Theatre on Tape at the NYPL

How many of you have seen a recording of a show at the New York Public Library? Which shows and how was the quality of the tape?

I will add that I did make an appointment via phone two days in advance, although when I was there and talking to the woman who was working she said that on Tuesdays (when I went) you could pretty much just walk in. I only saw a few other people when I was there. I did have to leave my phone (otherwise, I hate to admit, I would have had a hard time not filming as much as I could from that video to re-watch. it really is a treasure for any Company/Sondheim fan)

It's an excellent resource and the recordings are generally of good quality. They have been--for about two years now--transferring their tape collection to digital, so a lot of titles are not available. I have been trying to see the Public's production of RICHARD II circa 1994 with Michael Stuhlbarg for almost a year and a half now. Frustrating.

I went recently to watch Music In The Air (the 2009 Encores!), and the quality was excellent. A good mix of close-ups and wide-angle shots, good picture quality and they give you pretty good headphones too. Obviously that was a very new recording compared to some of the stuff they have there, but I've been dying to see Kristin in this show, and I wasn't disappointed. I only wish the quality of the monitiors were a bit better. They are really old TVs, and quite grainy compared to what we're are used to now.



I have to say, not being a student and not working in theater at all, I was terrified when I made the appointment via phone. I had prepared a reason, but since I didn't want to outright lie it honestly wasn't a very good one, and I didn't expect it to be accepted. They did ask on the phone I wanted to see it, and told them the first part (I had a an extension of the reason as a back-up), but it wasn't a problem at all. I had to fill out a form when I got there and write it down there again but it seemed like a formality. The video was already set up when I filled that out, and I doubt they would still kick you out at this point (yea, I was still pretty nervous when I got there).

Funnily enough, nobody even checked my library card at any point (I was asked on the phone if I had one, but that was all) Also, I didn't realize until when I left that cell phones weren't allowed in there. I had mine on me the whole time. I wouldn't have dared to record though, and you would only get the video anyway, without sound, because you listen with headphones.



I wish they would just make the archived videos actually publically available. Why not share the greatness with everyone who is interested, esp since they don't really seem to care about your "reason" when you go. They could charge $5-10 for non-theater-students for example (like at the movies or renting a DVD), and they would even make some money off it, which might help to speed up the remastering and buying new TVs! I understand that students need to be given first rights to see videos, but they could only open it to the public at certain times, or some of the monitors or what not. I know I'd be happy to pay a small fee and know I'm 100% allowed to watch EVERYTHING and not stress out about being sent away.



Oh, and I went on a Tuesday too, and there was 5 other people in there with me, anything but full! I had made the appointment then day before.

I see, that makes sense then. It's still sad, knowing that all these amazing recordings are there and you can't really access them. Except I guess that you can, now that I know that, haha. I'll definitely come back on my next trip to NY to see something else!