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World Premier Exhibit

Stages of Imagination: The iconic Broadway designs of David Korins

September 20 - May 31, 2025

We can’t wait to share with you this unique experience, that gives you a rare insider look into the exciting world of Broadway’s Mega-Hits, and the role miniatures play in that process. The exhibit is full of models, drawings and unique elements that before now have only been seen by the professionals closest to the productions.

Stages of Imagination: The iconic Broadway designs of David Korins is an unparalleled exhibition which goes from process to performance, exploring the collaborations that led to hit productions of Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Here Lies Love, and The Who’s Tommy.

This groundbreaking showcase invites visitors on an immersive journey into the visionary world of Emmy award-winning, four-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway designer, from page to stage.

Through intricate miniature scale models, real-life recreations, and exclusive interviews with many of Korins’ world-class collaborators including Lin Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Lea Salonga, we will discover how Korins transforms the pages of scripts into spellbinding Broadway spectacles.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
William Russo, Executive Director, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures
williamr@theminitimemachine.org | (520) 881-0606

THE MINI TIME MACHINE MUSEUM OF MINIATURES
and KORINS STUDIO
UNVEIL A WORLD PREMIERE EXHIBIT:

“STAGES OF IMAGINATION: THE ICONIC BROADWAY DESIGNS OF DAVID KORINS”

Tucson, Arizona - April 24, 2024 - The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures (William Russo Executive Director), in collaboration with Korins Studio, proudly announces the debut of an unparalleled exhibition, "Stages of Imagination: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins." Running from September 2024 to May 2025, this groundbreaking showcase invites visitors on an immersive journey into the visionary world of Emmy award-winning, four-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway designer David Korins.

“STAGES OF IMAGINATION: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins” goes from process to performance, exploring the collaborations that led to hit productions: Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Beetlejuice, Here Lies Love, and The Who’s Tommy. Through intricate scale models, real-life recreations, and exclusive interviews with many of Korins’ world-class collaborators, we will discover how Korins transforms the pages of scripts into spellbinding Broadway spectacles.

William Russo, Executive Director at TMTM, who has collaborated with David Korins on many theatrical productions in New York City, says “I am thrilled to have David Korins as our partner, collaborator, and featured artist in The Mini Time Machine’s most ambitious Exhibit to date, manifesting our dream to be a place of creation as well as exhibition. To be immersed again in David's creative process, but this time in a new arena has been thrilling.  I can't wait to share that experience with the visitors of The Mini Time Machine.”  

David Korins adds, “I was honored that Billy was encouraging me to showcase my entire body of work, including all the various disciplines we work in at Korins Studio. But in the end, we decided to go deeper, not wider, and focus our attention on five very different but successful theatrical productions instead of exploring our projects in film, television, hospitality, museums, and experiential design.

What is most exciting to me is the chance to pull the curtain back on how collaboration lies at the heart of everything we do and showcase the creators and craftspeople who contribute to it – all the many hands that touch a design from page to stage, including the amazing work in my studio. The real magic is in sharing the steps of the process.”

Korins has also said “We don’t just design shows, we build worlds. We collectively tell stories through a community of collaboration.” This exhibition is a deep dive into how it happens, starting with an intense exploration into some of the most exciting collaborations in modern musical theatre history at every point in the process.

There will be shared moments of inspiration from authors like Lin Manuel Miranda, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, as well as exclusive interviews with directors Michael Greif, Thomas Kail, Des McAnuff and Alex Timbers, while original cast members like Alex Brightman, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Arielle Jacobs, Ben Platt and Lea Salonga will reveal how the design process helped them in creating their landmark roles.

“Sometimes the process of making is as impressive as the final product,” believes Korins, “and we’ll get to explore the evolution of designs through stages like The Makers Station, where we see four stages of fully realized models of Beetlejuice, The White Model, where structural displays of Dear Evan Hansen, Here Lies Love and The Who’s Tommy will dazzle with their craftsmanship.“

This is the only place in the world where you will be able to see the singular models from Korins' shows and be able to see the differences between the original Public Theatre version of Hamilton and the one that opened later on Broadway, five different versions of the couches from Beetlejuice (including one life-sized one to interact with!), and an entire display of fan-generated models of various shows are all part of the show.

As Korins observes, “Even the longest-running show eventually closes, but an exhibit like this will hopefully live on for many years and travel to different cities and countries, demonstrating to the world that collaboration and imagination are the two most important parts of every production.”

Beyond the Exhibit: "Stages of Imagination" isn't just an exhibit—it's an experience. Enhance your visit with symposia and masterclasses led by David Korins, himself.

Membership at The Mini Time Machine includes admission to the Exhibit and Members gain exclusive access to this once-in-a-lifetime showcase, with advance reservations opening on July 1 at theminitimemachine.org. Don't miss your chance to embark on this extraordinary journey through the heart of Broadway's most iconic designs.

