David Korins Takes Center Stage at the Museum of Broadway

When you think of Broadway, your mind probably jumps to the stars onstage. But behind every spotlight, song, and standing ovation, there’s a whole world of creativity that brings the magic to life—often without anyone in the audience knowing the names behind it.

David Korins is one of those names. And it’s time you knew it.

He’s the designer behind some of Broadway’s most memorable shows from the past 20 years—including Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Here Lies Love, and The Who’s Tommy. Now, with the Museum of Broadway’s newest special exhibit, Stages of Imagination: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins, visitors can see firsthand how those productions were brought to life—from the earliest sketches to the final sets.

The exhibit is open in Times Square through September 2025 and gives theater fans a rare chance to step behind the scenes—to see how sets are built, stories are shaped, and Broadway’s biggest hits are created.

Who Is David Korins?

Korins isn’t just a set designer. He’s a creative director, a builder of worlds, and the founder of a 20-person studio that has worked with artists like Lady Gaga and Elton John, and companies from Disney to Google. He has designed for more than 25 Broadway shows, won an Emmy for Grease: Live!, and led massive global experiences like Immersive Van Gogh and Disney Animation: The Immersive Experience.

But it all started with a childhood spent rearranging furniture and building forts in his basement. He wasn’t raised in a theater family—his mom was a teacher, his dad a podiatrist—but he was drawn to spaces and how they made people feel.

“I think I’ve always been designing,” Korins said in a recent interview with Straus News. “Even setting up for the holidays as a kid was a kind of storytelling.”

That sense of storytelling is at the heart of everything he does.

The Disappearing Reflecting Pool

One of the most fascinating stories in the exhibit is about a design choice that didn’t make it past the first week of Hamilton performances.

In early previews at the Public Theater, Korins added a real reflecting pool to the stage—six feet wide and six inches deep. At the very end of the show, Alexander and Eliza Hamilton would reunite beside it, like a quiet memorial.

Only three audiences ever saw it.

“It was beautiful,” Korins says. “But instead of thinking about the story, people kept asking, ‘Was that water real? Was the pool there the whole time?’ So we cut it.”

That kind of decision—removing something even when it looks stunning—is part of what makes Korins a thoughtful designer. He doesn’t want the audience distracted by the set. He wants the set to serve the story.

And now, that little-seen reflecting pool is part of the exhibit.

Inside the Exhibit

Stages of Imagination isn’t just a display of Korins’s greatest hits. It’s a look at how those hits were made. You’ll see original sketches, scale models, video clips, and even scribbled notes from his first meeting with Hamilton director Thomas Kail.

One favorite: the first two pages of the Hamilton script, still called “The Hamilton Mixtape,” marked up with Korins’s handwritten thoughts during his job interview.

Another highlight: a model-making table that walks you step-by-step through the process of bringing a set to life—from early ideas to a finished miniature version of the stage. For anyone curious about how theater is built, it’s a crash course you won’t forget.

There’s also a full-size version of the Beetlejuice couch—perfect for a photo op.

But more than objects, the exhibit is about people. Korins made sure to include quotes and stories from the illustrators, model makers, producers, and directors he’s worked with over the years. “No one person makes a Broadway show,” he said. “It takes a team. A huge one.”

From Stage to Real Life

You might imagine Korins lives in a show-stopping home—maybe with rotating floors and walls that pivot. But in real life, he says his apartment is sparse. “It’s kinda monk-like,” he said.

Still, his work has touched almost every kind of space you can imagine—from TED Talks to the Oscars, from music festivals to Las Vegas shows. And while Broadway is a big part of his story, it’s just one piece of the larger creative puzzle.

A Perfect Match for the Museum

The Museum of Broadway, founded in 2022 by producer Julie Boardman and creative director Diane Nicoletti, was created to celebrate not just the stars of Broadway, but also the many people working behind the scenes. They wanted to give fans—from seasoned theater lovers to curious kids—a way to see how shows come together.

“Broadway is such an important part of New York’s culture and history,” Boardman said.

Stages of Imagination fits perfectly into that mission. It’s not just about celebrating a designer’s career. It’s about opening up the process—so anyone, at any age, can walk through the creative path from idea to opening night.

And maybe walk out inspired to build something of their own.

One Last Takeaway

When asked what he hopes visitors take away from the exhibit, Korins kept it simple: “That making a Broadway show takes time. It’s not just a big idea and a team of people. It’s thousands of choices, and a lot of trial and error.”

He continued, “If people walk away with a deeper appreciation of how these shows get made and how much work goes into the shows they love—then this exhibit has done its job.”

Stages of Imagination: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins is open now through Sept. 30, 2025, at the Museum of Broadway in Times Square, 145 W. 45th St. Entrance to the exhibit is included with any general admission ticket.

For tickets and more information visit www.themuseumofbroadway.com.