Can't say I'm surprised to see people already dumping all over this project on this board even sight unseen -- that's par for the course here more often than not -- but as (I think?) the only person to reply so far who has actually been inside -- my friend who helped build some of the exhibits in the shop took me as a +1 on his preview tour yesterday -- many of you are making some rather incorrect assumptions.
If you quibble with the ticket price, I absolutely understand. Worth noting that the actual price is $39 but yes, with taxes and a service fee, it's $47 and change (I just bought tickets for my theatre-obsessed niece and nephew around the holidays). Non-profit museums like the Met and MOMA can certainly charge less. For-profit attractions have regularly charged this or more. Personally, I'd call this half-museum, half-attraction. If it was a few bucks cheaper, I'd be that much happier, but I'll definitely go back at some point and will happily pay.
Where quite a few of you are mistaken is in the accusations of shallowness and this being a place solely for clueless tourists. Are there plenty of "instagrammable" moments throughout? Yep, absolutely (and yes, that word annoys me no end). They surely do want and need those tourist dollars. But as someone who wears "theatre nerd" as a badge of honor, there's also a TON of historical information on display beyond just costumes: legitimately educational and well-researched text, archival photos, reproductions of writer notes, design sketches, actual set models & props, poster art, etc. There's a short film at the start on the evolution of the theatre district, which is shorter than I'd like, but still informative. And there's an entire exhibit designed by David Rockwell after the timeline section that does a pretty incredible job of walking you through many of the backstage jobs a casual theatergoer likely doesn't know about or appreciate (with some truly wonderful visual aids).
I was there for slightly under two hours and had I read and examined everything I wanted (my host was less of a reader!), I probably could have been there another hour.
No doubt YMMV. And if you're allergic to the price, that's your personal choice and I won't try to convince you otherwise. But if you dismiss it out of hand as RiseNY, the Museum of Ice Cream, or The Color Factory on the basis of content and depth, you are just factually incorrect.
If it's helpful, happy to answer any questions based on my experience. I will say, as NOT AT ALL a fan of "Wicked", the way the show is featured is absolutely spectacular. And the original art installation this German artist (can't remember name) created using beads/crystals for Phantom -- another show I don't care for -- is terrific. Other personal faves were the areas devoted to "Hair" and "Rent".
"No matter how much you want the part, never let 'em see you sweat." -- Old Dry Idea commercial
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