We Begin Tonight with Breaking News

Ask us! Playbill Online F.A.Q. November 19, 2006

Playbill Online F.A.Q.

Does it cost to be a member of Playbill Online?

No way!  Becoming a member of Playbill Online is absolutely free.   Why not take a moment to register with us?

Do you have to be a member of Playbill Online to receive site discounts?

Yes!  But did we mention it is free to become a member?  It just takes a few moments to register.

How do I advertise with Playbill?

If you are interested in advertising with Playbill Magazine, send an e-mail to ad-mag@playbill.com.  If you would like to advertise with Playbill Magazine, please e-mail our online advertising department at ad-online@playbill.com.

How do I contact Playbill Online?

You have a few options, it just depends on what we can help you with!

Does Playbill Online contain information about international theater?

Playbill Online works hard to stay abreast of international theater performances.  However, it is nearly impossible to keep up with theater in each and every country around the world.  Playbill’s primary international focus is on theater in London.

Can I buy Playbill merchandise?

Of course!  Playbill’s online store can be accessed by a surfing over to http://www.playbillstore.com.  Items included t-shirts, CDs, sheet music, limited edition Opening Night Playbills, and much more.

How do I post an available theater job with Playbill Online?

Posting a job with Playbill Online is easy.  It only takes a few steps for the world to see your posting. http://www.playbill.com/jobs/post/ will bring you to a page with a form to fill out all necessary information about your posting.  Playbill Online currently charges $24.95 per job posting.

Does Playbill Online have a listing of theater seating charts?

Yes, Playbill Online keeps a listing of US and International seating charts.

Does Playbill Online maintain an archive of theater news and multimedia?

A limited multimedia archive has available on the site. A theater news archive dating back decades is also accessible.  Both archives are updated on a daily basis.

How can I make suggestions to improve Playbill Online’s web site?

E-mail the webmaster  We’ll get back to you as soon as we can – thank you for your suggestions!

Company’s Coming! November 13, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMPANY IS COMING TO BROADWAY

Playbill Presents Broadway’s “Company” Opening Night Celebration November 29, 2006.

Ethel Barrymore Theatre 243 W. 34 Street (Between Broadway and 8th Avenue)
(202) 302-700/800-677-1164
http://www.companyonbroadway.com

(New York, New York)  Playbill is proud to sponsor the opening night celebration for John Doyle’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” at 8 p.m. November 29, 2006 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

Doyle makes his triumphant return to Broadway after a successful revival of “Sweeney Todd” which earned him a 2006 Tony Award for best musical direction.  His unique vision cuts out the need for an orchestra and puts the actors on stage pulling double duty with instruments in hand.  The revival of “Company” is unlike any other show on Broadway.

 “Company” follows the life and relationships of Bobby, a 35-year-old single male, looking for love so that he can stop feeling the pressure from all of the other thirty somethings in his life that are already hitched.  Bobby looks at his past loves and must decide if he is at the point in his life where it’s time for him to marry or remain the odd man out.

Playbill Online will be hosting an online sweepstakes with a grand prize of airfare for two to New York City, hotel accommodations at Le Parker Meridian for one night, orchestra seats to the opening night performance of “Company”, and access to the V.I.P. gala.  The contest opens November 1, 2006 and will close at midnight November 23, 2006.  The grand prize winner will be notified by phone on the morning of November 24, 2006.  Valid for residents of the continental United States only.  Entrants must be 16 years of age or older at the time of contest end to be eligible to win.  Visit http://www.playbill.com for more information and a full list of sweepstakes rules.

Opening night festivities begin at the Barrymore Theatre promptly at 7 p.m. with red carpet entrances for cast members and V.I.P. guests.  Media interested in attending this portion of the event must contact the media coordinator to reserve a filming location.  Set up for red carpet access must be completed by 6:30 p.m.

The curtain will go up on the opening night performance at 8 p.m. and media will be directed to the balcony and permitted to film only the first two musical numbers of Act I.  For Act II, media will be permitted to film the final musical number and curtain call.  Precise filming details will be handed out upon arrival to the theatre. 

It should be noted that the cast of “Company” will be exiting through the stage door at the front of the theatre.  They will not be signing autographs outside of the theatre for this performance as the cast will be immediately ushered into vehicles and taken to the opening night gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art located at 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street.  Entrance to the gala is granted by invitation only.

