On Friday night at Greenport’s Floyd Memorial Library, the sound of show tunes, singalongs and some Greenwich Village piano-bar energy will echo through the halls of the building in a lively, communal celebration of musical theater.

This Friday’s “Playbill Through the Years” show tunes reception is the brainchild of Sally Grant, who curates exhibitions at the library and saw an opportunity to turn a visual display into a living, participatory event. For weeks now, visitors to the library have been stopping in front of library walls lined with roughly 150 historic Playbill, reminiscing about productions they saw decades ago or marveling at the graphic design of programs that span generations of Broadway history.

“People see a title and immediately start telling stories: who they saw it with, which actor was in that role, what year it was,” Grant said. “It sparks conversations.”

The collection, on loan from the Northport–East Northport Public Library, was assembled by JoAnn Proscia, a devoted theatergoer whose personal archive extends far beyond the 150 items now on display. Grant describes the exhibition as part of a much larger trove, one that captures decades of Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway history. Some of the oldest programs date back to 1949’s South Pacific, while more recent titles include The Book of Mormon.

Grant, who is commissioned to create four exhibitions a year for the library, said this one was an extra addition, a way to keep something special on the walls through the holiday season. But as December passed, she realized the exhibition deserved more than a quiet ending.

“We usually have a reception for our exhibitions,” she said. “And I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to do a show tunes reception, something that really fits the spirit of the playbills?’”

The idea quickly took shape. Grant envisioned a sing-along — informal and welcoming — modeled after the famously raucous piano bar Marie’s Crisis in Greenwich Village, where strangers crowd around a piano and belt out Broadway standards together late into the night.

“That was absolutely the inspiration,” Grant said. “My husband and I have been there, and there’s just something about that atmosphere: people of all ages, all abilities, singing together. It’s communal, it’s fun, and it felt like the perfect way to celebrate this collection.”

To help bring that vision to life, Grant reached out to North Fork Community Theatre director Huck Hirsch, whom she said immediately understood what she was aiming for.

“The genesis of this really is Sally,” Hirsch said. “She wanted to take the exhibit and elevate it—to add a live element that celebrates what those playbills represent.”

Hirsch coordinated the musical side of the evening, enlisting NFCT pianist Jim Lowe and a small group of singers to help get the room going. The goal is not a formal performance.

“The singers are there to make sure someone is always singing,” Hirsch said. “They’re there to invite people in.”

To lower the barrier for anyone who might feel shy, Grant is preparing lyric sheets for several well-known numbers, songs Hirsch selected specifically for their broad appeal. Among them are “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Seasons of Love” from Rent, “Oklahoma,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray. Beyond that, the evening will unfold organically, guided by requests, mood and whatever catches the pianist’s eye in the songbook.

“It’s very much by ear,” Hirsch said. “We’ll flip through, see what feels right, and just keep singing.”

The reception will be standing-room, with wine and cheese served as part of the library’s standard exhibition offerings. Doors are expected to open around 4:30 or 4:45 p.m., with the formal program beginning at 5 p.m. Grant hinted at a special opening number she requested, but whether it remains a surprise will be decided at the last minute.

Threaded into the evening will be appearances from two different corners of the local theater scene. Hirsch expects to preview material from North Fork Community Theatre’s upcoming production of 1776, still in early rehearsal but timed to coincide with the musical’s themes.

At the same time, the spotlight will briefly turn to the next generation of performers.

Early in the program, members of the Greenport High School Drama Club will take the floor to perform selections from their upcoming musical, Freaky Friday, which opens Feb. 6. The appearance will feature the show’s two leads: Faith Welch as the mom and Alexandra Cabral as the daughter, whose characters famously switch bodies.

The club’s co-directors said the library event offers a perfect opportunity to connect with the broader community.

“Who doesn’t like a good sing-along?” Cabral said. “When Sally mentioned Marie’s Crisis, she had me immediately.”

Finder added that Welsh and Cabral are ideal ambassadors for the production. “They never leave the stage the entire show,” he said. “If you want to know what you’re getting when you buy a ticket, this is it.”

Their performance will be brief, designed as a preview, a celebration and a reminder that the magic reflected in the historic playbills on the wall is still very much alive on local stages today.