Shelter Island Library’s Friday Night Dialogues presents ‘Broadway On a Budget’

Friday Night Dialogues welcomes Brian Stoll, who will discuss “all things Broadway” on March 15.

His talk, only on Zoom, will cover how he managed to see over 280 Broadway shows and only very rarely had to pay more than $60 a ticket. He discovered this as a student in upstate New York where he used his student ID card to great advantage.

Now his viewers will hear how savings can be found for everyone — at any age.

Mr. Stoll’s talks to local libraries began when he was asked to give a 20-minute speech about anything he was passionate about to the staff of a library where he was working at the time. He chose the history and importance of Broadway Playbills.

With the staff’s encouragement, he took the talk on the road to other libraries, and subsequently developed an extensive collection of Broadway memorabilia to illustrate his message.

He said they help “extend the theatrical experience and to solidify the memories from seeing all those shows.” Friday’s talk will suggest how collections can do that for the viewer too.

Mr. Stoll is not only a fan of Broadway but of libraries, as well. He wrote this for Library Advocacy Day at the West Islip Library: “I believe they are a community’s hidden gem and a free library card is all you need to unlock its and your full potential … The public library changed my life.”

Currently a library assistant in a law library at Touro University, Mr. Stoll has been profiled in Newsday and appeared on News 12 and in other media in addition to numerous in-person and virtual presentations on Long Island and elsewhere in New York and New Jersey.

To register for this Zoom event, go to the Shelter Island Library’s website at silibrary.org.

Coming up: On March 22, Jeffrey Sussman will discuss his latest book, “Tinseltown Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Hollywood” at 7 p.m. in the library’s Community Room.