Cast members available to the press for interviews at the gala will be Raul Esparza (Bobby), Barbara Walsh (Joanne) and Kelly Jeanne Grant (Kathy).  Interviews will be done in order of media arrival and will not exceed 10 minutes in length.

Playbill will be printing special edition numbered opening night playbills for all attendees of the performance.  Gold “Company” pins commemorating the evening will be be available for purchase in the lobby of the theatre.  Proceeds from the pin sales will go to the Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids fund. 

Directions to each venue have been attached to this e-mail release. 

Media Contact:
Kate P. Bowra
Playbill Online Public Relations
companypress@playbill.com
http://www.companyonbroadway.com
Phone: (212) 555-5555 x212
Fax: (212) 555-1234

NYC: Television Tapings and Trapeze School November 6, 2006

October 11

4 a.m. – Get up!  I woke up to the sound of my alarm and just seconds later the ringing of my cell phone forced me out of bed.  It was my friend Barbara calling to make sure I wouldn’t oversleep and miss my 6:45 a.m. flight. 

8:40 a.m. – Mom and I arrived at 320 W. 66th St. to ABC Studios where The View and All My Children are taped.  I ran inside to snag Elise who is the audience coordinator for The View.  She appoligized to me that my tickets had been misplaced and I didn’t have a seat for the live taping,  but she made up for the error and gave me two tickets to the show’s afternoon taping.  I went back outside to meet up with my mom and explain the ticket mishap, we hailed another taxi and dropped off our luggage before returing to the streets in search of the closest Starbucks.

11 a.m. – After walking 20 blocks downtown and discussing what type of soup we would have from The Soup Nazi (yes, just like the Seinfeld episode), we arrived at his restaurant only to find he had closed just days before so that he could begin franchising his business.  An incredible disappointment to say the least.  Lunch had to wait until later in the day so mom and I could get back to The View on time.

12:45 p.m. – Standing in the hallway I waited to be allowed into the studio for The View.  I saw a few stars from All My Children walk by, including Cameron Mathison, who mom and I had met in a Starbucks a few years earlier.  I took one of the set elevators upstairs to the studio which had recently been overhauled for the show’s 10th anniversary.  Elise waved to me as I walked onto the set, I stopped and asked her if it would be possible to do the mid break with one of the show’s co hosts.  She couldn’t make me any promises, but she said she’d see what she could do.  That worked for me.

1:15 p.m. – The warm-up comedian had just a few minutes to train the audience in clapping techniques before it was time to start the taping.  The show was just nearing the halfway mark when Elise called for me to get out of my seat.  I walked across the studio and stood with Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  We introduced ourselves and then it was time to tape.  Rob, the stage manager, counted me down as I spoke and read from the teleprompter.  When I finished, Elizabeth smiled and gave me a hug while saying, “Wow!  Great job – that was so professional!”  We hugged again and I went back to my seat to watch the rest of the taping.

2:45 p.m. – The taping wrapped and mom and I left the studio after saying our goodbyes.  Just moments after we stepped back on to the street I overheard a woman walking behind us on her cell phone talking in a panic saying, “A plane crashed into a building!”  I stopped dead in my tracks.  I hadn’t noticed the city was silent except for the sirens of emergency vehicles.

2:55 p.m. – Mom and I continued to walk downtown after hearing of the plane crash.  We had just entered Columbus Circle when we ran into Gloria Estefan and her husband who had also just heard the horrific news.  After saying hello and discussing the news we parted ways. 

3:15 p.m. – A few blocks later Mom and I arrived the Stage Deli.  I have been going to the Stage Deli with my family for as long as I can remember and ordering the exact same dish of potato pancakes each visit.  I saw down long enough to order and ran from my seat to the television to see what news CNN had of the crash.  The details weren’t quite clear yet, but there wasn’t any indication of terrorism and that was enough to ease my mind while I waited for additional information to clear the wires.

5:30 p.m. – I was left with the decision as to what Broadway show mom and I would see for the evening.  We went to TKTS and picked out orchestra seats for Martin Short’s musical comedy ‘Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me.’

