New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

07/30/2026

Springboard to Design concluded its annual week-long, tuition-free theater design intensive for high school students.

Led by Tony Award winners Clint Ramos and David Zinn, this year's program held classes at the Library for the Performing Arts, at Lincoln Center, and across New York, and the cohort included students from around the world for a look at careers in theatrical design.

Are you a high school student interested in participating next year? Applications are live! Apply: https://on.nypl.org/4xbsXMf

📷: Julieta Cervantes.

07/29/2026

Get your books ready! Reading Rhythms returns to Lincoln Center in partnership with NYPL on Aug 1 as part of the Summer for the City festival.

The Library for the Performing Arts's Roberta Pereira will also speak with actress Danielle Pinnock (Danielle Pinnock) who stars in Lincoln Center Theater's "The Whoopi Monologues."

07/29/2026

This year Lincoln Center celebrates the sixth anniversary of the BAAND Together Dance Festival, which unites five major New York dance companies to perform together: Ballet Hispánico, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Where else are these companies united? In our archives, of course! Check out these images of the companies over the years... and then head to the theater to see them perform.

📷 : Ballet Hispánico studio photograph, photo by Kenn Duncan, 1974. Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey's "Cry," photo by Fred Fehl, 1972. Jerome Robbins Dance Division. American Ballet Theatre dancers in "The Leaves are Fading," photo by Martha Swope, 1983. New York City Ballet production of "Serenade" by George Balanchine, photo by Martha Swope. Billy Rose Theatre Division. Dance Theatre of Harlem in Arthur Mitchell's "Rhythmetron," photo by Martha Swope. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

07/27/2026

This beautiful image is for Antony Tudor's dance work "Jardin aux Lilas." Here, Annabelle Lyon poses among flowers in a lilac garden in Connecticut.

Lyon, a talented ballet dancer, danced for several major American ballet companies and choreographers. Beginning her career training with Mikhail Fokine, she joined George Balanchine's American Ballet (the predecessor to New York City Ballet) early in her career, then moved to Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre) shortly after.

📷 : Annabelle Lyon in "Jardin aux Lilas," photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1941 (ID: 57485008). Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

07/26/2026

"You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul." — Bernard Shaw, born on this day in 1856.

The playwright and critic was the writer of several award-winning plays, including "Pygmalion," "St. Joan," and "Don Juan in Hell." Did you know that Shaw is one of only two people to have won both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize?

Visit our archives to learn more about Shaw and his plays.

📷 : Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady," based on Shaw's "Pygmalion," photo by Friedman-Abeles, c. 1957. Billy Rose Theatre Division.

07/25/2026

On July 25, 1975, "A Chorus Line" opened at Broadway's Shubert Theatre, and took the world by storm.

Following dancers at a Broadway audition, the musical is an equally heartbreaking and heartwarming depiction of the cost of dreams and how they shift over time.

The Library for the Performing Arts is home to videos, photographs, designs, and other archival material from the show, including recordings of both the original 1975 production and the 2006 Broadway revival.

07/24/2026

Watch the icons. Learn the moves. 🩰🔥

Pair a visit to our Martha Graham exhibition at the Library for the Performing Arts with a real Graham technique class led by the pros!

Starting Aug 6, dance professionals will use archival video from the Library's collection to teach the history and practice of the Graham technique. The best part? No prior dance experience is required.

Seven classes are offered through August.

Information for event: Floor to Ceiling Dance and Learn: Graham Technique | The New York Public Library

07/23/2026

Earlier this month, our exhibition on the Golden Age of Magic closed, and we ended the show with a performance by an all-star line-up of magicians Eric Qui, Jon Stetson, Rocco, Chris Capehart, and host Richard Cohn.

If you missed the exhibition or performance, don't worry! The Library for the Performing Arts is forever home to archives around magic performance—come see for yourself!

07/22/2026

Our Theatre on Film and Tape Archive contains 15 different Hamlet productions, and the latest version is among the most innovative for many reasons. Performed in Spanish with English supertitles, La Plaza's adaptation intertwines the text of Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" with the lived experiences of an ensemble of eight actors with Down syndrome, who switch roles throughout the production.

Learn more about accessing this production, directed by Peruvian director Chela De Ferrari, at the Library for the Performing Arts: https://on.nypl.org/44I4GRV

📷: Photos by Julieta Cervantes.

07/21/2026

Fifty years ago today, Billy Wilson's all-Black production of "Guys and Dolls" revival opened on Broadway.

Both directed and choreographed by Wilson, the revival featured an all-Black cast, new Motown-style musical arrangements, and slight updates to the book. Critics praised the revival for its ability to take a refreshingly new look at the musical, which had been revived previously at New York City Center.

The revival also kicked off several performers' careers, including Ken Page, then 22, who played Nicely-Nicely.

📷: Left to right: Ken Page, Christophe Pierre, and Sterling McQueen in "Guys and Dolls," photo by Martha Swope, 1976. Billy Rose Theatre Division.