Tag Archives: Actors

Traditional Playbills vs Electronic Playbills

Etiquette, , , , , , , ,

The playbill is often one of the most admired aspects of the theater. Guests love to enter the theater, get comfortable, get associated with the backdrop, and read what is in store for them. The printed playbill is one of the most traditional elements of theater that still rings true today. 

Legally Blond Playbill

An article by Laura Collins in the New York Times online theater section explains this perfectly.

She explains that when you go to the theater, and your usher guides you to your seat, you almost expect to receive something from him. Perhaps the house doesn’t want the audience distracted? Perhaps they would rather you read about the show after the show?

Maybe this is a money-saving move on the theater’s part, but is this worth compromising our beloved in-hand playbills? It is expected that the audience will tune in to the digital version of the playbill on their phone. When you don’t receive a program directly, how likely are you to do this? And how do you see and analyze the reader’s response?

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“When I admire something I’ve seen onstage, I often spend my subway ride home scouring the artists’ bios, my paper program in full view of fellow riders — advertising that doubles, sometimes, as a conversation starter. But honestly (and I’m talking here about shows I’m not writing about), if the onus is on me to track that information down, there’s an excellent chance I won’t do it. When I turn on my phone, I’ll probably use it to read the news.”

photo of a playbill in hand

We think this is a great point. With a physical playbill, you can relive the moments you saw on stage, and almost continuously enjoy them after the show, just by looking back to the piece of paper. Some people even save playbills as mementos for shows, self-proclaimed ‘Playbill Hoarders’. We know that it’s important for theatergoers to look back on these playbills, as Playbill the company has found much value in archiving their shows in past history.

What do you think about receiving programs or playbills? Do you like the nature of the paper, or do you think the program is superfluous to your theater experience? Let us know, we want to hear from you. Share this blog to your Facebook feed and see how your fellow theater lovers feel.

playbill avenue Q

Backdrops by Charles H. Stewart has been your leading edge scenic design and backdrop rental company for over 120 years! Come to us with your theatrical needs to enhance your production with well over 1,500 backdrops, drapes, lames and scrims to choose from in our inventory. We are here to serve all your backdrop and scenic design needs.

Mary Poppins Returns is, Yet Again, Practically Perfect in Every Way!

Productions, Theater, , , , ,

In 2018, Disney and theater fans across the world were gifted with Mary Poppins Returns. As a sequel to the original movie, an anticipated 54 years later, Mary Poppins is back with her bag of tricks to help the Banks children. The movie is now finally in theaters, so we knew a blog dedicated to the classic and timeless story was beyond necessary.

There are so many elements of this follow-up of the first movie. Director Rob Marshall knew he couldn’t remake such an original and monumental movie, but he knew the team could still incorporate some elements to keep that same authenticity and bring Mary Poppins back to life.

 

We’ll talk about some of the elements of Mary Poppins Returns in this blog, but don’t worry, no spoiler alerts here. This sequel takes place in London starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, and even includes appearances from Dick Van Dyke! Dick Van Dyke played Burt, the chimney sweep, in the original Mary Poppins. He even gets on stage for a dance number! This is an unbelievable surprise for Mary Poppins fans as he’s now 93 years old!

 

Fans are saying that Emily Blunt is the perfect Mary Poppins, pictured to the right. It really brings childhood memories to life for many when Emily Blunt appears in the sky and descends from the clouds.

 

With the return of some favorite characters from the original, Mary Poppins lovers will not be disappointed. The writers and directors even included the animations that fans loved oh so much from the original version of the film. Animations include the original penguins dancing and tons of colorful, fun scenes.

 

Mary Poppins Returns Poster

 

You can watch the behind-the-scenes footage of how Mary Poppins Returns was made. It’s beautiful to see cast and crew from the original movie on the set of the sequel, commenting about the same energy and passion on set that was present during the making of the first movie. In the behind-the-scenes footage, we also get to see what went into casting the second film, and how important it was to cast the right actors for such big roles. As the original Mary Poppins was cast as Julie Andrews, Emily Blunt opens up about what it meant to play her version of Mary Poppins. We also get the inside scoop from the children cast as the Banks children, and what it was like working on set. The trailers, behind-the-scenes, and introductions to Mary Poppins Returns builds quite the anticipation. When you finally see the movie, you won’t be dissatisfied. It’s practically perfect in every way!

 

When are you going to see the movie in theaters? Tell us how you liked it after you see it with family, friends, and your biggest Disney fans. Backdrops by Charles H. Stewart has been your leading edge scenic design and backdrop rental company for over 120 years! Come to us with your theatrical needs to enhance your production with well over 1,500 backdrops, drapes, lames and scrims to choose from. We are here to serve all your backdrop and scenic design needs.