Opening Night Playbills hold the most value. Then it's color playbills, then the black/white ones. (Minus Roundabout Productions, which are ALWAYS in Black/White!)

In this case, if it is still original cast (which I don't believe it is) with their picture on the front, that would hold more value. Also if it includes the song "I'm a Believer" in the songlist/somewhere, even more since this was an addition. Most people have the one with the S so from a collector standpoint, I'd buy this one with the same cast over the S one!

Often times secondary casts can be of value as well, such as a January 2010 Ashlee Simpson Playbill would hold more value than a, for example, 2005 Luba Mason (theatre actress, but more of a folk-ish LA cabaret singer now).

Other times, such as SUNSET BLVD, the original cast would hold favor (Glenn Close - BIG Actress obvi., George Hearn - BIG Theatre star, and Alice Ripley - NOW jsut became a big theatre star this past year, Lauren Kennedy (just in the ensembles then!) - BIG Cabaret/Theatre star, etc.) over one with Elaine Paige, who while HUGE in the United Kingdom, is an unknown over here except to theatre people. Her playbill came in red however, so I suppose it added to the value a bit over Glenn Close's black/white one.

TheScarletPimpernel wrote:Oh it should also be noted that the color/logo of a playbill affects it's value! Those in Black & White might got for $5, but in color it'd go for $10. That Shrek logo is rare on a playbill - as said, it was that big S for a while and even I was unaware they changed it!

That's very interesting. Which Shrek playbill do you think holds more value?
It seems like the character one is rarer, but then again, I could be wrong.

Oh it should also be noted that the color/logo of a playbill affects it's value! Those in Black & White might got for $5, but in color it'd go for $10. That Shrek logo is rare on a playbill - as said, it was that big S for a while and even I was unaware they changed it!

ariel84 wrote:

purd90 wrote:Great success! I received the playbill with the big 'S' on it this past summer...I like yours better than the other and
was hoping for that one, but I guess we can't get everything, haha. Congrats!

I always wonder why plays/musicals usually change the playbill covers. For instance, I received Hair and West Side Story playbills. I wanted the color ones, but instead, I received black and white versions of both. I'm still happy, though. At least I heard back.

Re: Changing Colors
-For Money purposes - printing in Black/White is MUCH cheaper than in color. A show that is making a lot of extra money or have the producers with the cash to keep them in color will do so for an entire run. However, most shows turn to Black/White after 5 or 6 months!

Changing Pictures
-Some change when the cast change. ReNT and Chicago were always notable for this, among other shows.

Great success! I received the playbill with the big 'S' on it this past summer...I like yours better than the other and
was hoping for that one, but I guess we can't get everything, haha. Congrats!

darn I"m to late I saw the show in Seattle when it was doing the show previews great show amazing I wish I could've seen it on broadway too. Great Success

Congrats!! Hopefully mine comes in soon too.