restaurants. All of the articles are Disney related, but it is a PLAYbill. Not sure what is going on here

@beejls 10 ай бұрын

Excellent video, from the writing to the script. Well done, you made what could have been a very dry topic interesting.

@realityblooms 10 ай бұрын

I’m here intensely watching a video on ad books

@benjsmithproductions 10 ай бұрын

Stagebill..... because every Coke needs their Pepsi

@chillichillinchiles 10 ай бұрын

0:15 I SAW THE HTDIO PLAYBILL PLEASE LET THIS MEAN THERES GOING TO BE A VIDEO ON IT SOON I LOVE THAT SHOW SO MUCH🙏

@northstarpokeshipper2148 10 ай бұрын

1:32 Your cat is named Cranjis McBasketball?! Fellow Impractical Jokers fan?

@MicheleKlinger 10 ай бұрын

This was such a fascinating watch. I’ve grown up seeing Broadway shows my whole life. I noticed when I had a Showbill and not a Playbill, but I never knew why that was the case when it was different.

@yankee04 10 ай бұрын

Fascinating! Thank you! Very much appreciate this history. Well done.

@UniqueDestinyCA 10 ай бұрын

11:36 never heard of this one before! Immediately gonna go listen!

@liamannegarner8083 10 ай бұрын

I was down at the New Amsterdam talking to this yellow haired girl, Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation with a black-haired flamenco dancer...

@JonHoche 10 ай бұрын

Another fantastic episode

@lilyhero1033 10 ай бұрын

I love your videos so much. I don't have anything else to say I just have so much fun watching these.

@ellieparker8919 10 ай бұрын

Loved learning about this!! I’ve always wondered

@VanessaDMusic 10 ай бұрын

I love this channel so much!

@Just.Kidding 6 ай бұрын

So, essentially, playbill survived by poaching stagebill's talent and copying their superior business model, and after that it was a matter of throwing their weight around. Gotcha

@DJWhovian 10 ай бұрын

I think it's a shame Stagebill went down. I'm glad we have dedicated show programmes in the West End, it feels like more of an investment in that show and venue.

@ryanschwartz4959 10 ай бұрын

I should probably note that as of this comment, in addition to the New Amsterdam, there's currently only one other Broadway theatre I know of that uses Showbills instead of Playbills: the Lyric (formerly the Ford Center for the Performing Arts)

@adamgreenspan4988 10 ай бұрын

As covered in the video, control over the ads was the main reason, Disney not wanting cigarette and booze ads, Ford not wanting other car brands. I guess they’re the only two because the other theaters aren’t owned/branded by major retail brands?

@adamgreenspan4988 10 ай бұрын

(The Lyric is no longer branded, but they are showing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, so maybe they also don’t want cigarette and booze ads)

@ryanschwartz4959 10 ай бұрын

@eenspan4988 Fair point, though from what I read, Playbill no longer prints tobacco ads in either publication. As for Harry Potter, I can see why the Broadway production went the Showbill route. It has custom color production credits, a recap of the story up to that point, articles relating specifically to the production, and ads for other Harry Potter-related media (games, audiobooks, and NYC attractions)

@amandastumpff5252 10 ай бұрын

Separating the wheat from the chaff is kind of an ancient term where they would hit the long wheat stocks so the wheat would be knocked loose and collected and the chaff would be blown away. It’s talked about in the Bible quite a bit, but I guess that’s what it means and it is also used to mean separating the cream of the crop out from the not so good.

@jessylou2731993 10 ай бұрын

Blew my mind to find out that you all just get Playbills for free. In Australia and NZ you have to purchase programs. It’s like Merch almost. Looks like we might get better quality programs because of this though. Normally our show programs are filled with cast and company information as well as lots of stunning images from the show. Not full with ads. Such an interesting video!

@MarcusMartn 10 ай бұрын

I love this I think I have an old stagebill of when I saw The Lion King also what clip was that 13:52 ?

@masterowen45 10 ай бұрын

So do showbills exist anymore… if all the ads are the same in Playbills and theatres don’t control them- the reason Playbill won the ‘battle’ has gone?!? Surely theatres would therefore be better off just making their own bills, and cashing in on ads and having full control?

@gemtachataj6119 10 ай бұрын

Who prints the small sheets that they put in Playbills that tell you when the cast on for that specific performance is different to the one actually on the playbill? Playbill them selves or the company in that theatre?

