Broadway theatre,[1] commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City.[2] Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2011, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2011 was 12.13 million.[3]
New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera.[4] In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row).[4] The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826,[5] followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, and especially so with the arrival of the Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s.[6]
By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premiere nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. The Astor Place Theatre opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for the middle class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle class.[7]
The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet. Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with the run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth, Jr.). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, and Charles Fechter.
Lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompson's troupe, called the "British Blondes", was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season. "The eccentricities of pantomime and burlesque—with their curious combination of comedy, parody, satire, improvisation, song and dance, variety acts, cross-dressing, extravagant stage effects, risqué jokes and saucy costumes—while familiar enough to British audiences, took New York by storm."[8] The six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years.[9]
Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate prices. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Theatres did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres did not consolidate there until a large number of theatres were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. Broadway's first "long-run" musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London,[10] but Laura Keene's "musical burletta" Seven Sisters (1860) shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keene's troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, D.C. that Abraham Lincoln was shot.
The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy."[11]
Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (The Mulligan Guard Picnic) and 1885, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high quality singers (Lillian Russell, Vivienne Segal, and Fay Templeton), instead of the women of questionable repute who had starred in earlier musical forms.
As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values. As in England, during the latter half of the century the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women. Gilbert and Sullivan's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York (by the authors and also in numerous pirated productions). They were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets and other British and European hits.
Charles Hoyt's A Trip to Chinatown (1891) became Broadway's long-run champion, holding the stage for 657 performances. This would not be surpassed until Irene in 1919. In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed the Theatrical Syndicate, which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the U.S. for the next sixteen years.[12] However, smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated, and Off-Broadway was well established by the end of the 19th century.
A Trip to Coontown (1898) was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre (largely inspired by the routines of the minstrel shows), followed by the ragtime-tinged Clorindy the Origin of the Cakewalk (1898), and the highly successful In Dahomey (1902). Hundreds of musical comedies were staged on Broadway in the 1890s and early 1900s made up of songs written in New York's Tin Pan Alley involving composers such as Gus Edwards, John Walter Bratton, and George M. Cohan (Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr. (1906)). Still, New York runs continued to be relatively short, with a few exceptions, compared with London runs, until World War I.[10] A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01.
In the early years of the 20th century, translations of popular late-19th century continental operettas were joined by the "Princess Theatre" shows of the 1910s by writers such as P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton and Harry B. Smith. Victor Herbert, whose work included some intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas (The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910)).[13]
Beginning with The Red Mill, Broadway shows installed electric signs outside the theatres. Since colored bulbs burned out too quickly, white lights were used, and Broadway was nicknamed "The Great White Way." In August 1919, the Actors Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions. After a strike shut down all the theatres, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Shubert Brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theatres from the Erlanger syndicate.[14]
The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. Nevertheless, by the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer could be presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if the cinema would replace live theatre altogether. The musicals of the Roaring Twenties, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall and other light entertainments, tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses, big dance routines, and popular songs. Florenz Ziegfeld produced annual spectacular song-and-dance revues on Broadway featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there was little to tie the various numbers together. Typical of the 1920s were lighthearted productions like Sally; Lady Be Good; Sunny; No, No, Nanette; Harlem; Oh, Kay!; and Funny Face. Their books may have been forgettable, but they produced enduring standards from George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, and Rodgers and Hart, among others, and Noël Coward, Sigmund Romberg and Rudolf Friml continued in the vein of Victor Herbert. Clearly, the live theatre survived the invention of cinema.
Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind, and taking the drama a giant step forward, Show Boat, premiered on December 27, 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theatre, representing a complete integration of book and score, with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals. It ran for 572 performances.
The 1920s also spawned a new age of American playwright with the emergence of Eugene O'Neill, whose plays Beyond the Horizon, Anna Christie, The Hairy Ape, Strange Interlude and Mourning Becomes Electra proved that there was an audience for serious drama on Broadway, and O'Neill's success paved the way for major dramatists like Elmer Rice, Maxwell Anderson, Robert E. Sherwood, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller, as well as writers of comedy like George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Classical revivals also proved popular with Broadway theatre-goers, notably John Barrymore in Hamlet and Richard III, John Gielgud in Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest and Much Ado About Nothing, Walter Hampden and Jose Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac, Paul Robeson and Ferrer in Othello, Maurice Evans in Richard II and the plays of George Bernard Shaw, and Katharine Cornell in such plays as Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, and Candida
After the lean years of the Great Depression, Broadway theatre entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma!, in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. Hit after hit followed on Broadway, and the Broadway theatre attained the highest level of international prestige in theatre.
