Tells me which character is which and how they are related. We'll see Mike Wilson enter first (his stage name), then xxx, then yyyy, then Lora Wilson, etc. So I know Mike & Lora are likely related. And whenever I hear Lora's name mentioned when she's not on stage, I know what face is being spoken about, etc. And I often know many of the actors from prior shows, so that helps as well. And if I hear a name spoken on stage that ISN'T in the playbill, it helps me know they won't be showing up on the stage.
For example, I believe the playbill at "Peace for Mary Frances" listed the names in alphabetical order, so everything was a jumble to me and the playbill was totally useless. Took me almost an hour in before I realized there was a mom, and the other women were her daughters. They appeared to be the same age to me from where I was sitting. And trying to keep everyone's name straight was therefore a losing battle for me. The show was utter confusion for me without a playbill that listed cast "in order of appearance". And the lack of playbill until the end at "Summer and Smoke" (CSC) made it much harder for me to follow who was who, so I didn't enjoy the show at all and was often dozing off at the sheer boredom and monotony. I think we should do our theater fans a favor and post the CSC playbill online. |
