Clowns!
Clowns inspire laughter and happiness in some people, and fear or aversion in many others. They have been around for more than 4,000 years and in nearly as many places … Continue reading
Decadance and Fashion: Costume Treasures
Theatre is a space that grants opportunity for collaboration, inviting artists of different medias to join together to create something much larger than themselves. It is an opportunity to take an any … Continue reading
Chantecler, a Barnyard Fantasy
While digitizing the vast collection of over 30,000 photographs that make up the theatre production files at the Museum of the City of New York, a project generously funded by the Institute … Continue reading
Elaine Stritch, Grande Dame of the Stage
Last Saturday night the crowd gathered around the piano at Marie’s Crisis to sing “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Broadway’s 1970 hit musical, Company, in honor of the dearly departed … Continue reading
The Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic
It’s a sweltering July evening in 1915 and the lights have just come up after the finale of a Ziegfeld Follies show at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. … Continue reading
Up on the roof, entertainment en plein air
Spring in New York City is glorious. Allergy issues aside, the season of rebirth is especially welcome after this winter’s polar vortex shenanigans. And though I celebrate the sunny days … Continue reading
Untimely Deaths of Stage Performers
The Museum is digitizing 30,000 photographs of Broadway and off-Broadway productions dating from the 1860s up to the 2000s with a Museums for America grant funded by the Institute of … Continue reading
Breeches on Broadway
With Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Kinky Boots, and Matilda currently on stage, Broadway has placed a spotlight on issues of cross-dressing and gender identity. While processing the Museum of … Continue reading
William Auerbach-Levy, Artist and Neighborhood Preservationist
William Auerbach-Levy was born in 1889 in Brest-Litovsk, then part of the Russian Empire. He immigrated with his parents to the United States around 1894 and grew up on the … Continue reading
Animals on Stage
Thanks to a generous Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, I have the pleasure as Collections Assistant to aid in processing over 30,000 unique … Continue reading
Prepping the girls for “As the Girls Go”
Since October the Theater department has been busy preparing 30,000 images of theatrical productions for digitization and cataloging. Images will eventually be made available on our Collections Portal thanks to … Continue reading
Three spirits and a merry Christmas
It’s Christmas Eve. An old man sitting close to his fire is visited by his former business partner, his formerly alive business partner. Covered in chains and looking very much … Continue reading
Romeo and Juliet, a love story in pictures
It has been called the greatest love story of all time. Even those who disagree can acknowledge that in the over 400 years since it was first performed, Romeo and … Continue reading
MCNY Blog: New York Stories 