Posts from the Billy Rose Theatre Division

Intimate Apparel in the Archive

Lynn Nottage's play, recently adapted into an opera, has become an essential part of the American repertory.

A New Fellowship Sheds Light on Noël Coward’s Work and Legacy

Scholar, archivist, and librarian Arianne Johnson Quinn has received the inaugural Noël Coward Fellowship. She plans to explore and bring to light the Coward archive at the Library through new essays, programs, and research guides.

Company in the Archive

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts holds the papers of George Furth including his early drafts of the musical 'Company' which came in useful in the new revival on Broadway.

Stephen Sondheim's Assassins in the Archive

The musical is documented in several collections of the Library for the Performing Arts, including iterations of some of the promotional materials which are interesting both for what they reveal about the design process and as representations of what the team viewed as important themes in the show.

Martina Arroyo: inspirando a las nuevas generaciones de sopranos de ópera

Martina Arroyo fue una soprano de ópera de renombre mundial desde la década de 1960 hasta 1989 cuando se retiró profesionalmente. Ella y sus contemporáneos fueron la primera generación de cantantes de ópera afroamericanos en alcanzar el éxito internacional y fueron fundamentales para superar la discriminación racial en el mundo de la ópera.

Sherlock Holmes on Stage

Interest in Sherlock Holmes is as high as ever, with movies, television adaptations, and pastiche novels proliferating each year including the new off-Broadway show 'A Sherlock Carol'. The Theatre Division at New York Public Library has documented many adaptations of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle starring his famous detective—here are some of the highlights of Holmes on stage as represented in our collections. 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Honors the Legacy of American Composer Stephen Sondheim with Display of Personal Letters

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is honoring the legacy of late American composer Stephen Sondheim with a moving display of letters and other objects from the archives of the colleagues and friends of the legendary artist. 

Stephen Sondheim in the Archives

Curator Doug Resides shares some of his favorite items in the Library's holdings related to Stephen Sondheim and his body of work.

Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...Boom! in the Archives

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s musical 'Tick, Tick...Boom!' premiered this month on Netflix and in select theatres. At the Library for the Performing Arts, we have fascinating documentation of various theatre productions of the show over the past 28 years.

Alice Childress's Trouble in Mind in the Archives

Over the past half-century The New York Public Library has preserved the history of the production, and we are thrilled it is at last on a Broadway stage.

Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana 2021: realización de investigaciones con los recursos electrónicos y otras bases de datos de la NYPL

Lista de recursos en línea gratuitos para ayudarle a profundizar en los muchos aspectos de la historia y la cultura latinx e hispana, todo gratis con una tarjeta de la biblioteca.

National Hispanic Heritage Month 2021: Researching with NYPL's E-Resources and Other Databases

List of free online resources to help you delve into the many aspects of Latinx & Hispanic history and culture, all free with a library card.

Cabaret: An Animated Summary

As part of our preparation for the Harold Prince exhibition that opened last September, The New York Public Library digitized a large number of photographic negatives of production shots from several of Prince’s musicals. As a result it is possible to virtually reconstruct the staging of these original productions by arranging the hundreds of digitized photographs in the order of the show.

Martha Swope: Happy Birthday to the Queen of the Dance and Theatre Lens

Her forty years worth of images are a who’s who of some of the greatest actors on stage as well as composers, directors, choreographers, dancers, and producers behind the scenes during rehearsals.

Across a Crowded Room: 2020 Videos

Today, we present eight performances from our Across a Crowded Room initiative for the world to see. It was a difficult year in many respects, but the quality of the work created this year is among the best I have seen in the seven years of the program. Enjoy the 2020 Across A Crowded Room Playlist!

Looking Back at Fiscal Year 2020 at The Library for the Performing Arts

You're invited to look through our Annual Report and celebrate with us some of the things we accomplished this past year.

A Harold Prince Book List

This list was part of the free brochure available at the gallery, but now, as the exhibition is closed and coming down, we wanted to ensure the list was still available for those who want to read more about this icon of theatre history.

George Furth and Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY in Photographs

These production photos (many put together as gifs) have been arranged in the order of the show and may be the closest you'll get to viewing the original production.

Resources for Theatre Educators

From access to recorded performances, digitized photo collections, blog series and librarian appointments, we have a variety of resources for educators and students to use even when we're closed.

Theatre on Film and Tape Archive Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

The Billy Rose Theatre Division is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive this year.