Zero Mostel, 1976 The actor returned to play Tevye in the revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Winter Garden Theater. Dec. 28, 1976.CreditLarry C. Morris/The New York Times Alex Brightman, 2019 The actor strikes a Mostel-like pose before playing the demonic title character of “Beetlejuice.” May 8, 2019.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Even as New York hurtles into the future, many of its celebrated theaters have stayed the same. And that allows entertainers to commune with each other across decades.
This spring, Sara Krulwich, the New York Times’s longtime theater photographer, ventured backstage at some of those theaters to capture a selection of today’s performers in photographic dialogue with their predecessors.
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Chita Rivera The actress relaxes backstage at the Broadhurst Theater after a performance of Kander and Ebb’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” May 17, 1993.CreditG. Paul Burnett/The New York Times
Audra McDonald The six-time Tony-winning actress plays a glamour-free waitress in a revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” May 10, 2019.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Jerry Orbach On opening night of “Promises, Promises,” Ben Gazzara (left) and George Segal (right) visited Orbach at the Shubert Theater. Dec. 1, 1968.CreditMike Lien/The New York Times
Jeff Daniels For his portrayal of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the actor received his third Tony nomination for best actor in a play. May 21, 2019. CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson The couple, seen backstage at the Circle in the Square-Joseph E. Levine Theater, played a very unhappy couple in “The Waltz of the Toreadors.” Sept. 11, 1973.CreditMichael Evans/The New York Times 2019 Mallory Portnoy and Ali Stroker Their characters in “Oklahoma! find more happiness with their romantic partners than does Wallach and Jackson’s. May 15, 2019.
CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Zoe Caldwell She won her first leading actress Tony Award for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” at the Helen Hayes Theater. Jan. 17, 1968.CreditPatrick A. Burns/The New York Times
Heidi Schreck Since she plays her 15-year-old self in “What the Constitution Means to Me,” Ms. Schreck decorated her dressing room accordingly. May 8, 2019.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Joel Grey For the revival of “Cabaret” at the Imperial Theater, the actor returned to play the emcee. Oct. 8, 1987.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
Derrick Baskin In “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations,” the actor plays the group’s leader and the show’s narrator, Otis Williams. May 15, 2019.CreditSara Krulwich/The New York Times
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Inside Broadway’s Dressing Rooms
The Dressing Rooms of Broadway: 33 Photos Over Nearly a Century
For decades, our photographers have gotten intimate access backstage. Peek in as they capture stars, before the show and before the mirror.
Harvey Fierstein on the Backstage Nests of Broadway
The writer and actor describes how he fashions his dressing rooms into “explosions of color and life.”