6:30 p.m. – Drinks at Sardi’s before the show.  Mom and I sat in the bar where years before we sat next to Blythe Danner.  Unlike before, there were no celebrity sightings during this visit. 

8 p.m. – Martin Short’s ‘Fame Becomes Me’.  I hadn’t been in my seat long when I noticed a picture of my friend Kelly in a Playbill advertisement for her upcoming Broadway debut in Sondheim’s ‘Company’.  What a rush.

October 12

6 a.m. – We left the hotel to hit Starbucks before hailing a taxi to Broadway and 44th to the Good Morning America studio.

6:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. – Mom and I had V.I.P. passes into GMA thanks to my friend Jennifer who works for the program.  We were in the front of the audience crowd and ended up in front of the camera a number of times.  Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, and Chris Cuomo joined the audience during the last half hour of the program to host the show from for ground level portion of the studio.  I had my picture taken with Robin and Chris when the show wrapped.  Diane didn’t have much time to talk, so I introduced myself and I handed her a bag designed by my friend Holly Aiken without taking time for a picture.

10 a.m. – I hailed a taxi from Times Square so that mom and I wouln’t be late for my class at Trapeze School.  I changed into my gym clothes and stretched while I waited for class to begin. 

10:45 a.m. – Class began and my trainer John, the owner of the school who trained Sarah Jessica Parker and Kelly Ripa, showed me how to hold myself on a bar that was a few feet above the ground so that I would know how the bar would be 23 feet up in the air when I was flying in the air on the real trapeze.  I made a few solo attempts and as the class was coming to an end, John said that I had done well enough to be caught.  It’s a bit hard to explain the whole process, so I’ll let the video below speak for itself.  The first video is my last solo attempt on the trapeze and the second is a video of me being caught by John.  This class was a true rush, I plan to go back each time I visit NYC!

1:30 P.M. – Lunch was in Little Italy at a small restaurant on Mulberry St. called Buona Notte.  Following lunch mom and I wandered the streets popping into stores that had interesting window displays until it was time for dinner.

7 p.m. – I had a dinner date with my friend Kelly at a little place called West Side Sushi.  Mom hadn’t seen Kelly in years so it was fun for the three of us to catch up over dinner.  When our plates were cleaned we walked a few blocks uptown to Tasti D-Lite for dessert. 

10 p.m. – Kelly wanted us to see the theatre where she would be perfoming in ‘Company‘ so we took our ice cream to go and headed for the Barrymore Theatre. The scaffolding had never been down on Kelly’s previous visits, so it was a bit emotional for all of us to see the theater lit up for the very first time.  A couple walked past us while Kelly was pointing to her photo on the wall and my mom stopped them by saying, “That’s her!  That’s the Broadway star!”  Her comments thoroughly embarassed Kelly, but I think she enjoyed it a little.

10:30 p.m. – It was time to say goodbye.  Kelly, the “Broadway Star” hailed a taxi and mom and I headed back uptown to our hotel.  What an amazing day.

October 13

7:30 a.m. – Starbucks again?  Yes.  I can’t remember the last time I went without it.

8 a.m. – Mom and I arrived at WABC for the taping of Regis & Kelly.  I used my company I.D. to walked behind the scenes to avoid the crowded public restroom for general audience members.  I was greeted by a bubbly Kelly Ripa who was wandering around with her hair still in curlers as she prepared for the show. 

9 a.m. – The show’s taping began.  Lots of clapping and it felt more like 10 minutes than an hour’s worth of programming.  The only disappointment was that Regis was absent.

10 a.m. – The taping ended and I walked out on the set to talk with Kelly.  I had also brought her a bag from my friend Holly, so I wanted to make sure I delivered it to her personally.  Kelly was shocked I had something for her and even more amazed I hadn’t given it to her earlier, “Why didn’t you tell me you had a gift earlier?” she shouted to me from across the set.  Kelly was a total riot, she loved her gift and stopped to take a picture with the bag so I could give it to Holly when I returned to Raleigh. 

12:30 p.m. – Time to return to Raleigh.  Mom and I made our way back to the hotel to collect our luggage and wait for the town car to arrive to take us to the airport.  I was exhausted and in a daze for the entire trip home.  I can’t wait to do it all over again.