Experiment · shipped

Broadway A to Z A handmade alphabet of Broadway, sold by Drama Nerd Designs

Broadway A to Z poster: every letter of the alphabet arranged in a tight typographic cluster on a charcoal ground, with each letter paired with the show, name, or word it stands for set in smaller type

This is my A to Z of Broadway. Started during COVID as an idle-hands project. Cut from craft paper, glued at the kitchen table, photographed on the floor. Every letter is a collage of the show, performer, or idea I'd pick first. Making an ABC on any subject with a rich history is challenging: every letter is either an impossible Q or X to fill, or a C or S that's lousy with choices. The criteria I used was simple: which one is my favorite.

The book turned into a poster. The poster turned into a print I started selling through Drama Nerd Designs. The piece is still for sale; custom alphabets on request.

The book

Cut paper, glue, flashlight, repeat.

OVERTURE page from the handmade book: a vintage portrait collaged into the corner of a craft-paper spread, with a typed paragraph explaining the rules of the alphabet

E spread: vintage photograph of Ethel Merman at an NBC microphone, with the letter E and her name set in cut-paper type

J spread: paper-doll dancers cut from old print sources arranged around a black J, with JEROME ROBBINS set in letterpress-style cuts down the side

L spread: silhouetted figures and torn paper assembled around a deep L, the words THE LION KING set inverted at the bottom of the page

N spread: a Times Square photograph crowded with theater marquees framed by a black N, with NEW YORK NY · Broadway labeled along the right

X and Y spread: a roller-skating figure cut for X with XANADU, and a Charlie Brown portrait paired with YOU'RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN for Y

Letter spread from the handmade book showing collaged figures and hand-cut typography on craft paper

Letter spread from the handmade book: different letter, same craft-paper-and-cut-photograph technique

Letter spread from the handmade book: another letter in the alphabet

The piece is for sale through Drama Nerd Designs. Custom alphabets (your own twenty-six) on request.