Museum of Broadway
145 West 45th Street
New York, NY 10036
https://www.themuseumofbroadway.com/plan-your-visit
Open: Sunday-Tuesday 9:30am-6:30pm/Wednesday 9:30am-2:30pm/Thursday-Friday 9:30am-6:30pm/Saturday 9:30am-8:00pm
Admission: Adults $49.00/Seniors $32.00/Students $29.00
My review on TripAdvisor:
The entrance to the Museum of Broadway at 145 West 45th Street
The front of the Museum of Broadway
I visited the newly opened Museum of Broadway recently and what a nice surprise the museum is with a great depth in the collection. There was the history of the theater in New York City and how it progressed from small theaters downtown to the theater’s progression uptown to it home now in the core of Times Square.
The Make-Up Room on the way up the stairs.
The Call Board display.
The museum is very interesting in that when you enter the back of the museum you feel that you are going backstage at a theater and preparing for a show. You head up the stairs past make up rooms, wardrobe rooms and the star’s rooms. The you head out the door like you are going out on stage. You feel that rush of the stage.
The Stage Door stairs.
The Broadway Playbill Room exhibit
The Playbill Room display
As you head up the stairs to the exhibition the museum makes you feel like an actor on opening night. The sounds of the stage and the noises of the crew in the background make you feel like you are part of the show. The Playbill Room displays some of the popular shows from the past and present.
The Props of the backstage.
Then you open the door, and you enter the main museum with displays on the history of the theater. As you progress through the museum, you will see displays on popular shows through the years from Flo Ziegfield and the Ziegfield Follies to the modern shows on Broadway.
The Ziegfield Room
The Ziegfield Room
Costumes that were found in a box in the attic of the theater.
Ethel Merman in “Anything Goes” when she first started her career. She was so young. I pulled the movie that featured a lot of the Broadway cast. Ethel Merman never lost her touch throughout her career.
From there, I explored the museum and many of the most famous shows on Broadway had their own displays with props, scripts, pictures and costumes from the shows. Not just the revivals but the original shows as well. It was interesting to see what the original stars wore in the shows as well as these costumes still existed after all this time. I kept the pictures in order as I toured through the displays of the Broadways most popular productions.
The Oklahoma! exhibit with costumes and scenery from the show.
The Oklahoma set props from the recent revival
The West Side Story set
The West Side Story set from the recent revival
When the original “Hello Dolly” came out in the 1960’s, it made a huge star of Carol Channing, who owned the role until the day she died. I had seen her revival production in the early 1990’s and I will tell you that even in her 80’s, she had more pep and vitality than any one person had. She went on tour with the company after the show closed in New York to China and all over Asia. When you hear her sing “Hello Dolly”, you knew it was her.
“Hello Dolly” with Carol Channing’s original outfit from the show.
The display on the original show “Hello Dolly” with Carol Channing.
The video from London’s West End
The original show “Cabaret”
The costumes from “Cabaret”
The costumes from the show “Hair”
There was a large display to the late and great Stephen Sondheim:
There was a large display of props, scripts, costumes and pictures from all of his show especially the groundbreaking show “Company”. Today it might not seem so unusual for a thirty year old not to be married but in 1970 when the show came out, it was rare. Since the passing of Mr. Sondheim, there has been more interest in his life and his productions that he created. I have seen so many of his show especially his last show “Bounce”, when I was seeing his retrospect at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
The groundbreaking show “Company”
“Company” is an excellent show.
The revival of company with the production that my father and I saw in 2010.
The “A Chorus Line” display
“The Wiz” display
The “Cats” display and costumes
The Broadway Timeline
Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera
The Costumes for Evita and Phantom of the Opera
Me in the Hallway of Mirrors
“The Producers” display
The “Avenue Q” display
The ‘Making of a Broadway Show’
The costumes of a Broadway show
The “Chicago” display was the last show display before I got to the gift shop.
The museum progresses room by room and display by display showing the costumes and props of some of the most popular shows on Broadway and shows from the past. The collection has an extensive selection of memorabilia from productions of the past through today and showcases them in such an interesting way.
The Museum of Broadway is such an engaging museum from start to finish and I can see more shows of the future will be displayed here as well. The staff is available to answer any questions you might have and they also have an extensive gift shop in the front of the museum.
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