The Tony Awards were established in 1947 to recognize achievement in live American theatre, especially Broadway theatre.
Although there are now more exceptions than previously, generally shows with open-ended runs have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday with a 7pm or 8pm "curtain" and afternoon "matinée" performances on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, at 2pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and 3pm on Sundays, making an eight performance week. On this schedule, shows do not play on Monday, and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day.[15][16] Actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Tuesday evening as their "weekend". The Tony award presentation ceremony is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit into this schedule.
In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7 pm.[15] The rationale for the move was that fewer tourists took in shows midweek, so the Tuesday attendance in particular depends on local audience members. The earlier curtain therefore allows suburban patrons time after a show to get home by a reasonable hour. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney, change their performance schedules fairly frequently, depending on the season, in order to maximize access to their targeted audience.
Both musicals and stage plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theatre. Actors from movies and television are frequently cast for the revivals of Broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving a cast. There are still, however, performers who are primarily stage actors, spending most of their time "on the boards", and appearing in television and in screen roles only secondarily. As Patrick Healy of the New York Times noted, "Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for The Addams Family. In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated; instead, several Tony Awards were given for productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film-star performers had to move on to other commitments."[17] According to an article by Mark Shenton, "One of the biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape—on both sides of the Atlantic—over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has gone up; but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, and perhaps a year; now, the 13-week run is the norm."[18]
The minimum size of the Broadway orchestra is governed by an agreement with the musicians union (Local 802, American Federation of Musicians) and The Broadway League. For example, the agreement specifies the minimum size of the orchestra at the Minskoff Theatre to be 18, at the Music Box Theatre to be 9.[19]
Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of The Broadway League (formerly "The League of American Theatres and Producers"), a trade organization that promotes Broadway theatre as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administers the Tony Awards with the American Theatre Wing, a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated, they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theatre in New York.
The three non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres (Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Roundabout Theatre Company) belong to the League of Resident Theatres and have contracts with the theatrical unions which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theatre and producers. (Disney also negotiates apart from the League, as did Livent before it closed down its operations.) However, generally, shows that play in any of the Broadway houses are eligible for Tony Awards (see below).
The majority of Broadway theatres are owned or managed by three organizations: the Shubert Organization, a for-profit arm of the non-profit Shubert Foundation, which owns seventeen theatres (it recently retained full ownership of the Music Box from the Irving Berlin Estate); The Nederlander Organization, which controls nine theatres; and Jujamcyn, which owns five Broadway houses.
Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers" or "angels"), and therefore have open-ended runs (duration that the production plays), meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a varied degree of financial risk. Shows do not necessarily have to make a profit immediately. If they are making their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or are losing money at a rate which the producers consider acceptable, they may continue to run in the expectation that, eventually, they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable. In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers — with the permission of their unions — take reduced salaries, in order to prevent a show from closing. Theatre owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents, or even lend a show money in order to keep it running.
Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season—Lincoln Center Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Manhattan Theatre Club are the three non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for a number of reasons, including financial issues, prior engagements of the performers or temporary availability of a theatre between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open-ended runs. This was the case with 2007's August: Osage County and 2009's God of Carnage.
Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than "straight" (i.e. non-musical) plays. On January 9, 2006, The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre became the longest running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking Cats.[20]
Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets (and in certain cases next-day matinee tickets) for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at a discount of 25%, 35%, or 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Duffy Square, in Times Square, in Lower Manhattan, and in Brooklyn. This service run by Theatre Development Fund makes seeing a show in New York more affordable. Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" or "lottery" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full, and their "grosses" as high as possible.[21] According to The Broadway League, total Broadway attendance was 12.13 million in calendar year 2011 compared to 12.11million in 2010.[3] The Broadway League also reports that approximately 62% of all Broadway tickets were purchased by tourists in the 2010-2011 season.[22] By way of comparison, London's West End theatre reported total attendance of 14.3 million for major commercial and grant-aided theatres in central London for 2009.[23]
The classification of theatres is governed by language in Actors' Equity Association contracts. To be eligible for a Tony, a production must be in a house with 500 seats or more and in the Theatre District, which criteria define Broadway theatre. Off Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows often provide a more experimental, challenging and intimate performance than is possible in the larger Broadway theatres. Some Broadway shows, however, such as the musicals Hair, Little Shop of Horrors, Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, Rent, Avenue Q, and In the Heights, began their runs Off Broadway and later transferred onto Broadway, seeking to replicate their intimate experience in a larger theatre.
