Guides: Curtis Theatre Collection @ Archives &amp; Special Collections: Broadway Materials

Resources for Broadway History

Theatre World by John Willis and Ben Hodges
Call Number: PN2277.N5 A17
This invaluable resource has been in publication since the 1944/1945 season. Recent editions cover Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Broadway Company Series, Off-Off-Broadway, and Professional Regional Companies.
At This Theatre by Louis Botto
Call Number: f PN2277.N5 B68 2002
This is the ultimate backstage tour of Broadway! AT THIS THEATRE tells the complete history of Broadway in the 20th century, theatre by theatre. This gorgeous book is now updated, revised and with a larger format, covering 1900 to 2001. PLAYBILL's columnist, Louis Botto, along with Robert Viagas, opens the doors and lets readers explore the 40 active Broadway theatres in New York.
Broadway by Thomas A. Greenfield
Call Number: PN2277 .N5 B62 2010
Broadway: An Encyclopedia of Theater and American Culture is the first major reference work to explore just how much the "Great White Way" illuminates our national character. In two volumes spanning the era from the mid-19th century to the present, it offers nearly 200 entries on a variety of topics, including spotlights on 30 landmark productions—from Shuffle Along to Oklahoma! to Oh Calcutta! to The Producers—that not only changed American theater but American culture as well.

Using the Broadway Theatre Programs in Curtis

The New York programs are chiefly from Broadway shows, although there is a section of Off-Broadway programs as well. Programs date from 1857 to the present. In recent years, the Curtis Collection has had a subscription with Playbill, the program publishing company of the Broadway stage; opening night programs for new Broadway shows are sent directly to us.

NY Broadway programs are arranged by the opening night date of the play. When requesting a NY program for a specific play, you will need to have at least a general idea of when the play ran. If you do not know the date, the Curtis curator can help you, or go to the Internet Broadway Database, and search by production title. Off-Broadway programs are arranged by date and theatre name. Again, we will be able to locate programs much more quickly if you know this information beforehand. Off-Broadway production information can be located at the Internet Off-Broadway Database. Also, the New York Times Historical database is quite resourceful for finding opening night dates and other articles on Off-Broadway and older Broadway producitons

Internet Broadway Database
Internet Off-Broadway Database
Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection of New York Theatre Programs
The Ford E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection contains tens of thousands of New York theatre programs from the 1850s to the present. They include productions that were performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and elsewhere in the state of New York. Sometimes newspaper clippings, marketing materials, and memorabilia related to the productions are stored with the programs.

New York Times (Historical) This link opens in a new window

University of Pittsburgh Library System

Course & Subject Guides

Curtis Theatre Collection @ Archives & Special Collections: Broadway Materials

Resources for Broadway History

Using the Broadway Theatre Programs in Curtis