#MyBroadwayThing - Souvenir Programs

They say confession is good for the soul. Sharing my struggles with collecting all things Broadway with you has, in fact, been very cathartic. Today, I bring you #MyBroadwayThing for souvenir programs. They used to be the only merchandise thing I'd buy every time there was one for sale.

Tours or Broadway, if there was a logo emblazoned booklet, my money was at the ready. It all started innocently with a tour of A Chorus Line back in the early 80's. It was a show that changed my life, so naturally, I had to buy a program. It had a centerfold that opened to show the whole line. Then I bought the Mame revival program to commemorate my first Broadway show. I still wasn't buying them at every show. And then...

About a year later, I saw A Chorus Line again. The lady next to me had a program and was thumbing through it before the show started. I glanced over a few times.  It looked just like the one I already had. Until she got to the centerfold. It wasn't the same people on the line as in my program! (Of course it wouldn't be... I was so naive back then.) Well, I had to get one. And thus a new collection began.

Inside the brochures of The Band's Visit and Disney's Frozen

Inside Sunset Boulevard

I have many more than a hundred of them packed away in a box. I do have a few on my bookcase, and I do actually look through those probably twice a year. I've long since stopped collecting them regularly. Between shows that don't have them at all, and shows I see before they come out, my collection wouldn't be complete, anyway. Now, I just buy them occasionally, for shows that mean something extra special to me. My most recent purchases include Frozen (it is a huge, beautifully photographed book), The Band's Visit and Fun Home (both have very interesting articles and great photos, too), and the revivals of Sunset Boulevard (I have every other one they made - Glenn, Betty and the tour!) and Spring Awakening (a stunning production I don't ever want to forget).

Which brings me to the impetus for today's blog - my most recent program purchase - the 30th Anniversary The Phantom of the Opera brochure. Frankly, I can't believe it was only $25.  It is a large, thick book full of articles and color photos of the current cast and several pages on the original cast and history of the show. Now that the show is in its 31st year, I wonder how much longer they'll even have it.

The 30th Anniversary Company

Original Phantom, Michael Crawford (left)
Original costumes sketches by Maria Bjornson

Phantom anniversary artwork through the years.

This weekend, I'm seeing Hamilton and Harry Potter. I've already budgeted for both. They are both special productions, right?

(Photos by J. Kyler)

#1995

Theatre Junk Part 3: Photo Cards

I love when you can find something inexpensive related to a favorite show. Sometimes you find stuff on sale in a shop, maybe on eBay, maybe at the Broadway Cares Flea Market. I've even started finding real bargains AT shows, like window cards that are $5 to $10 cheaper than at the shops or Triton Gallery. (Hence, I always pack a large poster bag from one of the shops in my backpack or whatever. The bags they give at the theatres barely cover the card.) But I digress...

One Shubert Alley: They are on the racks that are on the left side of the picture. This picture shows the left wall as you enter the shop.

One really cool and quality thing I've found and started collecting (like I need to collect just one more thing, right?) is photo cards for the shows I see. All of the shops - One Shubert Alley, The Broadway Store at the Marriott and the one I can never name next to the St. James - carry them, as do the hotel gift shops. Sometimes you really need to browse, as the Broadway ones are mingled in with the New York City ones (which are nice, too). And all of the stores carry different ones sometimes, so you have an excuse, I mean, you need to get to all of them!

I've found 3 different types of these cards. Two are actual photos glued to card stock and the the third is a full color print on the card stock. All three come sealed in heavy cellophane wrapping, and include envelopes for mailing. I, of course, never mail them, and love that they are protected for my collection. Right now, I'm keeping them in craft scrapbook binders (I'm almost ready for my third, LOL!)

The first is the color print right on the card stock, by MDesigns. The artist, Michael Dantuono, was a working actor and now does these great cards. These are particularly nice if you like looking at the entire structure/facade of the theatre. Generally, his cards show the entire theatre front. A nice bonus with his cards is the back, which gives details about the theatre itself - date opened, number of seats, address - and lists some of the most famous and recent shows that played there. Below is the card for the revival of Ragtime at the Neil Simon Theatre.





The second type focuses on the marquee of the theatre and how it juxtaposes with the street the theatre is on. Notice the next to normal card shows the entire marquee on 45th Street and the doors to the theatre as they are currently decorated. You get the logo and the theatre and the street all in one with these cards, by Gary Firstenberg. And it is an actual photo mounted to the card.


Finally, the third card, also an actual photo glued to the card is by probably the most famous of the three photographers, Battmann, who is well-known for his artistic photos of New York and New Yorkers. He does a lot of close up work along with portraits. You've probably seen his "Naked Cowboy" and NYFD beefcake calendars. As far as theatre pictures go, he generally focuses on the actual marquee above the theatre. As you can see from the example below, he numbers his works. I've included his collage of all the marquees he's done recently. This card gets updated somewhat regularly. You might not be able to tell from the picture below, but each log is really a separate picture cropped together to make the collage.


All three kinds of cards run between $3.50 and $4.00 at all of the shops I've found them in. For more information visit each artist's site: MDesigns: http://www.broadwaybroadway.com/; Gary Firstenberg: http://www.firstinphoto.com/, and Battmann: http://www.battmannstudios.com/.


