The Museum of Broadway, the interactive, multi-floor museum located at 145 West 45th Street, opened its doors for the first time November 15. The new venue highlights more than 500 individual productions from the 1700s to the present.
Founded by Tony-winning producer Julie Boardman and Rubik Marketing's Diane Nicoletti, the team of curators is headed by Ben West and also includes Jennifer Ashley Tepper, John Kenrick, Faye Armon-Troncoso, Lisa Zinni, and Michael McDonald. Elie Landau serves as the general manager.
Get a look inside the Museum of Broadway in the above video, which also features chats with co-founder Boardman and curator West.
Theatre caricaturist Al Hirschfeld is the focus of the first special exhibit at the Museum. The exhibition, curated by Al Hirschfeld Foundation Creative Director David Leopold, takes visitors through nine decades of Hirschfeld's landmark images capturing the American theatre from 1928-2002.
Among the shows represented are the original productions of Fiddler on the Roof, The Phantom of the Opera, The King and I, Sunday in the Park With George, Funny Girl, Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast, and Hairspray, along with portraits of such figures as Meryl Streep, Stephen Sondheim, Julie Andrews, Liza Minnelli, and John Leguizamo. Also on display are show posters, album covers, and Playbill covers designed by Hirschfeld; a replica of the barber chair Hirschfeld worked in; and sketchbooks the artist used to plan some of his most iconic artworks.
Artists who have designed rooms and exhibits within the museum include Ulli Böhmelmann, Tony-winning scenic designer Bunny Christie, multimedia artist Paul Clay, painter Ann Marie Coolick, calligrapher Ryoko Goldston, muralist Harley and J, installation artist HotxTea, Neka King, magician and crossword constructor David Kwong, neon artist Jianhe Li, Tony-nominated scenic designer Anna Louizos, Tony-winning scenic designer Derek McLane, fine artist Rachel Marks, visual artist and author Debbie Millman, interactive street artist Kelsey Montague, creative director Ryan Ratelle, designer Sam Ratelle, Tony-winning scenic designer and architect David Rockwell, visual artist Liz West, and illustrator Ty Wilson.
The Museum also features work from Emmy-winning illustrator I. Javier Ameijeiras (Rent Live!), neon artist Dani B, Tony nominee Robert Fairchild (An American in Paris), Drama Desk-winning scenic designer David Korins (Hamilton), choreographer Julio Monge (West Side Story), and dancer Tanairi Vazquez (West Side Story).
The museum is founded in collaboration with Playbill, Broadway Cares, The Billy Rose Theatre Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Goodspeed Musicals, Creative Goods, and Concord Theatricals.
The Museum is offering $25 timed tickets and $35 flexible tickets on the first Tuesday of every month. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here; a portion of each ticket sold will be donated to Broadway Cares.
Visit TheMuseumofBroadway.com.