By Jude Cramer
Live performance’s transience is part of its magic: If you miss a show, you’ll never be able to experience it as intended. But theater does leave behind artifacts that are often art in and of themselves. At Helicline Fine Art’s newest exhibition, Showstoppers: The Art of Stage and Screen, those mementos get their time in the spotlight.
Helicline Fine Art, a private art gallery in Manhattan, has curated a collection of 45 art pieces spanning from the 1920s to the 1990s that showcase a lesser-seen side of the artistry behind Broadway and beyond. That includes costume design, such as the watercolor sketches of prolific midcentury costume designer Irene Sharaff, whose work on musicals like Sweet Charity and Candide, and on film adaptations including West Side Story, Funny Girl, and The King and I, is featured in the exhibition.
Scenic artistry is also evident in the work of designers, including Jo Mielziner. The nine-time Tony winner’s pencil-drawn concepts for the original Broadway productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Daughters of Atreus speak to his powerfully sparse design sensibilities. (Mielziner also designed the original production of Death of a Salesman, returning to Broadway this spring with a new design by Chloe Lamford.)
From sculpture to opera boxes
Some featured artists forewent two-dimensional renderings entirely. Tony Walton’s costume design for Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow in the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz is rendered as a 12-inch-tall bronze statue.
Other artworks on display focus not on performers, but on audiences. Paintings of balcony seating, queues running under marquees, and opera boxes complete Helicline Fine Art’s historical portrait of the visual art behind theater—an industry that would be nothing without its devoted attendees.
Fast facts: ‘Showstoppers: The Art of Stage and Screen’
For Broadway lovers who know theater begins long before the curtain rises, Showstoppers: The Art of Stage and Screen offers a rare glimpse into the diverse creative processes that come together to bring magic alive on stage.
- Helicline Fine Art, Midtown West, New York City
- Through May 10, 2026
- Know before you go: The exhibition is open by appointment, both in person and over Zoom, with works also available for sale via HeliclineFineArt.com, Artsy.net, and 1stDibs.com.
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