Broadway Collections: Playbill Cards

Somewhere between the baseball card boom and the advent of Lights of Broadway cards, Playbill gave us their version to trade. 

Broadway Collections:

Playbill Cards

While cleaning off and rearranging my shelves the other day, I came across a huge 3-ring binder down in the lower corner. Hard to believe I kinda forgot it was even there. I opened the cover and there they were. Dozens and dozens of collector sleeves filled with Playbill Cards! It was like running into an old friend after many years - a chance encounter that made the memories come flooding back.

Oh, the days gone by when pre-matinee and between shows time was spent running from Broadway theater shop to shop and getting down on the floor to comb through baskets of the black, white and yellow treats. All four of the merch shops kept them in baskets on the floor in corners of the room, and somehow it felt like those of us who knew they were there were in a special secret club.

Who knew there would be so much history on these pages?

The Phantom of the Opera and Into the Woods?

Patti LuPone's triumphant return to Broadway in Anything Goes?

Joel Grey's final Broadway turn as the Emcee in Cabaret?

Each season of Playbills were in a separate bag - you got the whole season at once, not packs of 5 where you had to buy dozens to get the whole set (not to mention a zillion repeats!). I'm pretty sure there were 31 sets altogether, ending with the 2007-08 season, and it nagged at me for years that I didn't find them all!  For the record, I have the 1977-78 & 1983-84 sets, then every set from 1987 on.

This page brings me back to where it all started - Mame 1983!

Getting a new set brought me such joy. I'd carefully handle each card (no fingerprints or bent corners!!) and slide them into the special card pages. Then I'd devour each one, taking the cover art work, then turning them over to read and reread each and every credit on the Opening Night title page. I know some other collectors (we'd met on the floor of the old store that used to be at the Marriott) arranged their cards alphabetically, but I arranged mine by opening night date.

Playbill didn't discriminate - even flops got their due.

This page has 3 of my favorite flops are on this page: 

Side Show, Triumph of Love and The Scarlet Pimpernel!

Now that I have them out, I think I'll re-devour each one, and all of the memories I have of shows, seen, missed, loved, hated. Sure, I can see the same thing and more online at the Playbill Vault, and get the details from a number of sources. But there is something wonderful about the simplicity and tangible nature of each 2x3 inch cardboard gem.

I would love to hear from any of you that have these, too! Leave a comment or email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com.

Broadway in a Box CD Review: Company (OBCR - 1970)

 Broadway in a Box CD Review:

Company (OBCR - 1970)

At Christmas a few years ago, Jeff gave me a copy of Broadway in a Box: The Essential Broadway Musicals Collection. He has now given me the opportunity to use his blog to share my impressions of each of the 25 cast recordings contained in the set, in alphabetical order.

This week’s entry is about the 1970 Original Broadway Cast Recording of Company.

I’ve been listening to this CD, and other recordings of this show, for about thirty years, so it can be a challenge to hear it with fresh ears. What follows are a few impressions I had re-listening to it this morning.

This original recording has several big advantages over some others I’ve heard. First, it features the full, unadulterated, often twangy, early-1970s orchestrations. Second, the ensemble is uniformly excellent, and fulfills its intended function perfectly: this group is loving and nurturing, but also, on occasion, vaguely menacing with their many demands and aggressive advice for Bobby. This recording also includes a rollicking, even rocking, version of the amazing “Tick Tock” dance sequence; this juicy passage has often been cut in subsequent versions.

The CD in this box set includes the superbly remastered version of the Broadway recording. This is old news, I know, but most of my experience has been with a much muddier early-generation CD, and the difference is significant. I especially appreciated being able to hear the details of the conversational back-and-forth in the second half of the title song, and the vivid orchestrations in “Another Hundred People.”

Among the mostly one-and-done musical solos from the ensemble members, I really enjoyed Pamela Myers’ energetic take on “Another Hundred People.” Beth Howland also set a very high bar for subsequent performers with her break-neck rendering of “Getting Married Today.” Both of these performances have perhaps been equaled but not topped in the intervening five decades.

Elaine Stritch, of course, gives a legendary performance on this CD. I really appreciate the role of Joanne for its ability to accommodate a number of different approaches - I equally enjoyed Barbara Walsh’s more subdued and sardonic performance in the last Broadway revival. But there’s something really special about Stritch’s much earthier, booze-soaked interpretation. Having just watched the famous documentary on the making of this cast album, which depicts Stritch’s struggle to deliver a version of “The Ladies Who Lunch” worthy of preservation for posterity, I really appreciate her triumph on this disc.

I grew up (or at least got through college) listening to Dean Jones singing the part of Bobby, and he will always be more or less definitive to me; these are surely the versions I hear in my head when I think of these songs. That being said, Jones’ singing is pretty much uniformly loud and features an aggressive vibrato that makes it hard for him to deliver a lot of nuance, a noticeable drawback in songs like “Someone is Waiting” and “Being Alive.” He may have set the standard, but standards are meant to be judged against, and I have to say that I’ve seen others - John Barrowman, Raúl Esparza, even Neil Patrick Harris - give equally well-sung but more emotionally satisfying performances.

As if to drive home the point, this CD includes, as a bonus, Larry Kert’s version of “Being Alive.” Kert succeeded Jones on Broadway, and his performance is taken from the London Cast Recording. He really brings out the essence of the slow epiphany Bobby experiences in this song; note particularly how he builds from a half-whispered “somebody hold me too close,” and the particular zest he adds when he sings “crowd me with love.” It’s my understanding that the full London cast recording is identical to the Broadway version except for Kert’s dubbed vocals, so maybe I’ll have to try to get my hands on it one of these days.

Next up is the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Fiddler on the Roof.

Thanks, as always, Mike. Can't wait to see the new revival! Jeff

CONTEST: Broadway Collections Photos (CANCELLED)

UNFORTUNATELY, WE HAVE HAD TO CANCEL THIS CONTEST AT THIS TIME. CHECK BACK SOON!

If you're a regular reader of this site, you know we are big time collectors of all things Broadway. We are pretty sure many of you are, too. Perhaps, like me, you collect Playbills and window cards. Or cast recordings on vinyl, books, scripts...magnets, key chains, mugs or t-shirts. On the other hand, maybe you collect everything you can get your hands on from your favorite shows. In any case, there's a ton of memorabilia out there to keep any collector busy.

So, we'd like to share some of our collections with you, and see some of yours in return! And you might win something!

Broadway Collections Contest

First, some of our collections:

Here are but a few of my window cards and special Playbills, and my quilt made from some of my t-shirt collection. As you can see, my collections cover a lot of Broadway shows.

Mike has collections from his favorite shows, Avenue Q and Fun Home!

#2480