Spamalot cast (Clay Aiken) SUCCESS

[Selise]

Do me a favor, as I also have the signed Spamalot Playbill.

Open the front cover on both of them, and see if there is an impression of the marker by Clays signature.

I opened your photo in Photoshop and I tried to compare the two signatures with my playbill. If I'm correct, the playbill on the right in the photo is slightly different at the ending of Clay's signature then on the first playbill. My Playbill looks similar to your second one. Mine is not an autopen as I got mine in person.

Thanks,

Selise

[noodlez]

Thanks for the hint! I opened both and can't see any impressions as there's this "dark" picture of Ellen on the other site. I can only see a slight impression of the signatures that are located on the edge (the "white frame" if you know what I mean). I will scan both playbills and lay one on top of the other to REALLY compare them. Just give me a sec!

Do you have a photo of your playbill?

[Selise]

yep I have a photo, it's on my camera, I'll transfer it tonight when my husband is home to get the cable.


I'm not saying yours isn't an autopen, but that it *might* not be. I've collected playbills for years and I've never heard of one being autopenned, but I suppose that anything is possible.

[noodlez]

Ok, I compared the pics in PS this time and see what I figured out:





They don't match as perfectly as I thought they would by just looking at them (ref. my post where I said they'd match 100% - it just ain't correct ^^)

Plus taking a closer look at the "A" there also are some differences. A machine can't do that, can it?! So at any rate one signature must be authentic



Experts, where are you?! :razz:

[Selise]

Here's my signed book (in person with the ticket for the meet and greet)


Playbills - one is IP (first) and the bottom is TTM

[noodlez]

That's really awesome how identically Clay signs the playbills

Your TTM success is also a little smudgy, am I right? Just like one of mine. If it was signed by a machine then this wouldn't happen, would it? I have never seen an AP that is smudged

[Selise]

yes there is a little smudge or two on the TTM playbill, but it's not a super major smudge - I've had much worse

It could happen with an Autopen if the playbill was put in while the ink was wet, but I don't think that's the case - I'm more inclined to believe that a human hand smudges a signature, not an Autopen machine.

[TheScarletPimpernel]

I for one have always been and stick to my conclusions that it is a less than 1% chance that you'll ever get an AP Playbill. How could a Broadway show aford that? Exactly.

Instead, the process that most shows generally go through: Stage manager takes stack of unsigned playbills. Has each member sign 10, has another actor sign 10 of them, and so on. That's why most playbills look the same: there signed one after the toher and than put in a stack so when they get letters like these they give you one!

[lizane]

Hi all! ;)

I agree with you Greg - you are our Broadway expert after all! But I have to add that those autographs of Clay are so alike that it's just freaky. I have never seen anyone signing so exact (size, spaces, etc.), not even the simplest autograph (I do lots of research every day on autograph authenticy). Remember, it can be very hard to see if an autograph is autopenned or handsigned. They can get smudged and even look different due to different sharpies being used. Basically, you know it's autopenned when you put the signatures on top of one another and they become "one". {thumb2}

Noodlez - I replied to your topic in the "Is My Autograph Authentic?" forum.

Thanks,
zanne

[TheScarletPimpernel]

The above are just four images I took from people's successes on here from LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL. The four signatures I attempted to highlight were that of ORFEH's, Paulette in the musical.

In each one, she signed in roughly the same spot, (eitheron the face of Laura Bell Bundy or on the books saying LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL) with her huge O signature.

Especially with this economy, it'd be extremely rare (as if it was ever normal) for a Broadway show to have an Autopen machine, literally BACKSTAGE (with the exception of Wicked, which appears to forward all fanmail to somewhere across the street?). Most shows weekly barely make enough to cover the daily running costs...look at it this way:

A TALE OF TWO CITIES the Musical, which opened about a month and a half ago, has published (as most shows do) their weekly grosses. Speculation ranges that the weekly running costs are around $500,000-$650,000, including but not exclusive to: house staff (ushers/etc.), electrical/etc., maintence people, the cast (which for ATOTC is probably very costly), the producers get a little something something in the beginning, advertisements, among various other things.

Last week, Tale only sold 54% of it's tickets, and only grossed $396,391. Pretty much all that money will go into the above things, usually with the producers not getting anything in this case. Unfortunately, it's the case of lots of shows right now, which is another reason why they're all closing! The shows can obviously not afford a AP machine, and why Clay Aiken, who is probably getting somewhere around $10,000 perhaps max a week, personally pay for them to get AP'd?

The end of it is, I've never come across a AP or PP playbill, and you probably won't unless someone on a Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd. (50,000/week) salary, which would just be stupid anyway.

Have fun with your authentic auto!!