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Overview
(Playbill Broadway Yearbook). Many of the people who work on Broadway keep scrapbooks of their experiences: photos, signed posters, ticket stubs, and, of course the Playbills. Playbill Books, a division of the iconic 111-year-old company that designs the programs for every show on Broadway, has expanded this idea into a new project that it hopes will become a Broadway institution: The Playbill Broadway Yearbook . It takes the form of a high school or college yearbook, packed with photos and memorabilia from the entire 2004-2005 season. This inaugural edition will include chapters on every show that ran during the season not just the new shows, but the long-running ones from seasons past as well. In addition to all the headshots of all the actors who appeared in Playbill, the book will have photos of producers, writers, designers, stage managers, stagehands and musicians. The goal is to include as many of the faces that worked on Broadway and who made themselves available. Correspondents range from dressers and stage doormen to stage managers, dancers, featured players, and, in some cases, the star of the show.Synopsis
This inaugural volume of the yearbook profiles the shows, actors, and other theater professionals who worked on Broadway in New York City from June 1st, 2004, to May 31st, 2005. Borrowing the basic format of a high school or college yearbook, the yearbook contains a chapter reproducing the Playbill theater program for each of 65 Broadway shows, plus additional color photos and notes on favorite moments and backstage antics. There are photos not only of actors, but people behind the scenes as well, from producers to ushers. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publishers Weekly
Playbill publisher Philip Birsh decided he would create "a yearbook, like a high school yearbook," which would include photos of every person working on a Broadway show in a given year. So Viagas, one of the magazine's editors, reprinted the head shots and text from the official Playbills of each production, from Aida to Wonderful Town, and arranged group shots of performers, directors, box-office staff and ushers. In addition, pictures of the staff for producers' offices, press agents, union leaders and even personnel from nationwide Playbill publications are included in a section called "Faculty." Like high school shots, most photos show people standing in a line and smiling awkwardly for the camera. In an attempt to add some spice to the project, a member of each production answered questions, such as the casts' favorite snack food or the most memorable celebrity visits, which appear in the "Scrapbook" section. None of the answers, however, lend insight or helpful information; mostly, they're of the "you had to be there" variety. As with high school yearbooks, this will be a source of nostalgic reminiscence for the participants, but of minimal use for historians or theater buffs. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.