KORINS STUDIO is a one-stop creative suite trusted by visionary global brands to create and bring to life world class experiences. Led by founder and award-winning creative director David Korins, our team of holistic storytellers, world builders, designers, artists, and technical experts are brought together by a shared passion for creating best in class experiences. Our work has reached millions of people throughout the world across the mediums of  Live Experiences, Theater, Concerts, Branding, Hospitality Design, TV & Film and more.  

David Korins is the award-winning CEO and Founder of the New York-based creative studio that bears his name, which has reached hundreds of millions of people around the globe with his omnidirectional experiences. He has designed the scenery for Hamilton and 25 other Broadway shows, was the Creative Director of Immersive Van Gogh, and won an Emmy for his Production Design on Grease: Live. He has collaborated with the museum scene in venues as varied as the Georgia O’Keefe Museum and the USC Shoah Foundation at the Museum of the Holocaust. Korins has also worked with Sotheby’s on numerous projects and been the creative force behind large scale exhibitions like Disney Animation: the Immersive Experience, currently being rolled out globally, the upcoming rebranded World of Coca Cola Experience in Atlanta, and the Immersive Cannabis Experience, Cannabition, opening soon in Las Vegas.

The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures

Discover the magical world of miniatures at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson Arizona, where visitors are seemingly transported to different lands and times through the stories told by over 300 miniature houses and roomboxes, expertly displayed in over 14,000 square-feet of state-of-the-art exhibit space. The Museum’s permanent collection boasts antique dollhouses dating to 1742, contemporary fine-scale miniatures and enchanting collectibles. Exclusive Limited Engagement Exhibits, special programs and events mean there is always something new to see. The Chicago Tribune has claimed; “The magic of this place cannot be overstated.” For a truly memorable experience, don’t miss this one-of-a-kind collection in a world-class setting.

About David Korins

David Korins is the award-winning CEO and Founder of the New York-based creative studio that bears his name, which has reached hundreds of millions of people around the globe with his omnidirectional experiences and has just been given Fast Company’s 2024 award for being one of the most innovative companies in the world for its work with global brands, artists and organizations.

He designed the scenery for Hamilton - the most successful musical of this century - as well as 25 other Broadway shows (including Dear Evan Hansen and Beetlejuice), many of which have toured extensively around North America and the globe, earning him three Tony Nominations, three Henry Hewes Design Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, a Lortel Award and an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Design.

His recent stage work includes the ground-breaking Here Lies Love, which totally reconfigured the largest theatre on Broadway and The Who’s Tommy Musical which opened in New York this spring after a record-shattering engagement in Chicago last summer.

Korins is also one of the foremost leaders in Immersive Entertainment as the Creator Director of Immersive Van Gogh, the highest selling experience in North America in 2020, which has been seen to date by over 5.5 million people

across 28 markets. His work on Immersive Disney Animation, created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the studio, has already played to sold out houses in 15 venues across North America and has just begun to be rolled out globally in Mexico, Singapore and Japan.

His numerous television credits include the Production Design for HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Big Brunch with Dan Levy and both the 91st and the 94th Annual Academy Awards®, both of which earned him Emmy Nominations, as well as his production design for Grease Live for which he received an Emmy. His upcoming TV work includes Recipes for the People with superstar Spanish chef José Andrés.

Korins’ distinctive touch has revitalized the museum scene in venues as varied as The Georgia O’Keefe Museum, The National Cowboy Museum, The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures and his work as the Creative Director for the USC Shoah Foundation at the Museum of the Holocaust and numerous other museums.

Through an ongoing collaboration with Sotheby’s, he has produced Boundless Space: the Possibilities of Burning Man, The Duke of Devonshire’s Treasures from Chatsworth, as well as re-imagining their auction room. He also just curated the exhibition Tony Bennett: A Life Well-Lived for Julien’s Auctions.

Korins’ work runs the gamut from being the Designer in Residence for TED's international conferences, to creating the roller-disco paradise called DiscoOasis that ran at Wollman Rink in Central Park in the summer of 2022.

Following the global success of Hamilton, he served as Creative Director and Producer of Hamilton, the Exhibition, a 30,000 square foot presentation chronicling the life and times of Alexander Hamilton.

Other large-scale exhibitions include his work with Disney Animation, currently being rolled out globally, the upcoming rebranded World of Coca Cola Experience in Atlanta, and the

Immersive Cannabis Experience, Cannabition, opening soon in Las Vegas, for which Korins is the Creative Director and Designer.

BREAKING NEWS

Stages of Imagination article in Desert Leaf July and August issue

Get a sneak preview of “Stages of Imagination: The Iconic Broadway Designs of David Korins” in the latest issue of Desert Leaf, the Catalina Foothills Magazine!

Read the issue online