Backstage: Broadway Behind the Curtain

“One of my least favorite things in the world is to pose for pictures. I have never been that comfortable in front of a still camera . . . until Rivka. But then, you don’t ‘pose’ for Rivka . . . you simply ‘are,’ and she’s right there to catch the moment.”

–Carol Burnett
Dreams may come true on the stage, but they’re made behind the scenes. From frenzied last-minute rehearsals to costume transformations to nightly curtain-call countdowns, backstage routines and rituals create an energy unique to each performance. Rivka Katvan captures these revealing moments in Backstage, her exclusive collection of photographs spanning the past two decades of Broadway theater.
Elizabeth Taylor prepping for her entrance in The Little Foxes; Cabaret’s Alan Cumming meditating outdoors; Kevin Kline shooting the breeze with his dresser: this is a world theater-lovers can see only in the pages of this book. Katvan’s subjects range from anonymous chorus members to such luminaries as Julie Andrews, Jason Robards, Glenn Close, Angela Lansbury, Brian Dennehy, Gregory Hines, and Kevin Spacey—award-winning actors whose appeal extends far beyond the Great White Way. Quotes from some of the subjects and a foreword by legendary producer Harold Prince celebrate the unseen ways in which a Broadway cast puts it all together.

Rivka Shifman Katvan's photographs have been exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York, the International Center of Photography, and the Museum of Television and Radio. Her work has been published in such national magazines as Harper's Bazaar, the New York Times Magazine, and Detour, as well as in numerous books, including Abrams' Theater in America and Sondheim.

Ethan Silverman is a theater director, writer, and producer who has worked in New York, Rome, Moscow, and London. He lives in New York City.

Harold Prince has been a powerful presence in the theater community for 40 years, either directing or producing many of Broadway's most successful musicals, including Cabaret, Damn Yankees, Phantom of the Opera, and Kiss of the Spider Woman. He is the recipient of 20 Tony Awards.