@MM-jf1me 10 ай бұрын

Great question! I'm curious, too -- maybe someone who knows will tell us one day.

@thedoctordonnaable 10 ай бұрын

This was so interesting!

@moonmannd7501 10 ай бұрын

Your next investigation should be about that classified that said they give away pedigreed dogs, because I'm curious what the catch was.

@LynnHermione 10 ай бұрын

and this, children, is how a monopoly is created.

@MarjanaBosnjak 8 ай бұрын

I have an extremely serious question. Please don't judge me for asking it. Did you really name your cat Cranjis McBasketball?

@AKMorehouse 10 ай бұрын

I wonder how the stagebill v playbill formats impacted more regional theaters. Most of the regional theaters I go use the playbill format with one book of ads and articles for the season with a center insert specific to the show and some doing a show specific cover… but most of the regional theaters I go to are in the northeastern US so emulating what they see when they go to a Broadway theater makes sense. Do those in the Chicago area or other areas where stagebill developed a legacy see more of a stagebill influence in their regional theaters program set up?

@EForrest88 9 ай бұрын

Well it's an interesting if very silly story of greedy business practices, I wonder how many jobs evaporated when Stagebill went bust. In the UK you buy your programme. There's three types of programme, Venue, Professional & Amateur. Venue are produced by the big groups like Ambassadors for any production in their network of theatres - amateur or professional, but are not mandatory for either, they will typically only have adverts for other performances in the same theatre that season (unless it's in London). Professional is your glossy overpriced deal, typically for a professional tour or established London show. Again, very few adverts, if any. Amateur, as you can imagine, is open season for quality and content type, but will typically be ad-supported by local businesses as a fundraiser for the performing group.

@WhatShallEyeDo4U 10 ай бұрын

Can you do a video about the evolution of mic technology?

@JackieWarner13 10 ай бұрын

I wish Australia had them but we have to buy programs if we want something close to it which is usually a lot of high quality photos of the cast, about team, cast. Don't think there's usually any adverts except last year wicked in Sydney had some which felt odd bc think they were sponsors but yeah we never really have adverts in our programs which are usually $20-$40AUD

@sondersighs 10 ай бұрын

In graphic design Paula Schuler had redesign things for the public theater to center it around the theater instead of the shows itself to get people to come.

@171QA 10 ай бұрын

Great video.

@aze4308 10 ай бұрын

great video

@kniferaffe 10 ай бұрын

this video ruled!

@tremorsfan 10 ай бұрын

I always thought playbill was just a generic term. Also, I'm nervous about how close that tea is to those antique magazines.

@sheriyl 10 ай бұрын

Now I am going to pull out my old “playbills” to see what I have 😂

@teddyfurstman1997 10 ай бұрын

I have some show bills when visiting each broadway or a Lincoln Center NY Phil Performances. These are such cool Theater Magazines.

@moviencartoons2 10 ай бұрын

Are you planning to do a video of how “The Lion King” went to from the screen to the stage?

@alexandravalentina4854 10 ай бұрын

I always love Michael Eisner popping up in videos about the entertainment industry LOL.

@AlessandroCecconi 10 ай бұрын

hi, Italian here, so I am no expert at all in theatre programs, I only have those from UK shows and international tours of UK shows, what I understand from this video is that Stagebill was way better than Playbill but Playbill was a big villain and they crushed them lol

@timlatenser6268 10 ай бұрын

Brendan doesn't appear to be "extremely nervous" to be handling a 150 year old Theater Programme - he's not wearing conservators gloves.

@WaitintheWings 10 ай бұрын

Gloves are more damaging to paper materials 👏👏👏

@Dr0p0fahat 10 ай бұрын

Love the Impractical Jokers reference!!!

@20erzet00 10 ай бұрын

Very interesting!

@parkerbaritone 10 ай бұрын

could you PLEASEEEEE do a review of Tuck Everlasting???

@langleymneely 10 ай бұрын

Where’s my Broadway show about the (fictional) violent, mafia like war for the soul of B’ways pre show entertainment! A decades long battle of warring families and ideologies!? “Hey Birch, ya know what they do with beaten up birch wood playbills where Im from? They cut it up to make ’TINDER’!” - Clifford ‘Blowback’ Tinder, Media Don and first play producer on the moon (gotta have a 3rd act twist!😜)