We've got the green light! Kimberly Belflower's hit play John Proctor is the Villain is now available to view at the New York Public Library's Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. The play, starring Sadie Sink and Fina Strazza, was filmed at the Booth Theatre June 13.

Other new filmed Broadway shows at NYPL include the recent Gypsy revival starring Audra McDonald, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Tony-winning play Appropriate starring Sarah Paulson, and the short-lived musical Lempicka starring Eden Espinosa. 

But before you run to the library, you need to remember that these filmed productions are captured for research purposes. That means they're more barebones than a typical live stage capture. In addition, you must have a working NYPL library card and you can only watch these productions onsite at the Lincoln Center branch while a librarian is present. And each production can only be viewed once. 

TOFT has been capturing live theatre productions since 1970, and has an archive of over 4,000 productions. They tend to make those recordings available when the productions have stopped running on Broadway. That is why after The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway in 2023, the library finally made its recording of the original Broadway cast, led by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, available to view at the library.

And recently, TOFT has begun giving permission to New York City teachers to show the productions in its archives off-site in a classroom (meaning yes, John Proctor Is the Villain is the perfect play to watch during a Salem witch trials/Crucible course).

These restrictions are how TOFT can capture every Broadway show and make them available to the general public for free, and without paying any of the artists involved—because these recordings can only be accessed in a limited capacity for research purposes.

So if you want to view your favorite theatrical productions one more time, visit NYPL.org.