Playbills

This really has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, and it seems like such a Blogging 101 sort of post, but I’ve seen so many Broadway shows lately that I thought I’d go through my Playbills and take stock of them all. I have a Playbill for every show I’ve ever seen. Well, okay, I cheated a bit — for the first two shows, I dug through my mom’s collection a few years later and pulled out the extras.

Some Off-Broadway shows have Playbills, too, and those are included. There are only like two of those, though.

Anyway — for no other reason than the fact that I want to do it — I present to you my entire collection of Playbills.

No, not Playboys. PLAYBILLS.

Without further ado:

Peter Pan — July 1980

Barnum — January 1982

Annie — March 1982

A Chorus Line — December 1983 (my 10th birthday)

Singin’ in the Rain — February 1986

Starlight Express — June 1987

Coastal Disturbances — June 1987

Jackie Mason’s “The World According to Me” — September 1987

Anything Goes — December 1987 (my 13th birthday)

Phantom of the Opera — March 1988? (I know I have the Playbill somewhere but I can’t find it right now)

Me and My Girl — April 1988

Carrie — May 1988 (signed by Betty Buckley, Linzi Hateley, and Gene Anthony Ray — how much do you suppose this is worth?)

Broadway Bound — June 1988

The Heidi Chronicles — July 1989

Gypsy — July 1990

Jerome Robbins’ Broadway — August 1990

City of Angels — August 1990

Lost in Yonkers — August 1991

Nick & Nora — November 1991

Falsettos — May 1992 (first show I ever saw by myself… how fitting)

Guys and Dolls — May 1992

The Will Rogers Follies — July 1992

Conversations With My Father — December 1992

My Favorite Year — December 1992 (my 19th birthday)

Kiss of the Spider Woman — March 1994

She Loves Me — June 1994

Show Boat — August 1995

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — January 1997

Chicago — March 1997

Rent — June 1997

The Last Night of Ballyhoo — July 1997

The Life — December 1997

Ragtime — June 1998

The Beauty Queen of Leenane — October 1998

The Scarlet Pimpernel — November 1998

Art — November 1998

Far East — December 1998

Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk — January 1999

Electra — January 1999

Fuddy Meers — March 2000

A Moon for the Misbegotten — March 2000

The Music Man — April 2000

Betrayal — January 2001 (ok, it’s actually a “Stagebill”)

Bloomer Girl — March 2001

The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife — July 2001

Tick, Tick… Boom! — July 2001

Proof — July 2001

The Play About the Baby — July 2001

The Producers — September 2001

Hedda Gabler — October 2001

45 Seconds From Broadway — October 2001

Mamma Mia! — November 2001

Noises Off — November 2001

You’ll notice it’s kinda spotty in the mid-90s. Keep in mind that I spent the better part of eight years in Virginia, though. You’ll also notice it’s picked up greatly in the last several months. That’s because I live up here now!

Anyway, this is nothing compared to my mom’s collection. Hers goes way back to the 1960s. Her collection is a treasure trove for any theater buff.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
—–

Nothing On

Oh. My. God.

Do I do well for myself or what? Tonight it was my mom who didn’t feel like going to the theater, so with my dad and my aunt I saw the Broadway revival of Noises Off.

It. Was. Hysterical.

I saw the movie a few years ago, so I knew what to expect, but still — this is one of the funniest, most ingenious plays ever written. It’s a play within a play and it’s a farce and it’s slapstick and it’s sardines. Michael Frayn (the author) is a genius. And the actors are terrific. You’ve got to be way talented (or at least really know what you’re doing) to be in this play. And this production has quite a cast — Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince, Edward Hibbert, and five other people.

If you’re in the New York area and you haven’t seen it yet, SEE IT. I’ll probably do so again.

And one of the actors, T.R. Knight, who plays the stagehand Tim, is adorable as all get-out. I want to marry him. On the way out of the theater, members of the cast were collecting donations. He was standing at our exit, so I got to see him up close. What a cutie.

And then on the train home I was totally cruising this tall blond guy who was probably an actor.

Women? Was I saying something about women the other day?

Tofurky! Tofurky!
—–