Broadway

Not only did Shuffle Along bring jazz to Broadway, it was the first African American show to be a smash hit. Its composer Eubie Blake recalled on WNYC in 1973: "When we put Shuffle Along on, on Broadway, we put negroes back to work again."

Every year, as a set-up for the Tony Awards, we take you backstage to meet people who aren't even eligible. These are Broadway's essential workers – ushers, stage managers, costumers. But this year, the Tonys seem like a faraway dream; even though nominations for the shortened season were announced in October, no date has been set. So, I decided to check in with some of those essential workers I've interviewed before, to find out how they've been coping since theaters closed.

On Jan. 25, 1996, a new rock musical by a little-known writer, Jonathan Larson, gave its first performance. Friends and family filed into a small off-Broadway theater to see Rent. The show was a retelling of La Boheme, set on the Lower East Side of New York, as people were dying of AIDS. It became an international phenomenon, winning the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award, among others, but the performance almost didn't happen. Early that morning, Larson died of an aortic aneurysm. I spoke with some of the people who were there that night.

Lee's new film for HBO captures a live performance of Byrne's acclaimed Broadway show. David Byrne's American Utopia is a rousing blend of song, dance and revival meeting.

It's hard to predict exactly how theater will come back after the pandemic, but here are a couple guesses: Fewer crowds, more collective imagination, and a focus on racial and environmental justice.

A new documentary catalogs the rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson and other members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme in the mid-2000s before they became famous on Broadway.

Lin-Manuel Miranda says his musical Hamilton, which starts streaming on Disney+ this week, shows "everything that's past is present."

The cast and musicians of the hit Broadway musical Hadestown pack into the Tiny Desk for a truly glorious performance of its greatest songs.

A film of the original Broadway cast performing Hamilton was scheduled to hit theaters on Oct. 15, 2021. Now, it's coming to Disney+ 15 months ahead of schedule.

The Irish dance spectacle has been performed for audiences all over the world. The current production was polished for the anniversary, but has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.