The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005 [Hardcover]

Robert Viagas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Playbill Broadway Yearbook | Publication Date: August 1, 2005

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.

Editorial Reviews

From 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Mark this down as a new essential for anyone who loves, and follows, today's theater scene." -- The Hollywood Reporter, October 4, 2005

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Playbill Books (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557836825
• ISBN-13: 978-1557836823
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,073,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broadway Yearbook, September 22, 2005

By 

Broadway Diva - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005 (Hardcover)

My favorite part of this yearbook is the scrapbook pages from each show with fabulous stories written by cast members about backstage rituals, opening night gifts, favorite lines or moments in the show, celebrity visitors, and exciting photos of the opening night parties, clowning around backstage, actors putting on makeup, etc. Reading the pages makes you feel not just like you've seen the show, but that you've been backstage and been on stage with the cast. On the "42nd Street" page, David Elder, who played Billy Lawlor, wrote his favorite moment in that show is: "Hearing the audience reaction during "We're in the Money" when I would hold the handstand. Also the audience's excited applause when the opening curtain would rise to show what looked like hundreds of tapping feet." From "Wicked:" "Shoshana Bean, the Elphaba with the trucker mouth, walked off the stage and trumpted a curse that would make Joan Rivers blush. As soon as it came out of her mouth, she turned to see (backstage visitor) Garth (Brooks) in his big old cowboy hat and dear Ms. Trish Yearwood with her girls. Elphaba turned a nice shade of green-red and said, gracefully, "Uh...I have to get out of makeup now." And from "Spelling Bee" Jesse Tyler Ferguson's favorite moment: "After I get eliminated from the Bee I give handshakes to each of the actors on stage as I exit. Dan Fogler always says something different to me. On the night of the first preview he said, "Welcome back to Broadway." On a night when the audience was really dead, he said, "You're always the lucky one." Celia always whispers, "I love you." If you love theater like I do, you'll love this yearbook.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lush Broadway yearbook, August 21, 2010

By 

Ronald E. Weber (Springfield Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005 (Hardcover)

Very interesting compendium of the innards of a year's worth of PLAYBILLS, the little programs they distribute at plays and musicals on the Great White Way. It includes all data, with every credit and a ton of headshots, for every production, just like in the magazine, plus group pictures of the entire crew, and even the doormen. The only thing missing is the bios that are contained in the actual magazine.This is for completists, and those who are rabidly interested in theatre...and I am certainly one of those, on both counts.

This is Volume One of a series, initially sort of expensive, but now remaindered. I wouldn't want to pay thirty five bucks for one, but ten, or under, is a real steal. This is sort of a substitute for the John Willis THEATRE WORLD series, which has done the same thing in a compact form, since the mid forties. I have all of those, up to 2002. Lately, they have become very expensive ($75 or more, a pop) and extremely difficult to find, unless you live in NYC. And the newer ones never are remaindered. So, this is the best alternative, a complete record of a Bway season, attractively presented. It also has an obit page that lists theatre folk who died during the year, just a one-page roster with no specific data other than a name. Willis alway provided a litle paragraph of the careers. But his list was never this thorough, in scope.

Subsequent volumes are cool, but there's a lot of repetition, because it lists the current details for all shows. Therefore, things like PHANTOM and MOMMA MIA get representation, every year. I've been able to find the first four volumes (of six, so far,) remaindered, at places like Amazon and Half Price Books, in the past month or two. It's worth it, for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended, November 5, 2007

By 

KAR (Shakopee, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Playbill Broadway Yearbook: June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005 (Hardcover)

This was a great way to combine all the years performances into one book. I recommend adding the other two additions for a complete library.