Do you have any of these? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment!
Jeff

Fantasy Merchandise

With word that Superior Donuts, which takes place in a donut shop, actually sells donuts at intermission, I couldn’t help but think about the kind of VERY show specific merchandise each show could be selling.

For example, while next to normal cleverly (or is it just a bit sick, too?) sells small pill cases, what if they actually sold Valium at intermission? Maybe Wicked could sell “Galinda Bubbles” in a pink bottle, of course. Or how about some magical green elixir that only makes you pee green for a week? In the Heights could certainly sell some piragua, especially in the summer months, and coffee with condensed milk in the winter. South Pacific could sell honey buns and shampoo. Memphis’ cast recording could be a series of 45’s (side note: I bet the CD will be printed to look like one for real). The Phantom mask is actually sold at the Majestic, but maybe they could sell Phantom lair/doll sets, or a complete line of Masquerade costumes, especially at this time of year.

Xanadu seemed to get what I’m saying with their legwarmers and disco ball key chains. And any Disney musical sells an embarrassment of riches. 9 to 5 sold coffee mugs and post-it notes, and White Christmas sells snow globes.

And I suppose Hair selling joints and West Side Story selling toy Chino-killing guns would be entirely inappropriate. And I’m thankful for what Urinetown DIDN’T sell during its long run. And I’m a little afraid of what The Addams Family might come up with.

But would it have killed Shrek to sell headless gingerbread men? I mean did anyone who saw the show besides me want to tear that pain in the, uh, stomach’s little mouth off?

(Photo by Robert J. Saferstein)

Theatre "Junk" Part 2

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THIS MONTH'S POLL!

In a previous column, I talked about my much loved and growing collection of theatre memorabilia, namely my Playbill, CD and window card collections. I have a few more theatre-related collections which I'll talk about another time.

But today, I thought I'd share 4 of my favorite collectibles, 1 not so unique, 1 kinda unique, 1 pretty unique, and 1 really unique (I think).

NOT SO UNIQUE

Most everyone I know collects magnets, and the Broadway shows have some really cool ones. But for some reason that is one item I never really collected. Well, OK, I have exactly two of them, and both of them from FLOP musicals. (See my explanation for that in the next section, number 3.) Anyway, here they are: The Civil War and Glory Days. Yes, I actually saw them both - I caught a preview of GD with about 100 other people... I got the magnet at the FLEA MARKET!! (5 for $1.00!) Want to send future grand kids to college? Write to me and maybe I'll give you one! And you know what? I actually enjoyed both shows. TCW was very moving and beautifully staged, and GD I thought was a great show about male bonding and friendship, not unlike another show that flopped, which I LOVED, The Story of My Life!

KINDA UNIQUE

You can still find these Broadway logo matchboxes in the far corners and nooks and crannies of the Broadway gift shops - One Shubert Alley has them on the counter under the magnets and key chains. But what makes this kinda unique is that it is from a show that ran less than a week, and was pretty terrible, even if its stars were great and there is one really good song in it. It is from The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, sequel to the much more popular, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. I think this is kinda unique because: 1. They are still trying to sell off the stock they have of a product not many people use, especially since the public smoking ban hit NYC a few years ago; 2. It is from a show that is really a landmark for me - it was that show that finally tainted my Broadway Rose-colored Glasses. You know the ones - where you love theatre so much that every show is great! Well, this show was the one where I finally gave myself permission to not like something live on stage. And the one that made me realize that you can like some things, but not everything about a show. How liberating! I now actually find myself enjoying the shows I know are going to flop. (Those of you who think you know about theatre because you can name every swing whoever went on as Elphaba and because you saw the Les Miz revival 5 times, I laugh in your face! Ha Ha! Get back to me when you sat through Glory Days and A Tale of Two Cities!) Just kidding... kinda... and 3. It was the first show where I knew I should collect everything I could find for a flop show and save it for my retirement fund. One shop actually GAVE me the Whorehouse/Public poster. Value: over $200.00! (Rereading this now, I sound so pompous... my tone is really more that of Sir Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel)...

PRETTY UNIQUE

I say this is pretty unique because, while it is an obvious choice for a souvenir from Show Boat which takes place on a riverboat where there is gambling, I haven't seen playing cards sold for other shows. This relic from the early 90's revival always comes to mind when I see tightly related merch for a show, like a 60's-retro airline bag for Boeing-Boeing or leg warmers for Xanadu or a baggy of "herb" from Hair (just kidding).

REALLY UNIQUE

I got these gems on a trip to Las Vegas with my (gulp) parents. They wanted to see Siegfried and Roy, I wanted to see what was then the only Broadway show specifically staged for a showroom, Starlight Express. It was the perfect show for Vegas at that time - huge, loud and budget-busting, while still having the family values they were desperately trying to court. I love my chips, one each for the main cars in the show. Why only Pearl, of all the girls, you are probably asking? Because, get this, Reva Rice was the headliner! Her name was actually on the poster! You go, girl!

Do you have any unique Broadway treasures? Send me a pic and your story and I'll post it!

Jeff