After (or even during) successful runs in Broadway theatres, producers often remount their productions with a new cast and crew for the Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country—the bigger and more successful shows may have several of these touring companies out at a time, some of them "sitting down" in other cities for their own long runs. Smaller cities are eventually serviced by "bus and truck" tours, so-called because the cast generally travels by bus (instead of by air) and the sets and equipment by truck. Tours of this type, which frequently feature a reduced physical production to accommodate smaller venues and tighter schedules, often play "split weeks" (half a week in one town and the second half in another) or "one-nighters", whereas the larger tours will generally play for one or two days per city at a minimum. The Touring Broadway Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honor excellence in touring Broadway.
Broadway productions and artists are honored by the annual Antoinette Perry Awards (commonly called the "Tony Awards, or "Tony") which are awarded by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, beginning in 1947.[24] The Tony is Broadway's most prestigious award, even compared to the Academy Awards for Hollywood productions. Their importance has increased since the annual broadcast on television began. In a strategy to improve the television ratings, celebrities are often chosen to host the show, like Rosie O'Donnell, some with little or no connection to the theatre.[25] The latest Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 12, 2011. Other awards given to Broadway productions include the Drama Desk Award, presented since 1955, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle awards, first given in 1936.
- If no show is currently running, the play listed is the next show planned (dates marked with an *).
- If the next show planned is not announced, the applicable columns are left blank.
- Capacity is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at the Internet Broadway Database.[26]
| Theatre |
Current show |
Classification |
Address |
Capacity |
Opening
date |
Closing
date |
| Al Hirschfeld Theatre |
|
|
West 45th Street (#302) |
1437 |
|
|
| Ambassador Theatre |
Chicago |
Musical |
West 49th Street (#219) |
1120 |
1996-11-14November 14, 1996 |
Open-ended |
| American Airlines Theatre |
Don't Dress for Dinner |
Play |
West 42nd Street (#229) |
740 |
2012-04-26April 26, 2012 |
2012-06-17June 17, 2012 |
| August Wilson Theatre |
Jersey Boys |
Musical |
West 52nd Street (#245) |
1222 |
2005-11-06November 6, 2005 |
Open-ended |
| Belasco Theatre |
End of the Rainbow[27] |
Play with Music |
West 44th Street (#111) |
1040 |
2012-04-02April 2, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre |
Once[28] |
Musical |
West 45th Street (#242) |
1101 |
2012-03-18March 18, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Booth Theatre |
Other Desert Cities |
Play |
West 45th Street (#222) |
806 |
2011-11-03November 3, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Broadhurst Theatre |
A Streetcar Named Desire |
Play |
West 44th Street (#235) |
1218 |
2012-04-22April 22, 2012 |
2012-08-19August 19, 2012 |
| The Broadway Theatre |
Sister Act: The Musical |
Musical |
Broadway (#1681-@52nd) |
1761 |
2011-04-20April 20, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Brooks Atkinson Theatre |
Peter and the Starcatcher[29] |
Play |
West 47th Street (#256) |
1109 |
2012-04-15April 15, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Circle in the Square Theatre |
Godspell |
Musical |
West 50th Street (#235) |
776 |
2011-11-07November 7, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Cort Theatre |
The Lyons[30] |
Play |
West 48th Street (#138) |
1102 |
2012-04-26April 26, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
Death of a Salesman[31] |
Play |
West 47th Street (#243) |
1096 |
2012-03-15March 15, 2012 |
2012-06-02June 2, 2012 |
| Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
The Book of Mormon |
Musical |
West 49th Street (#230) |
1108 |
2011-03-24March 24, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Foxwoods Theatre |
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark |
Musical |
West 42nd Street (#213) |
1829 |
