'Hair' helped redefine Broadway theater

Broadway's songwriters began experimenting in the 1920s

Broadway’s early decades were heavily influenced by opera and vaudeville, but songwriters in the 1920s began exploring more narrative-based songwriting and psychologically complex characters. That trend would continue in the following decades, though it would evolve in even more nuanced ways.

'Show Boat' redefined the American musical

The 1927 musical—penned by Oscar Hammerstein II, who would go on to create, with Richard Rodgers, other titanic shows like "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel"—used its songs to advance the plot and build character rather than simply entertain.

The best Broadway oral histories

What do you get when you combine elite performers, spectacular sets, and tons of rehearsal time? Maybe an award-winning show, but definitely drama. This list of Broadway-based oral histories spans from RENT’s groundbreaking depiction of the AIDS crisis to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on live theater. There’s even a retelling of how TikTok helped bring a musical version of Ratatouille to the stage for a one-night-only streaming exclusive.

'Shuffle Along' helped pave the way for Black theater on Broadway

The 1921 musical revue featured an all-Black cast and brought jazz music and dance to Broadway. It opened at the 63rd Street Theater and ran for over 500 performances, attracting white and Black audiences alike. It was so popular, in fact, that in 1948 Harry Truman used one of its songs in his presidential campaign. Theater historian Loften Mitchell later credited the show with effectively launching the Harlem Renaissance.

Broadway employs tens of thousands of people in various roles

While we often just think of the actors and directors who take top billing, Broadway productions operate as distinct businesses employing numerous people in various roles: stage managers, sound designers, house managers, ushers and more.

Broadway's nickname is 'the Great White Way'

Thanks to the advent of electricity, by the middle of the 19th century, theaters in the Broadway area were illuminated by lampposts and marquees. The nickname “the Great White Way” describes how it looked at night. The term is still used today.

Liza Minnelli debuted her signature pixie cut in the mid-1960s, transforming her into a style icon

In addition to her performances, Minnelli is known for her glitzy outfits and short black haircut. After starting out with a more conventional look, her style evolved into something more extravagant, mirroring the boldness of her performance and public persona.

The 'Wicked' movies turned an already-successful Broadway show into a behemoth

The production was already one of the most successful in Broadway history, but the release of the first movie kicked it into overdrive: It grossed 15% more in 2024, the year "Wicked: Part I" was released, than the previous year, bringing in more than $112M.

10 books that get the theatre world right

The theatre world is filled with drama—both on and offstage—thanks to big egos, imagined slights, and tense interpersonal dynamics. Despite that reality, it's not easy to portray what goes on behind the scenes on the page. This list breaks down some of the exceptions, featuring 10 novels that accurately capture the insular world and fascinating personalities who populate it.

Two individuals are credited with making the Oscars red carpet a destination for fashion

Much like the Met Gala, fashion is now an inextricable part of the Academy Awards. But it wasn't always that way. In the 1950s and '60s, costume designer Edith Head was responsible for making sure the stars looked their best on television. In the 1990s, Fred Hayman brought luxury back to the stage after the excess of the 1970s and 1980s. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

How 'A Hard Day's Night' innovated popular culture

The Beatles' first film, "A Hard Day's Night," was groundbreaking, using innovative directorial techniques, the aesthetics of French New Wave, and slapstick class-based humor to effectively establish the model for the music video decades before the debut of MTV. This essay from a music educator breaks down how the film was received in 1964 and why it still resonates with new fans today.

Historians debate whether 'Hamilton' is good for historical education

In this article, historians debate whether "Hamilton" deepens public engagement with US history or distorts it—examining accuracy and racial casting, and whether the musical's cultural impact outweighs its historical compromises.

In 1996, 'The Curtain Call' changed fans' understanding of wrestling

Maintaining kayfabe, or the fiction of the professional wrestling universe, was a long-held tradition in the industry. That changed in 1996, when four WWE wrestlers broke character after a match at Madison Square Garden in an event later dubbed "The Curtain Call." This podcast breaks down the historical aftershocks.

The 'Howl' obscenity trial changed American publishing

The "Howl" obscenity trial is one of the most significant in American publishing, affirming that material with the "slightest redeeming social importance" cannot be considered "obscene." In the process, it permits artists, like Allen Ginsberg, to use the language they see fit to express themselves.

'Sex and the City' changed the way single women were portrayed on TV

After debuting in 1998, the comedy ran for six seasons on HBO, offering a frank take on the lives of well-to-do single women. Critics argue the show established a model for other shows to follow, including those that aired on HBO, like "Girls" and "Insecure." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Hollywood’s best scandals

With all the money, power, and beautiful people in Hollywood, it’s no wonder there’s no shortage of scandals. This list highlights 10 of the most salacious ones, from Marilyn Monroe’s affair with then-president John F. Kennedy, to the mysterious death of starlet Natalie Wood in 1981.

Dylan's raucous 1976 tour was one piece of an ongoing reinvention

In the mid-70s, Dylan assembled a ragtag group of musicians and poets—including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Allen Ginsberg—he called the Rolling Thunder Revue. Rather than playing stadiums in major markets, they played smaller venues in smaller cities for a more intimate experience. The tour yielded some of the most exuberant versions of Dylan songs, captured in this 1976 performance in Fort Collins, which originally aired on NBC as “Hard Rain.”

'Harold and Maude' became a cult classic thanks to a one-screen theater in Minnesota

The 1971 movie flopped when it was first released, due in no small part to its bleak comedy and taboo subject matter. It became a cult hit, though, after the Westgate Theater, outside Minneapolis, ran the film on its single screen for over two years.

Blondie's Debbie Harry was Basquiat's first buyer

The frontwoman appeared alongside the artist in the film “Downtown 81” and, afterward, purchased the 1981 painting “Cadillac Moon.” It was the first painting on canvas that Basquiat sold and a sign of the style and success that would follow.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

Richard Hamilton's iconic pop art collage inspired the set of 'Barbie' (2023)

Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" was inspired by Hamilton's jumbled vision of a home in "Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?" Set designers cited the work as inspiring the mishmash of Americana imagery in the man cave.

A guided tour of Studio 8H, the home of ‘SNL’

Fans of “Saturday Night Live” might be familiar with Studio 8H, which has only changed slightly over the show’s five decades. This video tour from Architectural Digest provides access you won’t find on the weekly broadcast, with cast members Heidi Gardner, Chloe Fineman, and Ego Nwodim walking you through makeup, dressing rooms, and more.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

How Martha Graham challenged ballet's rigidity

Ballet prized lightness, but Graham's choreography emphasized weight. This essay explores how her work broke from European influences to embrace American idioms, much as her American contemporaries in jazz and literature did.

Bow ties became a Bill Nye wardrobe staple after he took part in an athletic banquet

In high school, boys served as waiters during a ceremony where girls would receive awards for gymnastics, lacrosse, and other sporting events. Wanting to fit the role, Nye's father helped him dress like a waiter, and he continued wearing bow ties upon seeing their practicality in the lab.

Sarah Bernhardt was the first actress to play Shakespeare's iconic Hamlet on film

Bernhardt was a popular 19th- and 20th-century actress with a knack for self-promotion. Case in point: When she took over the Théâtre de Ville in Paris, she renamed it Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt. Her production of "Hamlet" at the theater starred her, naturally, as the titular character. A recording of the performance is believed to be the first woman to play Hamlet caught on film.

One prankster started a movement to clothe animals in the mid-20th century

G. Clifford Prout founded the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, saying that animal nudity was rude and immoral. The campaign continued for years until CBS employees realized Prout was actually a comedian named Buck Henry.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.