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Through the Years
By: Robert Diamond Nov. 24, 2010
Have you wondered what Roundabout's logo looked like in the late 1980s? Or how much season tickets cost? Or what our print ads looked like twenty years ago? Over the next few weeks From the Archives will answer these questions. We will showcase promotional materials from our collection - subscriber letters, brochures, promotional posters and ads, and photographs.
This week we look back twenty years, focusing on materials from the late 1980s. Our primary stage was located at 100 E. 17th Street, known then as the Union Square/Christian C. Yegen Theatre. This photograph was taken circa 1991 and features a banner with our name (notice the different font used) and the production Pygmalion. Roundabout staged here throughout the 1980s, leaving only when the lights of Broadway finally beckoned. [For you theatre history buffs, this theatre has a fascinating history. Check it out this Wikipedia link to Tammany Hall (aka Union Square Theatre)]
This season brochure from the 1988/1989 season displays Roundabout's shooting star logo: weekend ticket prices? $29.00 each.
And finally, this letter to our subscribers from the 1989/1990 season (same shooting star logo) lists season tickets between $85-$114 (your eyes do not deceive you: that is Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame second from top – he, along with Lonny Price, Andrew Bloch and Keith Reddin, starred in our 1986 production of Room Service by John Murray and Allen Boretz).
Roundabout's archives contain hundreds of examples such as these, all reflections of theatre marketing trends and, more importantly, the evolution of our company. Check back next week when we showcase materials from the early 1980s.
The Roundabout Theatre Archives are made possible by a generous grant from the Leon Levy Foundation.
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