The collection consists of four series, spanning the years from the 1950's through the 1980's. The series are theatrical performances, symphony, opera, and dance. The playbills, programs, and souvenir programs which form the collection reflect the major stage productions of drama, musical comedy, dance, opera, and the symphony for that period. Most of the collection is from American stages but European cities of London, Paris, and Dublin are represented.

Over 250 Playbills from New York theaters form the largest part of the collection and give an overview of the successful range of Broadway productions during the period from 1951 to 1989. Among the theaters attended were The Shubert Theatre, The Mark Hellinger, The Ziegfeld, The Ethel Barrymore, and The Booth Theatre. Also included are programs from Off-Broadway and from perfomances in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Hollywood, Lambertville, New Jersey, Stratford, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Delaware. Also represented are productions from the stages in London, Dublin, and Paris.

Some programs are autographed by the actors in the production and these include Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Carol Lawrence, Lauren Bacall, and Ginger Rogers.

Programs from performances of symphony orchestras in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, and New York city are included.

The opera programs are primarily from the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera Company. The ballet programs reflect the major companies in the world including The Royal Ballet, The New York City Ballet, The American Ballet Company, The Bolshoi, and The Pennsylvania Ballet.

The show titles arranged chronologically by date of performance can be found in the Container List. An alphabetical listing of all show titles can be found in Appendix 1. This list also gives the performers' names.

Appendix 2 includes a list of the programs which were autographed by the performers. The box in which they can be found is noted.