SHOWING OFF SONGS AND SEQUINS, MUSEUM OF BROADWAY OPENS IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK—On Times Square, in the heart of New York’s theater district, a new Museum of Broadway will take fans behind the curtain of some of its biggest musicals.

Rooms in the museum on 45th Street, which opened on Nov. 15, use music, videos, glittering costumes and walkthrough sets to tell the history of how the theater district came to be. It also covers groundbreaking shows from “West Side Story” to “Cats,” with details on who does what behind the scenes.

“Broadway’s been around, you know, since the 1700s. And so we just are really wanting to bring that to life,” said cofounder Julie Boardman.

The heart of Broadway Theater was located downtown in Union Square in the 1850s and arrived in Times Square in the early 1900s. A show is considered “Broadway” when performed in about 40 theaters with 500 or more seats in the Broadway District in Midtown Manhattan.

“It’s a very uniquely American art form that’s developed here. And so, you know, it should be here, and it should be in Times Square,” Boardman said.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN The Museum of Broadway tells the story of how the theater district came to be.

—PHOTOS BY REUTERS FROM YESTERDAY A museum display features memorabilia from the musical “Annie.”