Search

From Fiddler to the Folio: Exhibitions on Theater Coming to NYC

By its nature, theater is an ephemeral art form; each performance typically disappears forever once the final curtain falls. But theater fans hoping for a glimpse of the past are in luck, with three historical theater exhibitions set to open in New York City this spring and summer. Shakespeare at the New York Public Library and the New-York Historical Society and New York's Yiddish Theater at the Museum of the City of New York will all thrill fans of the stage in 2016.

Shakespeare at the NYPL

edwin booth shakespeare

2016 marks the 400th anniversary since William Shakespeare’s death, and his influence has hardly diminished. To commemorate the Bard's lasting legacy, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will be hosting Shakespeare’s Star Turn in America (February 18–May 27), an exhibition that commemorates the enduring popularity of Shakespeare’s plays in America from colonial times through today. The exhibition will feature set models, costumes, designs, programs, and other artifacts to illuminateproductions both past and present, highlighting the history of American Shakespeare performances and demonstrating how these Elizabethan works fit into our own social history.

To complement the exhibition, the Library will also host a series of Shakespearean events, including film screenings, a performance of Romeo and Juliet by the Public Theater’s Mobile Unit, an interactive group reading of As You Like It, and a conversation with renowned director Julie Taymor. The Library of Performing Arts will also host a smaller exhibit, Artists for LPA Share Shakespeare: “A More Personal Connection” (through May 14), in which theater artists of all kinds share their personal experiences with Shakespeare’s work, from their favorite and least favorite plays and productions to how the Bard inspires them as artists.

Shakespeare at the New-York Historical Society  

shakespeare folio new-york historical

Those seeking a look at Shakespeare’s work in his own day should head to the New-York Historical Society this summer. The NYHS, in conjunction with the Public Theater and the 92nd Street Y, will host the exhibition First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare from June 7 to July 17. Part of a broader national tour by the Folger Shakespeare Library, the exhibition will display a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first published collection of Shakespeare’s plays. The First Folio, published seven years after Shakespeare’s death, in 1623, contains 36 plays grouped into the now-familiar categories of “Comedies,” “Tragedies,” and “Histories” for the first time. Eighteen of those plays had never previously been published and have been preserved through the Folio, including Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, and Macbeth.

Only 233 copies of the First Folio survive today, so the exhibition is a rare chance to see this pivotal publication. To celebrate the First Folio and Shakespeare’s continuing influence, the Historical Society and 92nd Street Y will also produce a series of events and conversations centered on Shakespeare and his work.

Yiddish Theater at the Museum of the City of New York

Yiddish Theater

Menasha Skulnik in unidentified performance, 1935 photo: MCNY

Of course William Shakespeare is only one of many influences on contemporary theater Another influence, the Yiddish theatre, serves as the focus of the Museum of the City of New York’s new exhibition, New York’s Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway. The exhibition, which opens March 9, focuses on the Yiddish theatre culture that thrived on the Lower East Side in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. Productions ranging from musical comedies to avant-garde political works entertained scores of first- and second-generation Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, allowing them to celebrate their culture while learning about life in their new urban home. The influence of these productions soon extended far past Second Avenue, with actors, directors, and designers crossing over and finding work in Hollywood and on more mainstream New York stages. As a result, conventions of the Yiddish theatre, including dramatic themes and ideas of “classic New York humor” still continue to influence us today.

Works on display in the exhibition, the New York Times notes, will include artifacts by Boris Aronson, a Jewish set designer who worked both in the Yiddish theatre and on Broadway, and contributed set designs for such shows as the original production of Fiddler on the Roof.

fiddler on the roof theater exhibits nyc

Photo by Joan Marcus

Fiddler will be the subject of “Reimagining Fiddler on the Roof,” an event taking place in conjunction with the exhibition on March 28. Theatre scholars, along with representatives from the current Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof and lyricist Sheldon Harnick, will discuss the current revival and the challenge of modernizing a show that takes place a century in the past.

For more information about these exhibitions, visit the websites of the New York Public Library, New York Historical Society, and the Museum of the City of New York.

About the Author

Alison Durkee is a New York-based arts journalist and critic with a background in theatre and dance. She currently serves as the Features Editor of London theatre website Everything Theatre and also covers news and politics for Mic.com.

Bringing a group to NYC? Free planning services

Let us know what you are looking for and we will try to connect you directly and get discounts.

Enter the code: 3972

More Articles