The mission of the museum is to preserve and to document theatre history in general, and especially that of Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. It covers all the performing arts, not just spoken theatre but also opera, ballet, dance, musical theatre, pantomime. Today it is among the largest and most important of its kind, an indispensable centre for research into German theatre history. The collection contains c. 40.000 stage portraits and private portraits of performers, producers, etc. since the Renaissance. There are nearly 50.000 stage designs and costume designs illustrating all the most important styles and movements, past and present.
New material is added continuously.
The museum also possesses the biggest Richard Wagner collection outside Bayreuth, including not only original scenery and costume designs but also stage models from the Munich premieres of Wagner's operas. Theatre photography has a special importance in the collection. There is also rich documentation of the development of theatre architecture and the history of theatre buildings form antiquity to the present day. The material includes papers from the estates of the theatre architects Gottfried Semper and Max Littmann, and c. 10.000 graphics, plans, and photographs. The heart of the archive is the collection of some 70.000 manuscripts.