I’m Still Here, a star-studded evening celebrating the 90th anniversary of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Billy Rose Theatre Division and the 50th anniversary of its Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, streams on Broadway on Demand June 23 at 8 PM ET.
Honoring Tony-winning directors George C. Wolfe and the late Harold Prince, the evening features archival content of several Broadway productions preserved in the archive, including Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson in The Mountaintop; Bette Midler in I'll Eat You Last; Brian Stokes Mitchell in Ragtime; Kelli O'Hara and Paulo Szot in South Pacific; Christian Borle and Tim Curry in Spamalot; Craig Bierko and Rebecca Luker in The Music Man; Savion Glover, Jimmy Tate, Choclattjared, and Raymond King in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Harden, and Larry Pine in The Seagull; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin de Jesús, Christopher Jackson, Karen Olivo, Andréa Burns, Janet Dacal, Eliseo Román, and Seth Stewart in In the Heights; Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard; Caitlin Gann, Elizabeth Gillies, Ariana Grande, and Brynn Williams in 13; Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit, Philip Seymour Hoffman in Death of a Salesman; Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie; and excerpts of interviews with Liza Minnelli, Stephen Sondheim, Prince, John Kander, and Fred Ebb.
Also taking part are Troy Anthony (The River Is Me), Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George), Major Attaway (Aladdin), Alexander Bello (Caroline, or Change), Laura Benanti (She Loves Me), Malik Bilbrew, Susan Birkenhead (Jelly’s Last Jam), Shay Bland, Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice), Matthew Broderick (Plaza Suite), Jason Robert Brown (The Last 5 Years), Krystal Joy Brown (Hamilton), David Burtka (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Sammi Cannold (Endlings), Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Kirsten Childs (Bella), Antonio Cipriano (Mean Girls), Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Max Clayton (Moulin Rouge!), Calvin L. Cooper (Mrs. Doubtfire), Trip Cullman (Choir Boy), Taeler Elyse Cyrus (Hello, Dolly!), Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on This Island), André De Shields (Hadestown), Frank DiLella (NY1), Derek Ege, Amina Faye, Harvey Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles), Leslie Donna Flesner (Tootsie), Chelsea P. Freeman, Savion Glover (Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk), Joel Grey (Cabaret), Ryan J. Haddad (The Politician), James Harkness (Ain’t Too Proud), Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), Marcy Harriell (Company), Mark Harris (Mike Nichols: A Life), Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Arica Jackson (Caroline, or Change), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Cassondra James (Once on This Island), Marcus Paul James (Rent), Taylor Iman Jones (Hamilton), Maya Kazzaz, Tom Kirdahy (The Inheritance), Leslie Kritzer (Beetlejuice), Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party), Norman Lear (Good Times), Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line), L. Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop), Robert Lee (Takeaway), Sondra Lee (Hello, Dolly!), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Priscilla Lopez (A Chorus Line), Ashley Loren (Moulin Rouge!), Allen René Louis (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), Brittney Mack (Six), Morgan Marcell (Hamilton), Aaron Marcellus (American Idol), Joan Marcus, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), Annie McGreevey (Company), Sarah Meahl (Kiss Me, Kate), Joanna Merlin (Fiddler on the Roof), Ruthie Ann Miles (Sunday in the Park with George), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Madeline Myers (Double Helix), Pamela Myers (Company), Leilani Patao (Garden Girl), Nova Payton (Dreamgirls), Joel Perez (Kiss My Aztec), Bernadette Peters (Into the Woods), Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam), Jacoby Pruitt, Sam Quinn, Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun), Jelani Remy (Ain’t Too Proud), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Marilyn Saunders (Company), Marcus Scott (Fidelio), Rashidra Scott (Company), Rona Siddiqui (Tales of a Halfghan), Ahmad Simmons (West Side Story), Susan Stroman (The Producers), Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Bobby Conte Thornton (Company), Sergio Trujillo (On Your Feet!), Kei Tsuruharatani (Jagged Little Pill), Ben Vereen (Pippin), Jack Viertel, Christopher Vo (The Cher Show), Nik Walker (Ain’t Too Proud), Marisha Wallace (Dreamgirls), Shannon Fiona Weir, Christopher Wheeldon (MJ: The Musical), Helen Marla White (Ain’t Misbehavin’), Natasha Yvette Williams (Orange is the New Black), and Kumiko Yoshii (Prince of Broadway).
The program also features interviews with Broadway artists plus the re-conception of classic musical theatre songs, including "A Trip to the Library," “Wheels of a Dream,” “Another Hundred People,” “Love Will Find a Way,” and, fittingly, “I’m Still Here.”
“From the Great Depression of the 1930s to the COVID crisis, the Billy Rose Theatre Division perseveres and preserves the greatest treasures of theatrical history," said Doug Reside, curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, in an earlier statement. "As I look back on the last 90 years of our history, I'm struck by how our division has managed to document almost every aspect of the creative process and the people who bring theatre to life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our first 90 years in such spectacular fashion, and to the theatre community for its support. As we plan for the next 90 years and beyond, my hope is that the collection continues to grow and flourish and reflect the diversity of voices that have shaped the theatre as we know it and are shaping its future.”“The Billy Rose Theatre Division has served as the collective memory for our community by capturing the ephemeral nature of our unique art form. Until we can all experience the joy of live theatre again, we are thrilled to look back into the archives to highlight theatrical masterpieces from their vast collection,” added producers Julie Boardman and Nolan Doran. “Our hope is to raise funds to ensure the archives remain accessible to future theatre makers for generations to come.”
The virtual benefit is produced and conceived by Boardman and Doran and features direction by Steve Broadnax, Sammi Cannold, Nick Corley, Ty Defoe, Lorin Latarro, Mia Walker, and Jason Michael Webb, choreography by Ayodele Casel, Latarro, and Ray Mercer, with new music arranged by Rachel Dean and Annastasia Victory, arrangements and orchestrations by Brian Usifer, and casting by Peter Van Dam at Tara Rubin Casting.
Tickets are donate-what-you-can, with a recommendation of at least $19.31 in honor of the year the division was founded. Visit StillHereat90.com
