New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

01/11/2025

On 1/23, Violinist Samuel Andonian and pianist Jinhee Park from the New York Classical Players join us for a free performance of a selection of classical music.

Violinist Samuel Andonian and pianist Jinhee Park join us from the New York Classical Players for a concert of classical music.

01/10/2025

Martha Graham was looking for a dress to wear to an awards show in 1975. She connected with the fashion designer Halston. He agreed to do it because it was, after all, Martha Graham. Immediately after, Graham called upon Halston "to costume Martha Graham Dance Company, designing pieces that amplified her distinctive, fluid style," writes . Halston ended up working on costumes for performances like Acts of Light, Lucifer, and The Owl and the P***y Cat.

Read the full article, which features some archival photos from the Library for the Performing Arts: https://www.vogue.com/article/martha-graham-100-anniversary-halston

📷: Martha Graham Dance Company, Acts of Light with Yuriko Kimura, costumes by Halston, photo by Martha Swope, 1984 (ID: swope_1214856).

01/09/2025

Gerard Alessandrini’s long running spoof r***e, Forbidden Broadway is, perhaps unintentionally, engaged in the same documentary work that drives the staff of the Library for the Performing Arts—to preserve theater history, writes theater curator Doug Reside.

The songs in each iteration of Forbidden Broadway satirize not only the shows of the season, but also the conversations and controversies happening in the theater community at the time. For instance, the now classic “Chita/Rita” song from the 1986 version documents a once-popular perception of a rivalry between Chita Rivera (who originated the role of Anita on Broadway) and Rita Moreno (who played her in the first film version).

Read more about theater history within the Forbidden Broadway parodies: https://on.nypl.org/3CMJfo3

01/08/2025

Dancers: What emotional boundaries do you honor as you audition for performances? Dance librarian Mia Shapiro spoke to authors Elaine DiFalco Daugherty and Heather Trommer-Beardslee of CMU Department of Theatre and Dance about their new book Consent Practices in Performing Arts Education.

Elaine DiFalco Daugherty and Heather Trommer-Beardslee discuss their book Consent Practices in Performing Arts Education.

01/07/2025

All day Jan 31, we celebrate the work of Mikhail Baryshnikov on the 50th anniversary of his arrival to the U.S. Dance Research Fellows Marina Harss, Marcelline Mandeng Nken, Maria Vinogradova, Brian Seibert, Alessandra Nicifero, and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd present their research projects on Baryshnikov at our Dance Symposium. The event is free and open to all!

Presentations by the 2025 Dance Research Fellows on their projects focused on Mikhail Baryshnikov.

01/07/2025

Our Play Club is like a book club—for plays! This month we read and gather on 1/16 to discuss English by Sanaz Toossi, which tells the story of 4 Iranians that assemble at a TOEFL class in Iran.

A book club, but for plays! We will meet every month to discuss a play from the Library for the Performing Arts circulating collection.

01/06/2025

Metronome magazine was a music magazine that was published from 1885-1961. The Library for the Performing Arts recently acquired the photo archives of Metronome, and there's a lot of interesting jazz photos to see. https://www.nypl.org/blog/2025/01/02/newly-available-metronome-magazine-photographs-collection

01/05/2025

A revival of The Pirates of Penzance, retitled Pirates! The Penzance Musical, is coming to Broadway next year. Rupert Holmes’ jazzy, New Orleans-style reinterpretation of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic will star Jinkx Monsoon, Ramin Karimloo, and David Hyde Pierce, and opens in April.

📷 Jim Belushi and Peter Noone in a scene from the New York Shakespeare Festival production of the musical The Pirates Of Penzance, photo by Martha Swope, 1981 (ID: swope_252331).

01/04/2025

BroadwayWorld interviewed Harvey Fierstein and more about the new Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab now open at the Library for the Performing Arts.

On Tuesday, December 17, the New York Public Library celebrated the opening of the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab. See interviews with Harvey Fierstein and more and get a look inside the space!

