During his prolific and storied career, Sondheim collaborated with many other artists, from book writers to directors, from actors to musicians. Seeing Sondheim’s regular collaborators, close friends, one-time associates, mentors, and rare connections make appearances in his collection was both moving and illuminating.

The collection documents songs that made it into Sondheim’s musicals, and it also documents cut or unused songs that were edited out of shows before they opened. Rarest of all, it documents songs that were never finished. These are not the rarities that made it into Marry Me a Little or a Sondheim compilation album. Rather, they are sketches of songs that provide a window into Sondheim’s process while creating a score and show him developing characters and determining the details of what are now iconic musicals.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Library of Congress had acquired the Stephen Sondheim collection. The legendary composer and lyricist passed away in 2021 at the age of 91 after a long and extraordinary career. His collection at the Library of Congress is in the midst of being catalogued, and this piece shares several highlights from the boxes of Sondheim’s lyric drafts, music manuscripts, rewrite notes, brainstorm pages, song list outlines, and more.

Diane Keaton made her Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of Hair at the age of 22. The landmark musical started out at the Public Theater off-Broadway in 1967 before transferring to the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway in 1968. Keaton joined the cast for the Broadway run, originating her track in the show.

Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl dropped on October 3rd, and it includes plenty of references—some explicit and some ambiguous—to real showgirls throughout history. Many of these women have a Broadway past worth exploring that adds new context to Swift’s songs.

While a lot has been written about two handers, a term for two-person shows, less has been penned about three-handers. Yet, three-person plays are just as common a genre on Broadway as pieces with only two players. Currently, Art, by Yasmina Reza, is receiving an all-star revival at the Music Box.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has been taped at the Ed Sullivan Theatre located on Broadway between 53rd and 54th Streets since it began in 2015. Before the Broadway-loving Colbert took over The Late Show, the host was David Letterman, who ruled late night from 1993 onward via his perch at 1697 Broadway.

Heathers is currently playing to sold out crowds at New World Stages, the off-Broadway complex on 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. It’s a New York City return for the teen musical with a relatively short turn-around time since the original off-Broadway premiere of Heathers opened in 2014.

June Squibb is a beloved actor with an incredibly long career—but does 96 make her the oldest actor to play Broadway in a regular production with 8 performances a week? According to our research, that is indeed the case! 

The Gilded Age recently wrapped up its third season on HBO, to record-setting viewership. Much to the delight of theatre fans, the cast of the show includes a wealth of actors who are beloved for their work in theatre. Cast by Adam Caldwell and Bernie Telsey, The Gilded Age shoots in the New York area, which gave the team the ability to cast many actors who regularly work in theatre.

Did you know that the Richard Rodgers Theatre, current home of Hamilton, has housed more Best Musical Tony Award winners than any other Broadway house? Since the Tony Awards began in 1947 and began issuing a Best Musical Award in 1949, nine Best Musicals have played the Richard Rodgers Theatre, which used to be named the 46th Street Theatre.

The Times Square Church, located on 51st Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, is an extremely storied New York City spot. While it may not be apparent to those who unknowingly pass by the church, the venue across from the Gershwin’s stage door was once a glorious Broadway theater… and could potentially be one again someday.

In many of America’s cities, theatre history exists in plain sight. Whether inside a museum or on a street corner, fascinating pieces of theatre lore exist, waiting to be discovered by an interested passerby. Here are ten inspiring displays of theatre history I saw up close and in person this summer, from New York City to Washington D.C. and beyond. You can visit them too—and many are free to see! 

Just In Time’s origin story as well as overall conceit has much in common with one of Broadway’s very first jukebox musicals, which was ahead of its time. In 1985, Leader of the Pack, telling the story of pop singer-songwriter Ellie Greenwich, opened at the Ambassador on Broadway. Learn all about pop music bio-musicals here!

Second Stage Theatre’s 43rd Street off-Broadway house, right near 8th Avenue, recently changed hands and is now the home of Studio Seaview . Seaview’s first production in the space is Angry Alan, starring John Krasinski. They have renovated and updated the space since Second Stage switched off-Broadway locations to now present shows at the Signature.

A new version of the classic, The Pirates of Penzance, is currently commanding the stage at Roundabout’s Todd Haimes Theatre on 42nd Street—formerly the American Airlines and before that, the Selwyn. This revisal of the beloved show is titled: Pirates! The Penzance Musical.

It’s not out of the ordinary these days for worthwhile musicals that originally premiered off-Broadway and then entered the canon to receive their Broadway debuts decades later. Floyd Collins shares this journey with shows including Assassins, Gutenberg! The Musical!, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Last 5 Years, Little Shop of Horrors, and Violet.

The new musical Goddess can currently be seen in its New York premiere production at the Public Theater on Lafayette Street. Directed by the Public’s associate artistic director and resident director Saheem Ali, who is currently Tony Award-nominated for directing Buena Vista Social Club, Goddess is playing at the Public’s largest space by capacity, the Newman Theatre.

This time, the reader question was: Who are the most Tony-nominated people of all time? Audra McDonald now holds the record for the most-nominated performer, but do you know who has the most ever?

Two of the most famous lawyers in modern history are Ross Cellino Jr. and Steve Barnes. A hilarious dark comedy about the law partners, titled Cellino v. Barnes, has been running off-Broadway since last summer, starring Eric William Morris and Noah Weisberg and written by Mike B. Breen and David Rafailedes. 

Three of this season’s plays and two of this season’s musicals are already getting revived for the second or third time this century! Twenty-five years into the 21st century and Broadway has already seen multiple revivals of Glengarry Glen Ross, Our Town, Romeo and Juliet, Gypsy, and Sunset Boulevard. 

The terrific new musical Real Women Have Curves brings the story of a Mexican family to Broadway. Ana is a first-generation Mexican-American who dreams of becoming a journalist and must navigate being the only one with American citizenship in her family as she finds her own way in the world. Artists from Mexico have brought great and important work to the Broadway stage over the years.

This time, the reader question was: How often do legit Broadway plays and musicals include live animals in their companies? Can you name some recent examples of animals in Broadway shows?

This time, the reader question was: There are only three states in America without known Broadway musicals set within their borders. Can you guess which three? WE're breaking it down state by state.

The play Liberation which is currently playing at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre off-Broadway features nudity. How often do plays and musicals feature nudity on stage? We're breaking it down!