Ask Playbill.com

Stars in the House Offers Avenue Q Sing Through August 24 to Raise Funds for Hawaii Wildfire Victims

By Andrew Gans | August 24, 2023

Many actors from the Broadway company will join hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About the Prevalence of Cats on Stage

By Robert Simonson | March 25, 2013

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it doesn't stop us from asking why plays and musicals seem to be populated more often with dogs than cats.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About an Actor's Decision Between Broadway and the Road

By Robert Simonson | March 18, 2013

What thoughts do actors juggle when considering taking a job in a national tour? You asked, we sought the answers.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About "Character Shoes"

By Robert Simonson | January 25, 2013

Dancers know that the shoes they shake in Broadway choruses are called "character shoes." But why that name?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About the Mercury Theatre, the House That Orson Built

By Robert Simonson | January 8, 2013

A question about the brief, bright light of Orson Welles and John Houseman's Mercury Theatre in New York City. Does the venue still stand?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About an Extra Character From Glengarry Glen Ross

By Robert Simonson | December 11, 2012

The film version of Glengarry Glen Ross features an additional character, named Blake, who is not seen in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. What gives?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Adapting Anton Chekhov's Ivanov

By Robert Simonson | November 14, 2012

Russian master Anton Chekhov rewrote and revised Ivanov over the years. When a producer revives it, which draft are we getting?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Artist Pay When Mother Nature Knocks Out Broadway

By Robert Simonson | November 1, 2012

When Broadway performances go dark due to an act of God, do show people still get paid? We were curious, so we asked.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About the Minetta Lane Theatre, in the Heart of Greenwich Village

By Robert Simonson | October 26, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers your (and sometimes our own) theatre-related questions. To ask a question, email [email protected]. Please specify how you would like your name displayed and please include the city in which you live.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Securing Extra Elbow Room in Broadway Theatres

By Robert Simonson | October 12, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers your (and sometimes our own) theatre-related questions. To ask a question, email [email protected]. Please specify how you would like your name displayed and please include the city in which you live.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About the Choreography in Fiddler on the Roof

By Robert Simonson | September 20, 2012

Jerome Robbins' indelible, tribal choreography for Fiddler on the Roof is evident in productions around the world. Why is that?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Touring Shows That Return to Broadway

By Robert Simonson | September 7, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers your (and sometimes our own) theatre-related questions. To ask a question, email [email protected]. Please specify how you would like your name displayed and please include the city in which you live.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About the Public Theater's Use of Central Park's Delacorte Theater

By Robert Simonson | August 23, 2012

When the Public Theater stages shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, are there discussions between the creative team and the keepers of Central Park?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Who Covers for Absent Backstage Crew Members

By Robert Simonson | August 2, 2012

What happens when stage managers are sick or on vacation? Who are their understudies? We asked.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Eugene O'Neill's Birthplace, in a Broadway Hotel

By Robert Simonson | July 23, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers your (and sometimes our own) theatre-related questions. To ask a question, email [email protected]. Please specify how you would like your name displayed and please include the city in which you live.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Two Questions About Theatregoer Etiquette

By Robert Simonson | July 7, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers your (and sometimes our own) theatre-related questions. To ask a question, email [email protected]. Please specify how you would like your name displayed and please include the city in which you live.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Broadway's Historic Stage Door Canteen

By Robert Simonson | June 22, 2012

Maybe you've heard the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen"? A reader has a question about the venue's location, and we expand on it.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Why Is West 44th Street Called "Rodgers & Hammerstein Row"?

By Robert Simonson | June 8, 2012

A street sign in Manhattan's theatre district indicates that West 44th Street is "Rodgers & Hammerstein Row." How come?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About a Fruity Visual Theme in Peter and the Starcatcher

By Robert Simonson | May 23, 2012

A reader wondered about the use of a certain tropical fruit in Broadway's Peter and the Starcatcher. Is there a story there? Of course there is!
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Clybourne Park's Inspiration

By Robert Simonson | April 26, 2012

Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize-winning Clybourne Park, now on Broadway, takes a page out of A Raisin in the Sun. Did Norris have to pay for rights to the source material?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Joseph Pulitzer, the "Villain" of Newsies, Illuminated

By Robert Simonson | April 11, 2012

Ask Playbill.com got curious about the facts behind Newsies antagonist Joseph Pulitzer. Read all about it.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Monday Previews on Broadway

By Robert Simonson | March 28, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers a question about Monday night previews on Broadway. Why do they tend to disappear after opening?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About Exit Music at Musicals

By Robert Simonson, Kenneth Jones | February 24, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers a question about the music that you hear when you're leaving the theatre after a performance of a musical.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: A Question About a Scenic Element in Other Desert Cities

By Robert Simonson | February 10, 2012

Ask Playbill.com answers a question about the fireplace in the Broadway production of Other Desert Cities. Is it a metaphor or just a set?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: What About Shubert Alley?

