Playbill Collectors

[Gracie84]

I got a personalized letter from wicked too and the handwritten note from shrek

[TheScarletPimpernel]

The Little Mermaid & Shrek stage managers are very kind.

The nicest ones that I've run into: The Lion King (@ the Minskoff) and Mamma Mia! (@ the Winter Garden). The person from Mamma Mia! added cardboard (that was a piece of a signed windowcard), a nice note...and seems like a nice guy (Check Brandi Burkhardt's Broadway.com Valentine's day video for him .. haha).

[afem1010]

I didn't get a note from Shrek though. Only play I ever received a letter from was Wicked which was pretty cool. Wicked really does work hard to give its best to the fans. Alas, I wanted to write to A Tale of Two Cities SOOOO badly

TheScarletPimpernel - I sent you a PM about the Playbills with my location for calculation of postage. Its been long and thought it be good if we got that over with

[Johnny's Fan]

I have a question.

Do you have to have seen the shows for you to make a request?

What I mean is, would you think it wrong of someone to ask for a signed playbill of a show that someone hadn't seen?

Because from my point of view; I adore musicals. But I have only ever seen Cats on stage. But I have read about a lot of currect produtions and know the stories, and then avialable, have listened to the soundtracks. Some of them I like more than others (POTO is my favourite), so like everything else, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't request.

There is very little chance I will ever get to see any of these productions I know so much about, let alone on Broadway, which would be heaven.

So I would like to know, if it would be wrong of me to ask for a signed playbill from a show which I love, but technically have never seen? I know that some people regard others that collect playbills just to add to their autograph count as not being good collectors, but I wouldn't be collecting because of that. It would be a little bit of theatre history, that although I myself never got to witness, it would still be nice to have something signed by someone in a show that I really admire.

I hope I have not offended anyone here.

[Selise]

I have a question.

Do you have to have seen the shows for you to make a request?

What I mean is, would you think it wrong of someone to ask for a signed playbill of a show that someone hadn't seen?

Because from my point of view; I adore musicals. But I have only ever seen Cats on stage. But I have read about a lot of currect produtions and know the stories, and then avialable, have listened to the soundtracks. Some of them I like more than others (POTO is my favourite), so like everything else, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't request.

There is very little chance I will ever get to see any of these productions I know so much about, let alone on Broadway, which would be heaven.

So I would like to know, if it would be wrong of me to ask for a signed playbill from a show which I love, but technically have never seen? I know that some people regard others that collect playbills just to add to their autograph count as not being good collectors, but I wouldn't be collecting because of that. It would be a little bit of theatre history, that although I myself never got to witness, it would still be nice to have something signed by someone in a show that I really admire.

I hope I have not offended anyone here.

Honestly, I think you'd be fine with requesting a playbill even if you won't be able to see it. I request a lot that I can't see (I just had a baby in December), and I won't be able to see some of the plays. I think that as long as you're writing because you love the music, like the actors and truly are a fan of the play/cast/writer of the play, you're ok.

I have a lot of playbills in my collection that I haven't seen (baby/pregnancy related, or financial reasons), but a majority of them I have seen.

True, there are people who do it for the wrong reasons, but if you're honestly doing it for the reasons you state, then I don't see why you shouldn't request.

Selise

[TheScarletPimpernel]

I have a question.

Do you have to have seen the shows for you to make a request?

What I mean is, would you think it wrong of someone to ask for a signed playbill of a show that someone hadn't seen?

Because from my point of view; I adore musicals. But I have only ever seen Cats on stage. But I have read about a lot of currect produtions and know the stories, and then avialable, have listened to the soundtracks. Some of them I like more than others (POTO is my favourite), so like everything else, if I didn't like it, I wouldn't request.

There is very little chance I will ever get to see any of these productions I know so much about, let alone on Broadway, which would be heaven.

So I would like to know, if it would be wrong of me to ask for a signed playbill from a show which I love, but technically have never seen? I know that some people regard others that collect playbills just to add to their autograph count as not being good collectors, but I wouldn't be collecting because of that. It would be a little bit of theatre history, that although I myself never got to witness, it would still be nice to have something signed by someone in a show that I really admire.

