Broadway is alive with legends who haunt the place, the famous street being called the Great White Way these days as much for its ghosts as its lights. The stories and imprints of the great shows endure, with names like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lorraine Hansberry and Stephen Sondheim always welcoming in fresh company like Susan Lori-Parks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Savion Glover and Lea Salonga. And so many more.
But only one legend has been there for all of it. And that is Playbill, the historic publication founded in 1885 that sits on the lap of every theatergoer with its iconic yellow-and-black logo.
Playbill has seen every major media change in American history — the advents of the movies, radio and TV, the demise of print news, the emergence of digital media — and thrived in every circumstance.
But one thing Playbill won’t countenance is Twitter under the chaotic rule of Elon Musk. After all, on every show the lights must eventually go out and the curtain closes. Who would know better than Playbill when the drama isn’t playing anymore?
Playbill announced this week that it would withdraw all its properties from the Musk-owned social media platform, saying:
“We feel we can no longer continue to utilize a platform where the line between actual news and insidious rhetoric has become blurred beyond recognition.”
The accounts previously managed by Playbill which are now off the platform are: @Playbill, @PlaybillTravel, @PLAYBILLder, @PlaybillArts, @PlaybillStore. Notably, Playbill announced it will continue operations on Mark Zuckerberg‘s Facebook and Instagram, and also on the hugely popular Chinese-owned app TikTok, where it will also probably find its next big star.
