One of my coworkers at my day job just tossed this on my desk. He picked it up in the Skyway, thought of me, and grabbed a copy.

My first impression was that it was some sort of cheesy downtown advertisement publication with coupons or something. I opened it and was met with a detailed “program” which lists cast credits, headshots, bios, etc. for everyday life in the skyway. There’s “Man with Chalupa for lunch” as played by Mark Belot, for example. Click the cover image above to see what I mean.

Finally, on the very back page, I discovered that it was all an elaborate advertisement for Red Eye Theater, complete with a tiny blurb promoting their current show. I’m impressed by the effort and imagination involved, but I wonder how effective of an ad campaign it could be. Also, I shudder to think how much these things cost them. I mean, damn, this is a full-on, glossy playbill with a color cover. They aren’t fuckin’ around. In fact, this ad leaflet thingy (most of which are surely going to end up in garbage cans and city sidewalks) is nicer than almost any real programs at small theatres in the area.

I don’t know whether to applaud the effort or just be confused.