01/03/2025

Educators, our guide to teaching about our The Joffrey Ballet exhibition is live! Explore how to incorporate the guide into your classroom, and join us for a class tour at the Library for the Performing Arts!

Explore how to incorporate our exhibition guide into your classroom, join us for a class tour, and end with a reflective dance activity.

01/02/2025

Annie is always a day away when you're heading to the Library for the Performing Arts! Check out what's in our archive around the classic production.

A century after the comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuted, the musical Annie continues to win and warm hearts.

01/02/2025

Linda Lavin, who died at age 87, was most known for her role in the sitcom Alice, which ran for 9 seasons. But she also had a long career on the stage, and appeared in many on and off Broadway productions, including Broadway Bound, for which she won a Tony in 1987. Her Broadway debut was in the musical A Family Affair, directed by Hal Prince.

The Library for the Performing Arts preserves many digitized photos of Lavin in her various roles on stage, which can be viewed on our site. There's also a 2011 interview at the Library conducted by the League of Professional Theatre Women.

📷: Linda Lavin in the stage production The Riot Act, photo by Friedman-Abeles, 1963 (ID: 5012859).

12/31/2024

Happy new year from (almost) all of us at the Library for the Performing Arts! The Library for the Performing opened its doors 60 years ago. All next year we will be celebrating the Library’s 60th anniversary—and we want you to join in on the fun!

Sign our birthday card, and let us know how much you appreciate the Library for the Performing Arts. https://on.nypl.org/49tE2xC

12/30/2024

As we near the end of the year, the Library for the Performing Arts looks back on some of the events that made 2024 incredible! Thanks for being a part of our community, and we hope to see you again in 2025.

◻️ Dance Symposium celebrating Martha Graham
◻️ Pique-nique presents Take Two: Jesse Fischer Plays Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters
◻️ Celebration of 40 years of Mama, I Want to Sing!
◻️ Music storytime at Lincoln Center featuring Annie Stone from Just Accessible Music
◻️ Professional Learning day at the Library for dance teachers
◻️ Sekou McMiller's Dance Division Mambo residency
◻️ Opening of Photo Call: The Theater Photos of Joan Marcus and Carol Rosegg
◻️ Lin-Manuel Miranda fan club listening party of The Warriors album
◻️ Opening of The Joffrey Ballet exhibition
◻️ Opening event for the Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab

12/29/2024

The Broadway revival of Chicago recently celebrated a major milestone: it marked its 11,000th performance! The musical opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 1996, and it moved to the Ambassador Theatre in 2003 where it's still playing.

Here's a photo from our archive of the original Broadway production in 1975.

📷: Actors Graciela Daniele, Chita Rivera, Cheryl Clark, Pamela Sousa, and Candy Brown in the original Broadway production of Chicago, photo by Martha Swope, 1975 (ID: swope_620836).

12/28/2024

Artists, choreographers, composers, and performance artists: check out Ucross's artist residency. Residents receive access to studios, living accommodations, a stipend, meals, and more. Deadline: Jan 15.

Discover the history and mission of Ucross Foundation's acclaimed artist residency program.

12/27/2024

"Everybody, even in the smallest communities, was writing about her and following her success." Dance Magazine spoke to the makers of Obsessed with Light, a new documentary about the innovative choreographer Loïe Fuller.

The directors of the Loïe Fuller documentary "Obsessed with Light" discuss Fuller's impact on dance, technology, and the nature of celebrity.

12/26/2024

The San Francisco Chronicle noted that a local freeform radio station played Irv Teibel’s ocean sounds for 2 weeks straight during a strike. Listenership improved. Pitchfork on Irv Teibel, whose archive is preserved by the Library for the Performing Arts.

Before Irv Teibel, listening to nature meant leaving the house. Here’s the story of the man who brought the rain, thunder, and crickets to your stereo, one satisfied, relaxed customer at a time.