Many of the people who work on Broadway keep scrapbooks of their experiences: photos, signed posters, ticket stubs, and, of course the Playbills. These are treasured keepsakes, something to be savored over a lifetime, and then passed on to friends and descendants. Playbill Books, a division of the iconic 125-year-old company that designs the programs for every show on Broadway, has expanded this idea into an annual book that hasbecome a Broadway institution: The Playbill Broadway Yearbook. T aking the form of a high school yearbook, the fifth edition is packed with photos and memorabilia from the entire 2008-2009 Broadway season.
The new edition includes chapters on 78 Broadway shows, which is every show that ran during the season – not just the new shows like Billy Elliot, God of Carnage, Shrek and Rock of Ages, but the long-running ones from seasons past, like Phantom ofthe Opera, The Lion King and Wicked. This year's rost er is expected to top 9,000 names.
