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If you're a big theatre fan — and especially if your love for the genre goes beyond the 29 shows currently running on Broadway — a visit to one of New York City's many wonderful museums may be just the weekend staycation you're looking for this summer. Here's a round-up of seven theatrical museum outings that no Broadway buff will want to miss!
Chances are you're already familiar with Al Hirschfeld; as a caricaturist for over 70 years, Hirschfeld specialized in capturing Broadway shows and performers, lending his distinctive artistic style to countless beloved drawings over the years. Through Oct. 12, The New York Historical Society is exhibiting The Hirschfeld Century, made up of nine decades of Hirschfeld's work and over 100 original drawings. The museum's gift shop is also the only place to pick up a copy of the beautiful new coffee table book that accompanies the exhibition.
An American in Paris Leslie Caron and Gene Kelly, 1951
Just like his theater work, this drawing appeared before the classic film musical premiered in 1951. This art was published in magazines and newspapers across the country as promotion for the film.
The Elephant Man Kevin Conway, Philip Anglim, and Carol Shelly, 1979
Thirty-six years ago, Hirschfeld captured the essential elements of this Tony nominated drama before it opened on Broadway. He also drew the only revival of the show in his lifetime.
Judy Kuhn in Chess1988
The first time Judy Kuhn was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical was in Chess in 1988. She was first nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in Les Miserables in 1987. This year she ads yet another nomination for her role in Fun Home.
On the Town Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Chris Alexander, Nancy Walker, John Battles, and Sono Osato,1944
Hirschfeld drew this original production of the great Comden and Green and Leonard Bernstein musical, as well as the two other Broadway revivals in 1971 and 1998.
On the Twentieth Century Kevin Kline, Madeline Kahn, John Cullum, Dean Dittmar, George Coe and Imogene Coca,1978
Hirschfeld not only drew this cast drawing of the Tony nominated musical in 1978, but when it went on the road in 1979, he did the poster art for the touring company.
The King and I Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner, 1951
Hirschfeld showed Rodgers, Hammerstein, and Jerome Robbins films he had made of court dances in Siam when he heard they were working on a musical about the Asian country. He would draw every Broadway revival of the musical during his lifetime.
You Can’t Take it With You Henry Travers, George Tobias, and Paula Trueman, 1937
Hirschfeld’s first editor at the New York Times was George S. kaufman. He would became good friends with Moss Hart and of course he drew the original Broadway production of the duo’s Pulitzer Prize winning comedy. He would later do promotional drawings for the 1938 Frank Capra film.
The Visit John Wyse, Lynn Fontanne, and Alfred Lunt, 1958
Hirscheld opted not to go to the opening of the World’s Fair in Brussells in1958 in which his drawings were used for a mural in the American Pavilion probably in part because he would have missed the Lunts in this tragic comedy, the last time the famous couple appeared on Broadway together.
Kander and Ebb,1978
Hirschfeld drew every show that John Kander was involved with on Broadway from 1959 to 1996, and for Fred Ebb, he drew every show from 1960 to 1996. He drew the award winning composing team for the New York Times Theater column in the 1977-18 season when their musical, The Act was playing on Broadway.
The Who’s Tommy Paul Kandel, Cheryl Freeman, Buddy Smith, Michael Cerveris, Marcia Mitzman, and Jonathan Dokuchitz, 1993
Hirschfeld’s drawing of this classic rock opera captured Michael Cerveris in his Broadway debut.
George and Ira Gershwin, c. 1955
Hirschfeld grew up with the Gershwins in Washington Heights and remained friends with them through their lives. This 1955 image, first drawn for a record cover, has become one of the brothers’ most identifiable portraits, and it feels as fresh as their score for American In Paris.
Tommy Tune in White Tie and Tails, 2002
Five weeks before Hirschfeld died, this drawing was published, his last for the New York Times, one month shy of seventy-five years after his first theatrical caricature for the newspaper. It not only captured Tune’s easy elegance but Hirschfeld’s as well.
The Secret Garden Alison Fraser, Robert Westenberg, Rebecca Luker, Mandy Patinkin, Daisy Eagan, John Babcock, and John Cameron Mitchell, 1990
Long before he conquered the world as the writer and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell found himself in a Hirschfeld drawing for this musical inspired by the children’s story. He was nominated for a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for this role.
Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane 1977
Hirschfeld had been drawing Alan Jay Lerner’s Broadway shows since his debut in 1943, and up until his final new musical, Dance a Little Closer in 1983. He drew the original Gigi when it first opened in 1973. He drew this portrait of Lerner and fellow songwriter Burton Lane when they were working on ill-fated Carmelina.
