The Museum of Broadway

Immersive, interactive experiences set the stage for a celebration of Broadway’s rich heritage.

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INTRODUCTION

The Museum of Broadway celebrates the long, colorful contribution of Broadway to song, dance and performance arts. It gives visitors the chance to experience the legendary figures and game-changing shows that revolutionized theater - shows like Oklahoma, West Side Story, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and Hamilton as well as the reality backstage, behind the scenes.

The Museum of Broadway has it all, telling the story of New York’s most famous shows in an immersive, interactive experience that combines physical and digital elements across three floors to show how Broadway pushed creative boundaries. In short, it’s a uniquely immersive theatrical experience – “a museum with showbiz” in the words of the founders.

In partnership with JLL, the exhibit designers and the Museum of Broadway team, Electrosonic took responsibility for designing, building and supporting the audiovisual experience with audio, interactives, digital signage and specialty projection throughout the Museum.

OVERVIEW

The Museum of Broadway brings together costumes, photographs, recordings and videos from some of Broadway’s greatest shows through more than 20 exhibition spaces. The owners wanted to go beyond physical exhibits — to use the power of technology to transform a static show into a dynamic experience.

Electrosonic provided a complete audiovisual solution for the museum, covering multiple immersive spaces with consistent standards of audiovisual equipment, digital signage, informational displays and audio.

The experience starts on the ground level where music and digital signage welcome visitors as they queue to enter. From the queue line visitors self-check-in through a series of touchscreens.

Next, they enter the first of many exhibition spaces and follow an immersive journey through 20 rooms, each showcasing one of the game changing shows that changed theater forever.

Technology in the exhibits consists of 8 projectors and 35 displays showing animated graphics and information, audio from more than 100 speakers and 40 amplifiers and interactive sensors that trigger media like an augmented mirror experience where a display hidden behind glass and a camera allows visitors to ready their hair and makeup for the big show, a 75” display that lets visitors dance with the cast of West Side Story and more.

Finally, they enter the marquee exhibit ‘Making of Broadway’, where projection and 11 displays playing interviews with stars, producers and stage managers create an authentic ‘backstage’ environment.

CHALLENGE

This is the first museum dedicated to the rich history of Broadway and the owners wanted it to be a fun, interactive and educational experience where visitors feel they’re part of the show. The goal was to integrate physical exhibits and technology to create an experience that was exciting, engaging and full of memorable moments.

The major challenge was scale – retail and queuing areas, a basement interactive ‘Making of Broadway’ experience and 20 exhibition spaces featuring hundreds of speakers, digital signage and projection solutions, which all had to be ready for ‘opening night’ within a very tight deadline.

SOLUTION

Electrosonic brought proven museum skill sets and more than 55 years’ experience in designing, building and supporting large-scale spectacular experiences. Working with Rockwell Group, JLL Retail and other partners,

Electrosonic designed and integrated the technology solutions that bring the Broadway sets to life, as well as acting as experiential technology consultants to the wider project team. Electrosonic’s strong project management skills and collaborative communication processes ensured that the project met its deadline.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Electrosonic brings together experiential technology and physical exhibits in a way that elevates the ‘Broadway experience’ and puts the visitor center stage throughout the Museum.

It’s a hybrid experience that brings together the best of static and immersive audiovisual exhibits. The result is a visitor experience that meets the owners’ goals of fun, education and entertainment for Broadway fans of all ages.

Project Details

Client

Museum of Broadway

Partners

JLL, Rockwell Group, Project Development Services, Square, Bravo Media, Alexander Wolf & Son, Atlantis Partners, Hudson Scenic

Location

New York City

Size

26,000 square feet

Services

Technology Design Consulting

Build & System Integration

Managed Services (Support)

Audio, Video & Control Systems

Procurement & Fabrication

Detailed Engineering

Installation & Testing

Commissioning & Programming

For us, the challenge was getting our AV design to match what the exhibit designers intended. The technology had to support the artifacts.

Cary Adams

Project Manager, Electrosonic

Taking the Stage Projection and digital signage is integrated with scenery from historic shows to create an immersive experience that brings Broadway to life.