A playbill is a printed sheet or small booklet that advertises a play, or that you are given when you sit down in the theatre. It usually tells you the name of the play, who is acting, the time, and sometimes a short note on the story. In American English, Playbill is also a famous brand of those theatre programmes — the black-and-white covers you see on Broadway. Though actually, bill here does not mean money; it means a notice on paper, the same idea as a poster. British speakers more often say programme for the booklet you hold during the show.