LaGuardia and Wagner Archives to House The Inner Circle Collection
Event on Thursday, March 27, 9 a.m., celebrates the creation of new Archives collection
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (March 13, 2025) — LaGuardia Community College/CUNY is proud to announce that LaGuardia and Wagner Archives will be the new home of The Inner Circle collection. This 102-year-old organization of New York City journalists is known for its annual musical political roast, The Inner Circle Show. The collection will be inaugurated on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens. Credentialed members of the media are welcome to attend (see details below; RSVP requested).
“The Inner Circle is delighted to have our collection of showbiz/political memorabilia added to the prestigious LaGuardia & Wagner Archives,” said Inner Circle President Samantha Liebman. “It’s fitting that our parodies of New York City politics and government are now joined with the archives of mayors who have been our amiable targets for more than a century,” she added. “This is a marquee showcase for scholars, journalists and the public to study and enjoy our scripts, songs, performance videos and more for the next hundred years.”
The Inner Circle is an American musical parody group comprised of journalists, bloggers, and media personalities from the New York metro area. Each Spring, it hosts a gala to raise funds for journalism, educational non-profits, and other charities. The show features a two-act performance lampooning local, state, and national politics and cultural issues, followed by a “rebuttal” performance by the mayor of New York City. The annual show is known by its signature tagline, “Year after year, each Spring, Saturday’s our night!”
Founded in 1922 by New York City newspaper reporters covering City Hall, the Inner Circle’s first show in 1923 satirized Governor Alfred E. Smith in “The Supersmith.” Notable participants have included President Donald J. Trump, Governors Thomas E. Dewey, and New York City Mayors Robert F. Wagner Jr., John Lindsay, Ed Koch, David Dinkins, Michael Bloomberg, and Rudolph Giuliani. The gala has also been a site of social activism, such as the Gay Activists Alliance’s awareness campaign in 1972.
The 2025 Inner Circle Show, “Beg Your Pardon,” will be at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on Saturday, April 5, with a ticketed Dress Rehearsal on Friday, April 4.
The Inner Circle Collection includes journals, show tickets, seating lists, scripts, photos, and other memorabilia, as well as digitized videos of Inner Circle shows dating back to the 1990s.
Event Details:
- What: Inauguration of The Inner Circle Collection at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY
- Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025
- Time: 9:00 a.m.
- Who: Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Mayor Eric Adams, past mayors, along with other officials, will be invited to celebrate the establishment of this collected legacy.
- Location: LaGuardia Community College/CUNY, E-Building, Room E-242, Long Island City, NY 11101
- Entrance: 45-50 Van Dam Street (see Maps and Directions)
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The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY chronicles the past 150 years of New York City history, with a growing focus on Queens and the outer boroughs. Housing more than two million documents, and with 100,000 photographs digitized and accessible on its website, the Archives serves students, scholars, journalists, policy makers, and exhibition planners. Collections include the records of the New York City Council and the New York City Housing Authority; explorations into Queens local history and LGBTQ activism in Queens; as well as selected documents from the administrations of Mayors Fiorello H. LaGuardia, William O’Dwyer, Robert F. Wagner, John V. Lindsay, Abraham D. Beame, Edward I. Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudolph Giuliani.
LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), a Hispanic-Serving Institution, located in Long Island City, Queens offers more than 50 associate degrees and academic certificates, and more than 65 continuing education programs to prepare New Yorkers for transfer to senior colleges and rewarding jobs and careers. An institution of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his advocacy of the underserved. Since 1971, LaGuardia’s academic programs and support services have advanced the socioeconomic mobility of students from Queens, NYC and beyond.
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