April 14 – September 1, 2012

Curtain Up: Broadway Behind the Scenes features the costume and set designs from five Broadway shows The Producers, FELA!, Hairspray, Young Frankenstein, and Memphis, along with designs from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and some components from Avenue Q.

Curtain Up will be installed throughout the second floor of the Museum. The exhibition explores the creative process behind the stunning visuals of Broadway shows. Each show's set designs and costume designs, along with props and costumes, will be installed in individual galleries. In the Lobby, a puppet from Avenue Q will "greet" our visitors.

The designers participating in this exhibition include: Robin Wagner, David Rockwell, David Gallo, Marina Draghici, Robert Wierzel, and William Ivey Long. Both the designers and the producers (Tom Viertel, Sue Frost, Geoff Rich, Ruth and Stephen Hendel) of these shows will be interviewed and excerpts of these interviews will be accessible to visitors in the galleries, via their cell phones. A DVD will play, in an on-going loop, the "B rolls" of all of the Broadway shows represented, allowing the visitor to experience the final version of the collaboration between the designers on stage.

This exhibition is curated by Producer Tom Viertel (The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Hairspray) and Lyman Allyn Art Museum Curator Nancy Stula.

Artwork on Right:
William Ivey Long
Costume design for "The Producers"
Graphite, watercolor, gouache, glitter paint, sequins, rhinestones on Bristol board
24" x 19"
2001
Collection of the artist

Location: Lyman Allyn Art Museum, 625 Williams Street, New London