Broadway Museum Revisits Musicals

In addition to its skyscrapers and its museums, New York would not be understood without its theaters and musicals such as Cabaret, Hair, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera or The Lion King. From now on, the entire history of this genre can be seen in a new museum in the heart of Broadway , the epicentre of theater life in the Big Apple.

Despite its colossal offer of museums and musicals, until now there was no place to learn about the history of one of its most famous cultural industries and one that has contributed to New York's identity.

Located a few steps from Times Square, one of the epicentres of tourism and the main New York theaters, the Broadway Museum has just opened, next to the oldest room in the city.

Throughout three levels, the youngest museum in the city takes a tour of more than 200 years of history of this genre.

"We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us," says one of its creators, Julie Boardmann, a producer by profession and winner of two Tony awards, who, along with publicist Diane Nicoletti, have spent five years conceiving and shape the new museum.

In the tour through musical posters, old glories dressers, shoes, original costumes, hats or the reconstruction of a cafeteria from an old theater, the visitor lives an immersive and interactive experience, explain the creators.

Some rooms stop at some of the works that have marked the history of the musical, such as The Phantom of the Opera, the one that has remained on the billboard for the longest time in the history of the city, The Lion King, The Wiz, Rent, Hair, Showboat.

In total, the museum reviews more than 500 productions from the 1700s to our time.

Likewise, it offers the viewer a glimpse of how a show is produced on Broadway.

<>The soul of the city

“We wanted to make sure that we celebrate the fact that Broadway is part of the culture and history of New York,” Diane Nicoletti clarifies.

One of the first visitors to the museum was 61-year-old Australian with his favorite backpack with lots of pockets Connie Edwards. "I can't believe we haven't had a museum like this before in a city where musicals are the soul of it." "Broadway, its musicals and its theater in general give its flavor, its culture and its joy to this city that without them would be like any other", says this lover of musicals.

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic that were the worst hit this industry has suffered in its history, Broadway shows are beginning to fill up with theater and music lovers.

According to data from the Broadway League, the official portal for the theater industry in this district, a total of 272,232 people attended one of the 34 shows that were on the billboard last week, compared to 214,681 a year ago.

Some of the most popular musicals, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, MJ the Musical, with music by Michael Jackson, or Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, were sold out.

They are joined by & Juliet, Aladdin, Hadestown, Wicked, The Music Man or The Lion King who touched full capacity, in a sign that the public, who is no longer required to wear a mask to protect themselves from the virus, has returned to enjoy the shows in the Big Apple.