15 Interactive Ways to Explore the Museum of Broadway in New York City:

| | | |

We were thrilled to be invited to the brand new Museum of Broadway in New York City this past weekend. The 26,000 square foot, three floor museum opened in November 2022 and is already receiving a lot of positive buzz.

The Museum of Broadway is designed to take guests through a chronological history of “the Great White Way” (the nickname for Broadway because of the bright lights of the theater marques), with three major segments: The Map Room, The Timeline, and The Making of a Broadway Show. All three parts include tons of original costumes, scripts, daily itineraries, mock ups of sets, film footage of interviews with casts and crews, awards, and highlights of popular shows from each era. Guests begin by walking up three flights of “backstage stairs” to the dressing room area and following a path through three floors of exhibits.

Each chronological era includes a list of shows and the casts with separate displays for some of the groundbreaking shows of that time. There’s trivia on opening dates, the number of Tony Awards each show received, and short bios on the cast. There are several interactive components to each era, but real Broadway aficionados will surely want to read the caption of every photo and the details of every timeline. 

Travel Tips:

  • The museum is open seven days a week from 10am-10pm; information on admission fees and tickets here.
  • The museum is located in the heart of Times Square and the theater district, on West 45th Street.
  • Information on parking garages here. We parked at the Icon garage at 307 West 50th Street, an easy 4 block walk, and it was $22 (online) for the whole day!
  • Guests walk through the gift shop and check in at the admission desk before walking up three flights of stairs and navigate down the three floors of exhibits. Elevators are available for guests who need them.
  • A complimentary coat check is available on the lower, cellar level. Strollers must be checked into the coatroom.
  • Restrooms are located on the main exhibit floors and the lower, cellar level. 
  • There is an audio app (more info here) for guests to use with their personal smartphone.
  • There are no dining options on site, but (seemingly) countless options in and around Times Square. Our top picks? Carmine’s and Sardi’s are both located within a block of the museum and offer a wonderful, family friendly atmosphere, menu, and pricing.
  • See the full exhibit map here.
  • Plan on two hours to explore all the exhibits.

15 Interactive Ways to Explore the Museum of Broadway:

  1. Start in the Playbill Room and check out the display of current Broadway shows. Scan the QR codes on each display and order tickets right from the room!
  2. Watch the 4 minute video overview of the history of the Theater District (did you know the original theater district was way downtown in what is now referred to as the Financial District?) and check out the map of all the theaters.
  3. Replicate the dances from West Side Story  by following the on screen shadows; leave time to sit at the replica lunch counter made famous in West Side Story.
  4. Swing on the swing from the first rock musical HAIR.
  5. Complete the Stephen Sondheim and Bob Fosse themed crossword puzzle.

Would you like to save this?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.

  1. Crawl through the tiny door in between the  Company replica sets.
  2. Pause to honor the lives lost during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s in the display also honoring Angels in America.
  3. Stand on the X to see the phantom’s mask outlined in crystals (over 13,900 crystals to signify the numbers of shows during The Phantom of the Opera’s 35 year reign on Broadway; the show is scheduled set to close in February 2023)
  4. Sit at the desk from The Producers. 
  5. Relax in a writer’s room wallpapered entirely in sheet music.

  1. Play a piano across from a real sound board set up in the Making of a Broadway Show exhibit.
  2. Walk through the arched set designs from various shows.
  3. Sit in a makeup chair and pretend to have yourself prepared to be “stage ready.” 
  4. Read over the daily itinerary of a stage manager, stage hands, the wardrobe department, and the laundry department to see which job would be the right fit for you. (And take notes of the “Laws of Laundry”)
  5. Create your own “Hirschfeld” sketch on an iPad. Al Hirschfeld was famous for his sketches of Broadway stars that were showcased on opening night of a show and, after 1945, for “hiding” his daughter Nina’s name somewhere in virtually every sketch (sometimes multiple times!). The last exhibit in the museum includes a replica of the unusual Barber chair he sat in to sketch (the original is on display at Lincoln Center). Guests can also take home Hirschfeld coloring pages. 

Looking for more fun in New York City? Check out our index of posts here that include the Museum of Math, Museum of Illusions and Little Island, Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock, Radio City Museum Hall, Spyscape, Federal Hall National Monument, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Smithsonian National Museum of American Indian, Fraunces Tavern Museum, Eataly, New York Public Library, United Nations,  Rainy Day Activities, and Holiday Activities.  And follow along on our adventures on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Disclosure: Our family was given a media pass to explore the museum. All opinions expressed are my own.

New England based, part high school English teacher, part non profit founder, part road tripper who LOVES hopping in the family SUV to explore America. Our bucket list includes National Parks, MLB stadiums, presidential libraries, and eating wherever the locals eat!

