playbill
Americannoun
noun
-
a poster or bill advertising a play
-
the programme of a play
Etymology
Origin of playbill
Explanation
The little booklet you get when you go to the theater is called a playbill. A playbill usually includes a list of the cast and production crew. You can also call a playbill a program. At most theaters in the U.S., playbills are handed out to everyone in the audience as they enter. If you attend a Broadway play, you'll get a thick playbill with a lot of information about the play, the actors, and the venue—as well as a lot of advertising. A community theater or school production usually provides smaller, simpler playbills.
Vocabulary lists containing playbill
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
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Theater - Introductory
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Theater - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So on your seat before mask-optional performances, alongside your playbill, you’ll find a complimentary mask and a kindly worded note.
From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2023
On that show’s playbill, Rubin was listed as an associate producer.
From Washington Post • Feb. 21, 2023
Only one playbill, for “The Seagull” at the Théâtre des Abbesses, mentioned Ukraine.
From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2023
Growing up, I don’t have a memory of knowing what a gay person looked like, except my parents saw “La Cage aux Folles,” and I think I saw a picture for that on the playbill.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2020
“A gloomy wood,” according to the one playbill, was represented by a few shrubs in pots, green baize on the floor, and a cave in the distance.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
