Mini Broadway stages will takeover 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures this fall.
The museum, 4455 E. Camp Lowell Drive, will exhibit 鈥淪tages of Imagination: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins鈥 starting Sept. 20 through May 2025. The temporary exhibition showcases stage designs from process to performance and explores the collaborations that led to hit shows 鈥淗amilton,鈥 鈥淒ear Evan Hansen,鈥 鈥淏eetlejuice,鈥 鈥淗ere Lies Love鈥 and 鈥淭he Who鈥檚 Tommy.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge for us,鈥 said William Russo, executive director of the museum. 鈥淲e鈥檙e putting it in double the space that we normally have for exhibits of that nature, the ones that are a limited engagement, and it鈥檚 being built just for us. This exhibit didn鈥檛 exist before.鈥
Russo served as the managing director at 蜜柚直播 Theatre Company for five years until he became executive director for the museum in May 2023. Before moving to 蜜柚直播, Russo worked in the Broadway and off-Broadway world of New York from 1997 to 2013. He was the general manager at and the managing director at the , where the musical 鈥淩ent鈥 started.
People are also reading…
鈥淭hat鈥檚 actually where I worked first with David Korins. He was the designer on five shows we did together,鈥 Russo said. 鈥淲hen I was interviewing for this role, I started to think about what I wanted to bring 鈥 my first big exhibit. And I had this idea because David鈥檚 work starts with the scale set models. So, I called him up and I said, 鈥榃hat do you think?鈥 and he鈥檚 like, 鈥業 think that sounds great.鈥 So that鈥檚 how this was born.鈥
The exhibit will feature first sketches, cardboard models, intricate scale models and exclusive interviews with some of the award-winning artist鈥檚 collaborators including , , , Ben Platt and more.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a surprise at the end where we want to play with scale, so you鈥檒l see the 鈥楤eetlejuice鈥 couch go from a miniature idea to the full-size replica. That鈥檒l be a photo-op where you can have your photo taken on that couch,鈥 Russo said.
With decades of experience in the entertainment industry鈥檚 different verticals, Korins says he is bringing 蜜柚直播 a look at the behind-the-scenes world of Broadway that鈥檚 often overlooked.
鈥淢y hope for this thing is that people who enjoy entertainment come and see this exhibition, and they learn much more about pulling back the curtain,鈥 Korins said. 鈥淧eople have no idea what goes into the making of a design and the making of a show 鈥 the intellectual rigor, the artistic rigor.鈥
The designer says it has been incredibly difficult to mimic the full sized stages to exact scale models, but his team at Korins Studio has helped him to chronicle a 15-year timeline of the development of these five stages.
Stage designer David Korins analyzes a model for his exhibit at the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.
鈥淚 wanted to make this a celebration for the collaborations, both in my studio, and the collaborations of the creative team who put together these shows,鈥 Korins said.
Korins, who has yet to visit Southern 蜜柚直播, will be in 蜜柚直播 for the first few weeks of September to celebrate the grand opening of the exhibition and to serve as a resource for the local artist scene.
鈥淚 plan to keep my calendar pretty open to primarily serve the community,鈥 Korins said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 excited to be bringing this to 蜜柚直播.鈥
The museum鈥檚 executive director hopes this exhibit will bring theater fans and visitors who might not otherwise come in.
鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that maybe we will garner some new, long-term relationships with some of those people,鈥 Russo said. He says the museum gets an annual attendance of about 45,000 visitors per year, but hopes that larger exhibits like this could grow those numbers.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to mix my past career and my new one together,鈥 Russo said. 鈥淲hat I really want to do is raise this museum to the level of the arts and culture institutions that are part of people鈥檚 social life.鈥
Tickets are available for museum members now and will open up to the public on Aug. 20 through .
Get in on the action
The living room inside the new artist guest house at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. Artists can use the space as a retreat, partake in creative sessions and make conversation with artists at the top of the field.
For locals looking to craft their own miniatures, the museum will also begin hosting 鈥淢ini Master Classes鈥 at the newly renovated Artist Guest House. Artists can use the space as a retreat, partake in creative sessions and make conversation with creatives at the top of the field.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little piece of 蜜柚直播 that people really don鈥檛 know exists right behind the wall,鈥 Russo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little oasis.鈥
Upcoming 鈥淢ini Master Classes鈥 include:
- Elf Owl and Baby on Saguaro: Sept. 14-15; cost: $240
- Magical Festive Cart: Oct. 5-6; cost: $220
- The Convent of St. Teresa: Nov. 9-10; cost: $240
The new artist guest house will be used for 鈥淢ini Master Classes鈥 for miniature enthusiasts.
The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is $14 for adults, $8 for kids ages 4-17 and free for children ages 3 and under. Discounts are available for seniors, college students and military.
More information on the classes can be found at .
Get info on the upcoming exhibit at .
The kitchen inside the new artist guest house at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.
If you ever wondered what the green dress from "The Wiz" looked like up close, the colorful look of the Ziegfeld Follies costumes, or wanted an extensive view on the elements that make a groundbreaking musical, then the newly opened Museum of Broadway is for you. Broadway's first museum opened this week and provides fans with a combination of history, memorabilia and education. "Showboat," Rent," "Company," and "A Chorus Line" are but a few of the shows that have elaborate displays that let fans get up close and personal. Museum Co-Founder Julie Boardman says one of the hardest parts of setting up the museum was figuring out the story they wanted to tell. "There's so much history. So how are we going to organize it and make it in a way the people you know, really with the guest experience in mind? So we've landed on this idea that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. So had all these people not pioneered, broken ground, taken risks along the way, we would never have the art form and the art that is created today."
