In 1969, Betty L. Corwin, a young assistant to the producer Martin Gabel, marched into the Library for the Performing Arts. It was a cold November and she was armed with an idea: she wanted the library to create an archive for visual records of live theater performances. The idea posed many challenges; there were theatrical unions, guilds, and length negotiations to consider. But eventually the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive was established, and its first recording was made in November of 1970. Half a century later, the archive has become the most extensive in the world, with 3,000 videos of interviews, and 5,000 plays, musicals, classics, and other productions held in its vault. After a two-year delay, this exhibition celebrates the archive’s 50th anniversary. —Elena Clavarino