How an ‘Ivy League Witch’ Brought Broadway to Tarot Cards
Broadway fans often talk about theater as a spiritual experience — but most of them aren’t thinking of tarot cards when they say it. That could change thanks to a new tarot deck that’s a surprising mashup of Broadway and theater, reimagining the traditional imagery of tarot with the artwork of the famous theater caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:
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The Hirschfeld Broadway Tarot is the brainchild of Emily McGill, a former Broadway publicist who worked with the Al Hirschfeld Foundation to create the new deck that’s set to be released Sept. 3. Calling herself an “Ivy League Witch” — she has a master of arts in spiritual psychology from Columbia University’s Spirituality Mind Body Institute — she described studies that point to tarot as “an effective tool for self-reflection” on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.
McGill said she focuses on the psychological and therapeutic benefits of tarot readings rather than using them to predict the future. Tarot readings, she said, can help people feel “more clarity and direction.”
“For a theater-lover like me, I wanted a Broadway-themed deck,” she recalled. When she discovered none existed, she set out to create one.
On the new episode of Stagecraft, McGill describes the process of “casting” Hirschfeld’s depictions of stage characters (like Mama Rose and Eliza Doolittle) and theatrical icons (like Bob Fosse and Joseph Papp) on tarot cards that match their vibe. Jean Valjean from “Les Miserables,” for instance, appears on the card for Justice, while Romeo and Juliet show up on the card for The Lovers.
McGill said that she’s always considered theater to be sacred — “To me, walking into an empty theater feels the way most people experience walking into an empty church or synagogue or mosque or temple,” — and explained that the new tarot deck was a way for her to marry her lifelong love for theater with her studies in spirituality.
As a demonstration, she performed a sample reading of two cards. Drawing from the deck, she pulled the 10 of Swords, which features a Hirschfeld caricature of Grandpa Ben from “Broadway Bound,” and the Chariot, depicting Coalhouse Walker Jr. from “Ragtime,” and explained what each could mean.
She added that she hopes the deck might encourage people to give tarot a try. “It makes tarot really accessible for theater lovers,” she said. “Honestly, anyone can read tarot. All you need are some cards and your intuition.”
To hear the entire conversation, listen at the link above or download and subscribe to “Stagecraft” on podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes of “Stagecraft” are released every other week.
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