The YouTube channel Wait in the Wings, which sheds light on lesser-known theater history lore, has announced a partner nonprofit.
Named Friends of Wait in the Wings, the 501(c)(3) organization will aim to advance the educational mission of Wait in the Wings by providing support through fundraising, volunteer opportunities and programming that make it possible to create new media that puts theater history in the forefront.
Included in the nonprofit’s programming is the creation of a free online theater archive. To begin collecting archival items, Friends of Wait in the Wings will host its inaugural event, the Broadway History Harvest, on Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Manhattan’s Laurie Beechman Theatre. At this free event, the general public is invited to bring in their personal theater paraphernalia for digitization. All items will be digitized on site and returned immediately. The 2025 Broadway History Harvest will accept ticket stubs, photographs, props, costumes and show merchandise; production playbills will not be accepted. Interested attendees are encouraged to reserve a timeslot here.
While Broadway (and theater in general) has its share of in-person and digital archives (such as the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Shubert Archive, Roundabout Theatre Company Archives, Harry Ransom Center, Theater Collection at the Museum of the City of New York, Harvard Theatre Collection and Library of Congress), Broadway History Harvest is unique in that it is community-sourced.
“What has always brought history to life for me are the personal stories,” said Friends of the Wings board chair Julianna Whalen Henderson in a statement. “With the Broadway History Harvest, we have a chance to preserve memories like a photo of your first time attending a Broadway show, the vase your flowers came in the night of your Broadway debut, props, costumes and more, so they can educate and inspire future generations.”
“For the past three years we’ve been looking for a way to take our mission out from behind the computer screen and into the real world,” added Wait in the Wings founder and host Brendon Henderson. “With how temporary theater is, so much of its history is misplaced, thrown in the trash or simply forgotten. Through this new nonprofit, we’ll finally be able to change that.”
Established in 2019, Wait in the Wings offers documentaries exploring a variety of theater topics, from the genesis of “The Phantom of the Opera”’s chandelier to deep dives into the creation of “Hadestown,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “Chess.”
