New exhibition “Stages of Imagination: The iconic Broadway designs of David Korins” debuted at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures at 4455 E Camp Lowell Dr. on Friday, Sept. 20.
The exhibition showcases the collaborations that went into designing five stages for Broadway shows “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Beetlejuice,” “Here Lies Love,” and “The Who’s Tommy.” It features some of Korins’ original notes and sketches from the beginning of the design process, quotes on Korins’ work from the cast of the five shows and intricate scale models of the stages.
“This sort of takes you step by step through the process from page to stage,” Korins said.
Korins and his team built the exhibition specifically for Tucson after his old friend and colleague William Russo became the executive director of the museum last year. Korins said the premiere being held in Tucson is something he’s been excited about since the beginning of the building process.
“The most amazing part of this entire thing is the prominence of where things start,” Korins said. “The fact that we’re doing this in Tucson and making this a thing that hopefully will go all over the country and maybe the world … it’s pretty amazing.”
The exhibition includes some additional unique features, including 23 pieces of fanart from around the world dedicated to these five shows, a display of artifacts dating back to 1995 from the different projects Korins has worked on over the years and a life-size replica of the couch from the Broadway musical “Beetlejuice.”
“It’s wonderful to see exactly what you knew it would be, and then have the pieces that just take it to a new level,” said museum Executive Director William Russo.
Russo said the museum has never had a temporary exhibition at this level of status and that his goal when first taking the position was to honor returning patrons, welcome in a new audience and elevate the status of the museum as a whole.
“What I’ve seen now is 85% of the people who booked ahead of time for this exhibit are what I call new to file. They’re new to us,” Russo said.
Emily Wolverton, the museum’s head of patron experiences and curator, has been at the museum since almost the beginning in 2009, and she says this is the most ambitious effort it’s ever had.
“I was privileged to actually know our founders, Patricia and Walter Arnel, and they were a really wonderful couple, and they loved miniatures,” Wolverton said. “I think that Pat and Walter would be absolutely thrilled beyond belief to see how we have grown beyond their original collection, to just bring in new and exciting contemporary artists and exhibits like this.”
Opening night went better than anyone could have imagined, according to Russo. With about 130 tickets sold, the museum had a full house with exciting patrons, and they were not disappointed.
Carol Heuser, a returning patron, was in attendance on opening night and said the exhibit accomplished Russo’s goal of elevating the status of the museum.
“It is extraordinary. This museum has just grown and evolved in this very positive way over the last year, since Billy has been in charge,” Heuser said. “Having this kind of exhibit is just wonderful. It’s gotta be inspiring to some young people who might love to work with their hands, but really aren’t sure how they could apply that into an arts environment.”
“Stages of Imagination: The iconic Broadway designs of David Korins” will be at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures through May 2025. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Mondays. Visit theminitimemachine.org for more information.