Similar Posts

  • | |

    13 Places to Hike in Connecticut for National Take a Hike Day

    This coming Friday, November 17th is National Take a Hike Day and while we wouldn’t label ourselves big hikers- we use the term “hiker” loosely- we have come to love getting exercise while enjoying the beauty of nature and fresh air. During the pandemic, and since then, we have explored many of Connecticut’s state parks; you can read about the many reasons we love state parks in this post.  Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection oversees 142 state parks, forests, and beaches sprawled across a quarter million acres. There are SO many hiking trails and paths to explore, but over the years, we have returned to a few areas that are super kid friendly. 

  • | | | | | | | | |

    City Guide: 25 Places in Manhattan Kids Will Love

    We are fortunate to live an hour outside of New York City and we take advantage of our close proximity as much as possible. There are so many family friendly places in the 22 square miles of New York City that our list could potentially go into the hundreds! For this week, however, we’ll stick with 25 places we have explored over the past decade, including a few spots that spill over into the Bronx. 

    We’ll acknowledge some gaps in this list- the Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Museum of Natural History are missing from this list- but we have not been to some very popular spots in over a decade (all the more reason to rerun ASAP!) For organizational purposes, we’ve listed sites by location, starting with the Financial District and working on our way up island through the Upper East and West Sides all the way to the Bronx (we had to include a couple of our favorite spots, which happen to in the Bronx- see #23-25)

  • | | | | |

    Radio City Music Hall Backstage Tour in New York City

    Radio City Music Hall was the largest theater in the world at the time it opened in December of 1932. With a seating capacity of 5,931 guests (over 6,000 when they used the orchestra area for additional seating) and a stage that spans 130 feet across, it’s one of the largest, and most recognizable, entertainment venues in the world. Radio City Music Hall hosts hundreds of events each year and is home to the famous Rockettes (who were actually founded in St Louis Missouri in 1925, when Radio City Music Hall founder Roxy Rothafel brought them to New York City). Today, guests can see performances in music, theater, comedy, and sports 365 days a year, with over two million annual visitors. The Hall also offers daily Backstage tours with a behinds the scene look at how it all comes together.

  • | |

    10 Family Friendly Hiking Spots in Fairfield County, Connecticut

    We’re back with another index of places we’ve explored in the past year. (We’ve previously posted about places to hike in Western Connecticut and places to hike in the Mystic area.) Many of these spots are practically in our backyard and it’s taken us an embarrassingly long time to check them out. They are all free to visit in the off season (October-May), although some locations do rely on donations for upkeep and programming. Most of the locations in this collection are somewhat of a stretch for “hiking” for true hikers, as many of the trails are under three miles and fairly easy to navigate. But we think they’re all great spots for family fun, especially families with younger kids.

  • | | | | | |

    10 New York City Holiday Events to Do with Children

    Note: I know it’s early October, and you might be thinking that I am rushing fall. But trust me, you need to plan ahead when it comes to the holidays. Having a plan (and in most cases, a firm reservation) will make any experience with children go a lot smoother- especially when you’re going to a big city like New York. I made my NYC plans back in July, but thought it might be a little risky to share this post in the summer. The holidays are a-coming and if you can, you’ll want to make time to bring the kids to New York.

     

    New York City is magical any time of year, but there is something extra special about visiting during the holiday season. Whether it’s the department store window displays, the streets lined with twinkling lights, or the endless concerts and shows going to “The City” will put everyone in the holiday spirit.  

     

    Now, while many adults could enjoy simply taking in the sites with a walk, children need to be kept busy. Entertained. Contained. Walking down a busy avenue with a toddler or young child is not a leisurely stroll. My family and I frequently go into New York, but we always have a plan. A destination. A place where my children will be contained. We usually make a stop at the Rockefeller Tree for an annual photo and we’ve done lunch at Serendipity and Carmine’s. Each year I try and find something new to do to celebrate the holidays. Here are some of my favorite activities to do with kids in New York City:

  • | | | |

    10 Ways to Explore the New-York Historical Society and Museum in New York City

    The oldest museum in New York City (it predates even the Met by 50 years!), the New -York Historical Society opened in 1804 on New York’s Upper West Side, across the street from (what is now) the American Museum of Natural History and Central Park. Founded by eleven local merchants and politicians who wanted to preserve historical documents and artifacts post American Revolution and British occupation in New York, the museum now boasts a library of millions of archives, three floors of permanent and rotating exhibits, a devoted children’s museum, and a robust calendar of engaging programs and activities throughout the year to celebrate New York’s (and America’s) rich history.  

4 Comments

  4. I can’t wait to see this museum. Broadway plays. Especially musicals. My favorite !!!Thank you for all the info. It is on the list!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *