Abstract

Hudson Scenic Studios in Yonkers, New York, does not appear to the casual onlooker like a vital hub in the increasingly global marketplace of Broadway musicals. Train commuters heading to Manhattan on the Metro-North see nothing but a drab collection of industrial buildings between them and the Hudson River, remaining heedless to the glittering spectacle hidden behind cinderblock walls. In 2015, I visited Hudson Scenic, disembarking at the Ludlow Station with a group of carpenters and following them over the bridge to the shop. Our journey had begun 30 minutes before in Grand Central Station, itself only a few blocks from many of the Broadway theaters, like the Nederlander, Shubert, and Minskoff, that housed Hudson’s scenic products. ¹