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Established | November 15, 2022 |
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Location | 145 West 45th Street Midtown Manhattan, New York City |
Coordinates | 40°45′27″N73°59′04″W / 40.75755°N 73.98434°W |
Founder | Julie Boardman and Diane Nicoletti [1] |
Website | themuseumofbroadway |
The Museum of Broadway, on 145 West 45th Street in Times Square, [2] is the first permanent museum dedicated to documenting the history and experience of Broadway theatre and its profound influence upon shaping Midtown Manhattan Times Square, and New York City. [3] The museum covers more than three hundred years of Broadway history, including costumes and props from more than 500 productions. [4] [5] The Museum of Broadway was founded by Julie Boardman and Diane Nicoletti in collaboration with Playbill , Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Billy Rose Theatre Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, Goodspeed Musicals, Creative Goods, and Concord Theatricals. [6]
Following a decade of planning for the museum as a means of bringing a new audience to Broadway amid an era of interactive museums, the museum opened on November 15, 2022. [7] It was originally scheduled to open in 2020, but its construction and development were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] The 26,000-square-foot (2,400 m2) museum comprises three sections: The Map Room, featuring a short film that outlines the history of theater in New York and the location of the extant theatres, a two-floor Broadway timeline, and the Making of a Broadway Show. [1]