When LEGO opened on Fifth Avenue, Broadway supplied the opening number
A look back at the 2021 musical that paired stage performers with a firefighter and let a child lead the way into LEGO’s New York flagship.
A different kind of ribbon cutting
A firefighter, a ballet dancer and Lady Liberty make an unlikely welcoming committee for a toy shop. They belonged to the cast of LEGO Store: The Musical, the filmed number LEGO commissioned for the June 25, 2021 opening of its Fifth Avenue flagship in New York. Renée Elise Goldsberry starred; a young girl played by Brianna Cameron provided the route through the story. The song was called “Always Building.”
Five years on, the interesting choice is who got to play New York. A model of the skyline would have identified the city immediately. It would have had little to say about the people whose work makes the place recognizable once you are standing on the street.
Two casts of New Yorkers
The production credited Ezra Hurwitz as director and James Alsop as choreographer. Alongside Broadway performers were firefighter Lee Garrett and Brooklyn Nets B-boy Antonio Smith. The minifigure cast drew on entirely different qualifications: it had room for a construction worker, a baseball player and a hot dog character. Lady Liberty could reasonably claim membership in either ensemble.
For a musical made during the interruption to Broadway performances, that mix mattered. Audiences were being asked to recognize people at work as well as famous roles. Cameron’s journey gave those encounters a common destination without requiring the grown-ups to explain what their city meant to her.
The taxi you could sit in
The store’s original displays played the same game with scale. Its Empire State Building and One World Trade skyscraper made enormous things small enough to take in at a glance. The brick taxi went the other way: it accommodated a person in the seat. Crossing that distance changes the role of a visitor from someone looking at a model city to someone who can briefly occupy it.
The opening photograph of the Tree of Discovery shows another invitation. Its broad crown sits beneath a ring of light, with a low circular surround at its foot and room to approach from several directions. The musical had to bring its cast together for a finish. The actual shop could leave people to find their own ways around the tree.
Reporting checked November 10, 2026. Plans and programs can change; follow the linked organizations for current information.