The Theatre on Film and Tape Archive – TOFT to those in the know — has turned 50. The archive, launched in November 1970 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Cener, has grown to become the largest collection of its kind in the world, with some 5,000 live captured performances, from the first one, of the Japanese rock musical “Golden Bat,” to the most recent, “A Soldier’s Play,” taped the day after Broadway shut down on March 12th, in an empty Broadway theater. TOFT also includes 3,000 videos of interviews, three of which are below (and two more linked to):
Also available on the library website: Interviews with
and
How to Use the TOFT archives
The 50th anniversary exhibition has been delayed until Spring 2021,but the library is soliciting donations.
The Library for the Performing Arts partially reopened on November 9th, “by appointment only.” ( Book an appointment.)
The Library for the Performing Arts celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive today! TOFT has served patrons from around the world and preserved thousands of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions. What’s your favorite TOFT recording? pic.twitter.com/BdmkiI3wdh
— NYPL Theatre (@NYPL_Theatre) November 12, 2020