Heidi Chronicles
Joan Allen, Ellen Parker, Drew McVety, Boyd Gaines, Peter Friedman, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Anne Lange, 1988
Hirschfeld drew strong women throughout his career, and his 1988 drawing of the Broadway premiere of Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles, captured a generation of women. Elizabeth Moss, nominated for her role in this year’s revival, has played plenty of unique women herself
Shakespeare 1974
Hirschfeld first drew the Bard for the 1938 film of Pygmalion, illustrating Shaw’s quote that he stood on the shoulders of Shakespeare. He next drew the playwright as the most produced author on Broadway in 1939. He would draw him 17 more times, including this 1974 portrait drawn in conjunction with the publication of The Harvard Concordance to Shakespeare. Like Something Rotten, you have to go back to the 90s, the 1990s to find a portrait of Shakespeare surrounded by some of his leading interpreters on stage.
The Producers Mel Brooks With Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Brad Oscar, Gary Beach, & Cady Huffman, 2001
Brad Oscar was “Hirschfelded” for the first time in a little musical called The Producers that had some success in 2001. He was nominated for his role in that production for his performance as the crazy playwright, Franz Liebkind. He continues his habit of garner Tony nominations in his latest role in Something Rotten.
Winners of the Playboy Music Poll, 1987
(clockwise from top left) Phil Collins, Alabama, the Judds, Randy Travis, Lisa Lisa, Whiney Houston, Al Jarreau, Chet Atkins, Bono of U2, Herbie Hancock, Prince, and Sting. When Hirschfeld drew these musicians in 1987 who knew that it would include three Broadway composers? Bono and Phil Collins have had their shows, and now Sting is nominated for his score for The Last Ship.
You're A Good Man Charlie Brown Anthony Rapp, B.D. Wong, Ilana Levine, Kristin Chenoweth, Roger Bart, Stanley Wayne Mathis, 1999
The Hirschfeld Century was coming to a close just as Kristin Chenoweth was just getting started on Broadway when Hirschfeld drew her in this production, her second on Broadway. He had drawn Madeline Kahn in the role of Lily Garland in the premiere of On the Twentieth Century, which Chenoweth is nominated for this year.
For more information, visit the New York Historical Society's website!
Located steps away from Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre where The King and I is currently playing, New York Public Library's Performing Arts Library is filled to the brim with theatrical goodies. Their circulating collection contains virtually every book written about the theatre you could ever hope to find. They also have a quite impressive research library. Of particular note of the Theatre on Tape and Film Archive, which houses video recordings of many complete Broadway shows over the last 40 years. Though access is restricted to "qualified researchers," don't let this deter you; preparing for an audition and writing a paper for school both count as qualified research.
If sitting at a reading table isn't your idea of a fun day, NYPL's Performing Arts Library also has some fantastic exhibitions currently on display. You can walk through Sinatra: An American Icon, the official exhibition of the Frank Sinatra Centennial. Sinatra may have never played a role on Broadway, but as a popular singer from an era in which Broadway enjoyed a golden age, he recorded countless showtunes. He also helped bring prominent Broadway musicals to the big screen, playing roles in the movie adaptations of On the Town, Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey and others. With 100 years of Sinatra legacy on display, this exhibition is available to walk through until Sept. 4.
Through August 8, the library is also showing Head Shots: Performer Portraits from Daguerreotype to Digital. According to the official description, "visitors will see how images are posed, taken, and selected and understand how every step contributes to the very pragmatic aims of employment and publicity." Curated from the library's collection of over 1,000,000 head shots, this exhibition really shows it all. There is even a free guided tour available with Broadway casting director Andrew Zerman July 11!
Beginning July 23, the library will be hosting a multi-media exhibition called The Genius of Geoffrey Holder, celebrating the career of the legendary performer, director and choreographer. Everything from his Alvin Ailey days to his Tony Award-winning direction and costume design for The Wiz will be on display through Aug. 29.
For more information about these and many other events held at the NYPL Performing Arts Library, visit their website!
Feel like venturing into Queens? It may not be a museum per say, but the TDF Costume Collection is well worth the visit for any Broadway fan. Located at Kaufman Astoria Film Studios in Astoria, this collection houses over 80,000 costumes and accessories. Pieces are constantly donated to the collection from Broadway, Off-Broadway, opera, film and regional productions, so they have some pretty amazing things. The collection is open to the public, which means you can walk down aisle after aisle of Broadway history. You'll see costumes worn by Lena Horne, Patti LuPone, the original Broadway companies of Rent and Into the Woods — the list goes on and on!
For more information, visit the TDF Costume Collection website!
If you're interested in digging a little further back into theatrical history, there's a fascinating exhibition in the Bronx right now called Showboat 'Round the Bend. Showboats, like the Cotton Blossom immortalized in the classic musical Show Boat, traveled down America's rivers presenting plays, vaudeville acts and even ultimately movies to towns that often had no other major live entertainment venues at the time. The exhibition features playbills, photographs, oral histories, video clips and more. Available to be seen Monday to Saturday 9 AM to 4 PM, the exhibition is currently being shown as part of an open-ended engagement. It's on display at the Maritime Industry Museum on the campus of SUNY Maritime — 6 Pennyfield Avenue, Bronx, NY. For more information, call The Maritime Industry Museum at (718) 409-7218.
(Logan Culwell is a musical theatre historian, Playbill's manager of research and curator of Playbill Vault. Please visit LoganCulwell.com.)
