![Mora. [Lillian Russell]. ca. 1880. Museum of the City of New York. 39.368.87](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/untitled010-e1471019185541.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
My Hand-tinted Summer: The Cabinet Card Collection
The Museum holds an amazing collection of cabinet cards and carte-de-visites featuring an array of Broadway entertainers, opera singers, and popular personalities (as well as some of their pets), … Continue reading
![Vandamm. [Hamlet theater still.] 1936. Museum of the City of New York. F2013.41.2961.](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/f2013-41-2961.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
The play within a play’s the thing!
“The play’s the thing…” William Shakespeare’s Hamlet famously says at the end of Act II, “…wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” For Shakespeare’s depressed Danish prince, a group … Continue reading
Shakespeare in the Summer; the Winter’s Tale
For some folks summertime in New York City means free concerts or picnics in the park or just an excuse to get out of town, but for me, summer in … Continue reading
Tea, a New York drink
Okay, coffee is more popular, be it a regular deli cup (hot, light, and sweet) or a compostable cup of slow-drip, cold-brewed, artisanal bean. With your alluring caffeinated goodness and … Continue reading
Ladies and Gentlemen, we now present Sissle and Blake!
Last week, the Museum hosted a conversation with director Rachel Taichman and playwright Paula Vogel on their new theatrical collaboration investigating the performance history of the Yiddish play Got fun nekome … Continue reading
![Friedman-Abeles. ["Milk and Honey" theater still.] 1961-1963. Museum of the City of New York. 68.80.6721](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/m3y13652.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
From the Bowery to Broadway: Women of the Yiddish Stage
Last week, the Museum opened “New York’s Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway,” a fabulous new exhibition that explores the history and influence of Yiddish theater in New York … Continue reading
The short, sad story of actress Clara Bloodgood
On the evening of December 5, 1907, respected actress and society woman Clara Bloodgood fatally shot herself in a Baltimore hotel room. She was in town to star as the … Continue reading
![Unknown. [Reginald De Koven and Harry B. Smith.] Ca. 1899. Museum of the City of New York. 61.150.863.](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/61-150-863.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
Librettist Harry B. Smith and the thousands of words
In the time it took to pull together images and write this blog, lyricist Harry Bache Smith could probably have written a popular hit song, contributed a number and a … Continue reading
Cymbeline; what’s a love story without some scandal?
It was January 25, 1897, the opening night of William Shakespeare’s romance Cymbeline, based on the legend of an early Celtic British king, at Wallack’s Theatre. The lavish production starred … Continue reading
![Mabel E. Johnston. [Bow dress from unidentified musical.] ca. 1925. Museum of the City of New York. 77.106.20.](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/77-106-20-e1433425044337.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
The mystery of Mabel E. Johnston, who drew beautiful costumes
In 1978, the Museum received a collection of costume design renderings that featured the work of well-known theatrical designers such as Boris Aronson, Charles Le Maire, and Vincent Minelli. Also … Continue reading
![William Auerbach-Levy. [Canada Lee as Caliban, Arnold Moss as Prospero, and Vera Zorina as Ariel.]1945. Museum of the City of New York. 64.100.1498.](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/64_100_1498.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
The Tempest: storms, schemes, and a happy end
On May 27th The Tempest opens the Public Theatre’s annual Shakespeare in the Park season at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre. Refresh your memory of the plot details as we explore images of … Continue reading
Benjamin J. Falk, photographer and master of light
It’s 1881. You’re an actor in the latest smash-hit sensation. Wanting to gain a little publicity for yourself, the show, and a potential national tour, the producers send you off to … Continue reading
![Friedman-Abeles. [[Unidentified actress during rehearsal for Flora, the Red Menace.] 1965. Museum of the City of New York. 92.52.5.24](https://mcnyblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/92-52-5-24-e1424365929327.jpg?w=155&h=110&crop=1)
Unidentified: Lingering mysteries in the Theater Collection
Since fall of 2013, the City Museum has been involved in a large scale digitization project to digitally capture and describe over 30,000 images of theatrical production. It gives me … Continue reading
