Library for the Performing Arts Programs

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Awar…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Awar…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. As p…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. As p…

Register The Library for the Performing Arts’ annual incubator program series, called Across a Crowded Room, gives theater makers the chance to connect with others working across the industry. If you’re an actor or director with any level of experience, sign up to meet others for a chance to collaborate and create new work! The teams that formed last month will present the concepts they are developing and possibly preview some work. If an idea interests you, you’ll have a chance to meet the tea…

Register Play Club is like a book club, but for plays! Whether you are familiar with the art of reading plays, or looking to expand your appreciation for dramatic literature, this book club is an opportunity to read plays you have been meaning to explore or have never considered reading before. Learn about new works, discover new playwrights, and make friends! This month we read and discuss Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson. This group will read one playscript from the Library for th…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Kick…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Kick…

Register In addition to published and well-known plays and musicals, the Library for the Performing Arts archive contains unproduced and rarely produced works from generations of theater artists. In this reading event, Lindsay Mendez, Katrina Lenk, Andrew Barth Feldman, and other Broadway stars read one such unpublished musical by composer Michael Friedman—Stranger. Friedman, whose archive is preserved by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, was an American theater composer and lyricist. Best know…

Learn how to mambo like they used to in New York's legendary Palladium nightclub, where the social dance movement was born! Sekou McMiller and friends host an intergenerational Palladium mambo social dance party and lesson featuring elders, who danced in Palladium's nightclub scene, with a live music performance by the Palladium Mambo Band. The event is inspired and builds upon McMiller's residency at the Library for the Performing Arts where he archived stories and movements around the mambo co…

In 1965, the Library for the Performing Arts opened its doors to a vast archive and treasure trove of performing arts history, spanning dance, theater, music, and even film. We celebrate the Library’s 60th anniversary with a Silent Disco party that highlights music from the Library’s archive from each decade of its existence. This evening's exclusive DJ, the legendary producer and owner of the eclectic music label and culture hub Peace Bisquit, Bill Coleman, heats up The Dance Floor. For 60 yea…

This exhibition tour is first come, first serve. In the 1960s, much like today, artists in New York struggled with limited access to resources and space—key elements to make new work. Dancers and choreographers, who need space to move and experiment, felt these limitations perhaps the most. Thinking about how to support artists in a new way, Jeff Duncan, who had worked with Anna Sokolow and Dorothy Humphrey during his early career, opened his living space to other artists to create, rehearse,…

Register The Library for the Performing Arts brings Reading Rhythms Public to Lincoln Center! In the middle of the most iconic performing arts campus in the world, indulge in a unique reading party, fueled by literature and connection. Bring your favorite book, play, musical score—or borrow one that was especially curated by one of the librarians at the Library for the Performing Arts. Plus, enjoy a one-night only pop-up exhibition of some of the Library’s performing arts treasurers to celebrat…

Register Fifty years ago this year, A Chorus Line hit the stage and became a worldwide sensation—and the Library for the Performing Arts was there to capture it during its first days! The Theatre on Film and Tape Archive videotaped A Chorus Line in July 1975 during its original Off-Broadway run at the Public Theater, just days before the sold out success moved to Broadway for a record-breaking run. Now, join us as we celebrate the history of this groundbreaking musical with a panel discussion…

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Library for the Performing Arts, our librarians bring the magic of silent cinema to Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium. The library will present two 16mm silent films from its collection, curated by Elena Rossi-Snook, with live piano accompaniment by Ben Model, one of the classic film world's leading silent film accompanists. Stay after the film screenings for a discussion and Q&A about the film with Ben Model and NYPL film specialist Elena Rossi…

This exhibition tour is first come, first serve. In the 1960s, much like today, artists in New York struggled with limited access to resources and space—key elements to make new work. Dancers and choreographers, who need space to move and experiment, felt these limitations perhaps the most. Thinking about how to support artists in a new way, Jeff Duncan, who had worked with Anna Sokolow and Dorothy Humphrey during his early career, opened his living space to other artists to create, rehearse,…

The Library for the Performing Arts hosts a smaller version of the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair, bringing together music fans and collectors within the Library walls. Come shop from 10 specially curated record vendors from around New York and New Jersey and while you browse for your next exciting find, enjoy DJ sets and unique demos from our Music and Recorded Sound Division all for free! The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair is a vinyl-focused market, gathering together record labels, collectors and stor…

Celebrating the Library for the Performing Arts’ newest acquisition of the archive of jazz legend Wayne Shorter, we have curated an evening of music showcasing Shorter’s varied and extensive oeuvre in partnership with Jazz at Lincoln Center featuring Palladium: The Music of Wayne Shorter. Palladium is an official Wayne Shorter repertory group, personally blessed by Wayne, and founded by producer & Shorter family friend Jesse Markowitz who has worked since 2015 as Wayne’s messenger on social…

Dancer, choreographer, and intermedia artist Elaine Summers was a major pioneer exploring the meeting of dance and film, melding the two into a seamless whole which she referred to as "intermedia." The Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the Library for the Performing Arts preserves Summers’ archive. In honor of the Library’s 60th anniversary, we celebrate Summers during her centennial birth year with a recreation of her 2007 performance, Hidden Forest, which originally premiered at Lincoln Center.…

*This tour requires no registration, and is first come, first served. Take a tour of the Dance Theatre Workshop exhibition with Libary staff to learn how Dance Theater Workshop grew from a need for space into a lasting model of support for artists. Dance Theater Workshop provided not only space to create, but also offered classes and professional development for artists, subsidized video recordings of performances, and gave artists administrative support. For many individual artists, it was th…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Fame…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Fame…

Register Play Club is like a book club, but for plays! Whether you are familiar with the art of reading plays, or looking to expand your appreciation for dramatic literature, this book club is an opportunity to read plays you have been meaning to explore or have never considered reading before. Learn about new works, discover new playwrights, and make friends! This month we read and discuss Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson. This group will read one playscript from the Library for th…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Mart…

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center as part of the Summer for the City programming. Lincoln Center’s free Storytime programming returns at Summer for the City—and, due to continued popular demand, we have scheduled two readings every Wednesday! Curated by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year—Storytime events feature a children's book reading accompanied by live music, dance, or theater, engaging kids of all ages. Mart…

*This tour requires no registration, and is first come, first served. Take a tour of the Dance Theatre Workshop exhibition with Libary staff to learn how Dance Theater Workshop grew from a need for space into a lasting model of support for artists. Dance Theater Workshop provided not only space to create, but also offered classes and professional development for artists, subsidized video recordings of performances, and gave artists administrative support. For many individual artists, it was th…