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Broadway is Going Back in Time: Vintage Playbills

Drew Janine, , , ,
Broadway Goes Back in Time
Officially unveiling tomorrow, Broadway will be handing out covers of their shows programs in vintage style playbills as a tribute to its 140th anniversary. These programs will be given out during the entire month of October to fans attending every show on Broadway.

Playbill President and Chairman Philip Birsh was excited to make this statement about the vintage covers of their work:

“We are exceedingly proud of Playbill’s 140-year legacy and status as the most enduring symbol of Broadway show-going.”

Playbill has designed four customised covers. Theatre fans can collect all four to add to their collection. The covers pay homage to shows that inspired specific decades on Broadway’s extensive history. The covers include1934’sMerrily We Roll Along, 1955’sDamn Yankees, 1966’sMame, and 1973’sA Little Night Music. 

Merrily We Roll Along debuted on Broadway in 1981 but only lasted 16 shows with 44 previews. The original cast was almost entirely young adults and teens starting their early careers in the big apple. The show had a Broadway revival last year with much more success a second time around with a star studded cast including Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliff and Lindsay Mendez. The show recently won Best Revival of a Musical which is likely why it was picked to be one of the four vintage covers.

Broadway is Going Back in Time

Damn Yankees premiered in 1955 and is based on the novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant. The show ran for 1,019 performances with a revival on Off-Broadway back in 2017. The original production won 7 Tony Awards including Best Stage Technician, an award last presented in 1963.

Mameoriginally starred Dame Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur when it opened on Broadway in 1966. The production was an instant hit and went on a national tour in America a year after opening before having its first international production open in Australia only another year later and opening on London’s West End a mere three years after debuting on Broadway.

Broadway is Going Back in Time

A Little Night Music has been around since 1973 and has been singing to audiences of every generation since its opening. The show opened on the West End only two years after opening on Broadway and has had revivals and international performances throughout the decades with the latest being June earlier this year at the Lincoln Center. In total, the show has won 7 Tony Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards, and three Theatre World Awards.

Vice President, Alex Birsh contributed his thoughts saying:

 “This is a way for us to celebrate all that history, while giving Broadway fans something extra special to hold onto. We could not have done this without the help of so many members of our community; the producers of these great shows, the marketing agencies and their design teams, and the ushers who hand them out to the public. My family and I are so appreciative of all the players in this project, with special thanks to the Playbill staff who worked tirelessly on making this dream a reality.”

 

Covers for shows source: Broadway Musical Home. All digital photos created by Drew Janine.

Drew Janine
Live Sound Engineer -EUROPE
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive as working behind the scenes in theatre as a live sound engineer. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020 and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending time on tour across the North American continent and Europe. Drew’s favourite by far though has been the chance to work on Broadway and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry and hopes to inspire others to continue working in theatre.

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Drew Janine

Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive as working behind the scenes in theatre as a live sound engineer. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020 and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending time on tour across the North American continent and Europe. Drew’s favourite by far though has been the chance to work on Broadway and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry and hopes to inspire others to continue working in theatre.