Just before opening night of every Broadway musical, a special ritual takes place that’s just for the Broadway community: A highly decorated robe is presented to a member of the ensemble as recognition of his or her hard work as a “gypsy”—a performer who sings, dances and acts in the show’s chorus. The tradition goes back to 1950, and when a robe becomes covered with memorabilia from each show, the robe is retired and a new one is started. (Good to know: You can see three retired robes at the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts.)

Recipients of the Gypsy Robe over the last 65 years have come from all over the world. This season, winners arrived on Broadway from as nearby as Poughkeepsie (Matt Wall of Something Rotten!) or as far away as Oakland, CA (Lainie Sakakura of The King and I) and Saskatchewan, Canada (Jennie Ford of An American in Paris).