By Robert Simonson | December 2, 2011

Playbill.com answers a question about the history of Shubert Alley, in the heart of Broadway's theatre district.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: What About Those Lounges in New York City Theatres?

By Robert Simonson | September 1, 2011

Playbill.com answers a question about why so many Broadway theatres have gracious — but unused — lounges.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Queries About an Albee Address, Circle in the Square and the Moniker "Broadway"

By Robert Simonson | August 1, 2011

We answer questions on how a few theatre-related addresses got their names.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Why Can't I Take Photos in a Broadway Theatre?

By Robert Simonson | June 27, 2011

A question about why photographs can't be taken in theatres before the show begins.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Can the Tony Awards Be Seen Abroad?

By Robert Simonson | June 10, 2011

A question about whether the June 12 Tony Awards can be seen in South Korea and elsewhere abroad.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Opening a Show During the Tony Season, and Chorus Sizes

By Robert Simonson | May 25, 2011

Two questions in this column: One about the possibility of a Broadway show opening in the Tony Award season, and one about the number of people in a Broadway chorus.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Double Lettering of Broadway Seats

By Robert Simonson | May 3, 2011

A question about those front-of-orchestra Broadway seats labeled AA, BB and so on.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Story of a Song Gone Missing From How to Succeed

By Robert Simonson | April 18, 2011

A question asking about a song used in the 1995 Broadway revival of How to Succeed, but missing in the current revival.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: When Did Broadway Shows Start Offering Sunday Performances?

By Robert Simonson | April 4, 2011

A question asking how and when the now-common phenomenon of Sunday Broadway performances came about.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Has the Same Song Ever Been Sung at the Same Time in Two Different Broadway Shows?

By Robert Simonson | February 28, 2011

A question asking whether it's ever been possible to hear two different renditions of the same song on Broadway in the same season.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: What's With the Distressed Look of BAM's Harvey Theater?

By Robert Simonson | February 14, 2011

A question concerning the unusual interior design of Brooklyn's Harvey Theater.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: What Is the Refund Policy for a Show Cancelled Mid-Performance?

By Robert Simonson | January 13, 2011

A question concerning common Broadway policy when a show is cancelled before the performance has ended.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Why Isn't the Little Shubert Theatre Used More Often?

By Robert Simonson | January 5, 2011

A question concerning the 499-seat Off-Broadway gem known as The Little Shubert Theatre.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: How Does a Broadway Show's Set Change When the Production Tours?

By Robert Simonson | December 6, 2010

A question concerning the changes a Broadway production goes through, physically, when it heads out on tour.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Will the Mark Hellinger Theater Ever See a Show Again?

By Robert Simonson | November 16, 2010

A question concerning the life and future of Broadway's opulent Mark Hellinger Theater, once home to My Fair Lady, and now a house of worship.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Fate of the Lamb's Theatre

By Robert Simonson | October 27, 2010

A question concerning the fate of the theatre inside Times Square's Lamb's Club, now that the building has reopened as a luxury hotel and restaurant.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: How Do Broadway Producers Secure Permission to Revive Musicals?

By Robert Simonson | October 11, 2010

A question concerning the hoops a Broadway producer must jump through to get the rights to revive a musical on Broadway.

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ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The "West Side" in West Side Story

By Robert Simonson | September 26, 2010

A question concerning the locality of the musical West Side Story
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Dimming of Broadway's Lights

By Robert Simonson | September 12, 2010

A question concerning the long-standing tradition of dimming Broadway's marquees in honor of a recently passed theatre great.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: When a Show Shifts Venues

By Robert Simonson | August 29, 2010

A question about the phenomenon of shifting shows — Broadway hits that won't stay put and move from theatre to theatre.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Length of Broadway Rehearsals

By Robert Simonson | August 16, 2010

A question about how long, on average, a Broadway show rehearses before it begins performances.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Actors' Salaries & The Levels of Stage Management

By Robert Simonson | August 1, 2010

A couple of questions touching on the various professionals found within the union Actors' Equity Association. Best known for representing performers, Equity also includes stage managers in its membership.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Obscure Broadway Theatre Names

By Robert Simonson | July 7, 2010

The naming of Broadway theatres: The sources of "Cort," "Winter Garden" Longacre" and more.
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: The Whiskey of Fences & The "Wrong Side of Broadway"

By Robert Simonson | June 27, 2010

A dram of whiskey is spilled in Fences. What does it mean? And why is the east side of Broadway the "wrong" side?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Special Tony Awards

By Robert Simonson | June 9, 2010

Marian Seldes and Alan Ayckbourn are receiving Special Tony Awards this year. How are special-recognition Tonys chosen?
ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Broadway Ticketholders Waiting in Line

By Robert Simonson | May 23, 2010

Playbill.com answers your — and sometimes our own — theatre-related questions in the return of our popular feature.

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