At Monday's press conference the mayor announced that the world had "not come to an end." After all there were "lots of tourists here enjoying themselves" and some folks even "went to the theater!" Though less folks went than this time last year, it could have been worse. Because of the blizzard all those theatergoers almost missed out on a crucial aspect of the Broadway experience: the Playbill.
For 126 years Playbills have been delivered regularly to theaters across town without a hitch (the show must go on, and all). But yesterday for a few minutes that record almost ended. Why? You guessed it, buses stuck in the snow blocking the front of their Woodside, Queens printing press.
But theater goers need to know what previously played in their theater and they must play the "how many have you seen" game in the back, so to make sure fans of Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Jersey Boys and blood, erm, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark got their fix, Playbill workers walked piles of them by hand to a van blocks away where roads were clearer.
In the end only a few ballet-goers at Lincoln Center missed out on their Nutcracker programs—and if they asked they'll be getting them in the mail. As for the The MTA, eventually they "heard [Playbill's] cries and rectified the problem," according to the Playbill website, moving the many buses out of the way of the magazine's ambulance-sized trucks. Priorities people!
