(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production of or an event related to a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker starring Abigail Breslin and Alison Pill opens March 3 at Circle in the Square Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1959 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Inherit the Wind — starring Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy — opens April 12 at the Lyceum Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1955 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of The Apple Tree starring Kristin Chenoweth opens Dec. 14 at Studio 54. Here's a glimpse of the 1966 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Company starring Raúl Esparza and Barbara Walsh opens Nov. 29 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1970 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Butley starring Nathan Lane opens Oct. 25 at the Booth Theatre. Here's a glimpse of the 1972 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of A Chorus Line starring Charlotte d’Amboise and Michael Berresse opens Oct. 5 at the Schoenfeld Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1975 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Awake and Sing! starring Ben Gazzarra, Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Wanamaker opens April 17 at the Belasco Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1935 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick, Jr. opens Feb. 23 at the American Airlines Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1954 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. The current production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre will become the longest-running Broadway show in history Jan. 9, 2006. Here's a glimpse at the 1988 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of A Touch of the Poet starring Gabriel Byrne opens Dec. 8 at Studio 54. Here's a glimpse at the 1958 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Seascape starring George Grizzard, Frances Sternhagen, Elizabeth Marvel and Frederick Weller opens Nov. 21 at the Booth Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1975 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd starring Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone opens Nov. 3 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1979 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of The Odd Couple starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick opens Oct. 27 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1965 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Absurd Person Singular opens Oct. 18 at the Biltmore Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1974 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross starring Alan Alda, Liev Schreiber and Jeffrey Tambor opens May 1 at the Royale Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1984 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly opens March 26 at the Studio 54. Here's a glimpse at the 1947 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of On Golden Pond starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams opens April 7 at the Cort Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1979 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie starring Jessica Lange opens March 22 at the Barrymore Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1945 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill.com features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin opens March 20 at the Longacre Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1962 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles starring Gary Beach and Daniel Davis opens Dec. 9 at the Marquis Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1983 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Pacific Overtures starring B.D. Wong opens Dec. 2 at Studio 54. Here's a glimpse at the 1976 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Sly Fox starring Richard Dreyfuss opens April 1 at the Barrymore Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1976 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche opens March 25 at the American Airlines Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1932 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof starring Alfred Molina opens Feb. 26 at the Minskoff Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1964 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Big River starring Dan Jenkins, Ty Giordano and Michael McElroy opens July 24 at the American Airlines Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1985 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

You think you’ve got a big collection of cast albums? The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has thousands, plus videotapes of virtually all Broadway shows for the last four decades, plus… well, "Radio Playbill" lets curators Kevin Winkler and and Herb Scher tell you what treasures they’ve pulled out of the archives for this summer’s exhibit, titled simply "Original Cast Albums," and play some rarely heard cuts. CD of the Week the original cast album of the new William Finn musical, Elegies. Plus, you can test your knowledge in the weekly Playbill Quiz.

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters opens May 1 at the Shubert Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1959 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Nine starring Antonio Banderas opens April 10 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1982 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg starring Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton opens April 3 at the American Airlines Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1968 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. A Broadway revival of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom starring Whoopi Goldberg and Charles S. Dutton opens Feb. 6 at the Royale Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1984 Playbill of the original production, with some perspective on the period.)

Playbill Cover for Flower Drum Song in 1958.

(This is one in a series of Playbill On-Line features offering a periodic look back at Broadway and Playbill history, timed to accompany a new production or event of a show from theatre's past. The Broadway production of Les Misérables announced it will close March 15, 2003 at the Imperial Theatre. Here's a glimpse at the 1987 Playbill of the production, with some perspective on the period.)

Writer, actor and Playbill On-Line columnist David Drake will be honored by Anthology Film Archives on March 27.

Producer Marty Bell told Playbill On-Line A Class Act will close June 10 at the Ambassador Theatre, but not before it is preserved on videotape for Lincoln Center archives.