I hope I have not offended anyone here.

Honestly, I think you'd be fine with requesting a playbill even if you won't be able to see it. I request a lot that I can't see (I just had a baby in December), and I won't be able to see some of the plays. I think that as long as you're writing because you love the music, like the actors and truly are a fan of the play/cast/writer of the play, you're ok.

I have a lot of playbills in my collection that I haven't seen (baby/pregnancy related, or financial reasons), but a majority of them I have seen.

True, there are people who do it for the wrong reasons, but if you're honestly doing it for the reasons you state, then I don't see why you shouldn't request.

Selise

Just bridging off what Selise sadi -- it seems the new trend on this board is Playbill collecting - and I sincerly believe it's threatening this specific hobby. Plenty of people on here don't give 2 cents who X and X is, but just do it because they know they'll get a response -- and many put them on eBay -- the main source of this hobby being gone forever.

Obviously if you like Cats, it's absolutely fine to write to Phantom, or even any musical that has a movie (Mamma Mia! comes to mind as well); obviously you should be able to name I'd say atleast one song or star form a production. When people write for playbills just for the sake of writing for them -- why? If you want an individual actor/actress's autograph, don't write to the stage manager - write to that person and simply request a playbill at the end of thier note (Look at all the Will Ferrell requests that have come back so it's just Will's...clearly all they want is to say "I got 5 autographs and one is Will's" .. not respecting/wanting the other four people in the production).

If you haven't seen it, btu are a fan of the source material (ie: plenty of devout Dicken's fans apparently wrote to the ATOTC Stage manager) that's perfectly fine too. It wouldn't hurt to say you listen tothe Cast Recording a lot, or when you get to NYC it's the first thing you hope to do.

Best of Luck! (&Sorry for the mini-rant!)

[Johnny's Fan]

Thanks a lot for your advice.

I just wanted to ask because I have been reading this thread for a while now, and I can tell that most of you, clearly love collecting playbills not because they boost autograph totals but because you really love the material and the actors and actresses in them. And I am also aware that it must really make you all angry when you know someone is collecting them for the sake of it and is wasting the time of the people at the other end. I know it would make me annoyed as well.

So I just wanted to make sure really, before I sent off any requests, that it was Ok for somebody in my position to do that. I must admit, I am not 100% in the know about cast members etc, unless I know they opened with the show or I have heard them on the soundtrack. But the Cats show I went to see, I didn't know anyone there either, but I would have got some of their autographs because they were amazing and I had a great time (alas that I didn't collect back then. The only show I have seen). But I will most definitely make sure they know that I have seen or heard as much as I can of the production, and how much I love the show.

My sister-in-law got to see POTO on Broadway. I would literally have stowed away in her luggage to see that! Why is Britain so far away from New York?

[TheScarletPimpernel]

Yes, it's fine -- like I said Phantom has the movie / multiple CDs to base your opinion on it, but when people write to musicals like "Story of My Life" and have to stretch the truth out the max -- it's unecessary to write. CATS was written by the same composer (Andrew Lloyd Webber) as Phantom -- so you could obviously mention you are a big fan of his.

Plenty of shows don't read the letters it seems, some post them on the walls -- all depends.

And I would actually write you hope to see it on the West End or Broadway one day -- or mention your sister saw it, etc.!

Good luck!

[trooperkittie]

Just sent out requests to West Side Story and God of Carnage

and just picked up a complete cast signed Shrek playbill- Broadway Cares was selling them after the show I went to last Wednesday. Couldn't resist buying it for a good cause.

[TheScarletPimpernel]

Just sent out requests to West Side Story and God of Carnage

and just picked up a complete cast signed Shrek playbill- Broadway Cares was selling them after the show I went to last Wednesday. Couldn't resist buying it for a good cause.

Thankyou for doing that /
{thumb2} {thumb2} Big thumbs up in my book. It's a great charity and I only wish more people would purchase from them (as I have in the past and present), as opposed to writing for free ones. Or atleast donate some money to BC/EFA.

Good for you . Good luck with the others!