2011-06-14June 14, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre |
The Best Man[32] |
Play |
West 45th Street (#236) |
1093 |
2012-04-01April 1, 2012 |
2012-09-09September 9, 2012 |
| Gershwin Theatre |
Wicked |
Musical |
West 51st Street (#222) |
1933 |
2003-10-30October 30, 2003 |
Open-ended |
| Helen Hayes Theatre |
Rock of Ages |
Musical |
West 44th Street (#240) |
597 |
2009-04-07April 7, 2009 |
Open-ended |
| Imperial Theatre |
Nice Work If You Can Get It[33] |
Musical |
West 45th Street (#249) |
1435 |
2012-04-24April 24, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| John Golden Theatre |
|
|
West 45th Street (#252) |
805 |
|
|
| Longacre Theatre |
|
|
West 48th Street (#220) |
1095 |
|
|
| Lunt-Fontanne Theatre |
Ghost the Musical |
Musical |
West 46th Street (#205) |
1509 |
2012-04-23April 23, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Lyceum Theatre |
Venus in Fur |
Play |
West 45th Street (#149) |
943 |
2012-02-07 February 7, 2012 |
2012-06-17June 17, 2012 |
| Majestic Theatre |
The Phantom of the Opera |
Musical |
West 44th Street (#247) |
1609 |
1988-01-26January 26, 1988 |
Open-ended |
| Marquis Theatre |
Evita[34] |
Musical |
Broadway (#1535-@45th) |
1615 |
2012-04-05April 5, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Minskoff Theatre |
The Lion King |
Musical |
West 45th Street (#200) |
1710 |
1997-11-13November 13, 1997 |
Open-ended |
| Music Box Theatre |
One Man, Two Guvnors |
Play |
West 45th Street (#239) |
1025 |
2012-04-18April 18, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Nederlander Theatre |
Newsies! The Musical[35] |
Musical |
West 41st Street (#208) |
1232 |
2012-03-29March 29, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Neil Simon Theatre |
Jesus Christ Superstar |
Musical |
West 52nd Street (#250) |
1428 |
2012-03-22March 22, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| New Amsterdam Theatre |
Mary Poppins |
Musical |
West 42nd Street (#214) |
1801 |
2006-11-16November 16, 2006 |
Open-ended |
| Palace Theatre |
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert |
Musical |
Broadway (#1564-@46th) |
1743 |
2011-03-20March 20, 2011 |
2012-06-24June 24, 2012 |
| Richard Rodgers Theatre |
Porgy and Bess[36] |
Musical |
West 46th Street (#226) |
1380 |
2012-01-12January 12, 2012 |
2012-09-30September 30, 2012 |
| Samuel J. Friedman Theatre |
The Columnist[37] |
Play |
West 47th Street (#261) |
650 |
2012-04-25April 25, 2012 |
2012-07-01July 1, 2012 |
| Shubert Theatre |
Memphis |
Musical |
West 44th Street (#225) |
1468 |
2009-10-19October 19, 2009 |
Open-ended |
| Stephen Sondheim Theatre |
Anything Goes |
Musical |
West 43rd Street (#124) |
1055 |
2011-04-07April 7, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| St. James Theatre |
Bring It On: The Musical[38] |
Musical |
West 44th Street (#246) |
1710 |
2012-08-1August 1, 2012* |
2012-10-07October 7, 2012 |
| Studio 54 |
Harvey[39] |
Play |
West 54th Street (#254) |
1006 |
2012-06-14June 14, 2012* |
2012-08-05August 5, 2012 |
| Vivian Beaumont Theatre (at Lincoln Center) |
War Horse |
Play |
West 65th Street (#150) |
1105 |
2011-04-14April 14, 2011 |
Open-ended |
| Walter Kerr Theatre |
Clybourne Park[40] |
Play |
West 48th Street (#219) |
947 |
2012-04-19April 19, 2012 |
Open-ended |
| Winter Garden Theatre |
Mamma Mia! |
Musical |
Broadway (#1634-@50th) |
1498 |
2001-10-18October 18, 2001 |
Open-ended |
The following have been announced as future Broadway productions. The theatre in which they will run is either not yet known or currently occupied by another show.
- Original Productions
|
- Revivals
|
- ^ Although theater is the preferred spelling in the U.S. (see American and British English Spelling Differences), the majority of venues, performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations use the spelling theatre.
- ^ Pincus-Roth, Zachary."Ask Playbill.com: Broadway or Off-Broadway—Part I" Playbill.com, February 7, 2008
- ^ a b "Broadway Calendar-Year Statistics" broadwayleague.com, accessed April 24, 2012
- ^ a b Kenrick, John."John Kenrick article on the history of NY theatre" Musicals101.com, accessed August 26, 2011 (Copyright 2003-2005)
- ^ "Bowery Theatre history, Internet Broadway Database listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ Kenrick, John."Musical Diversions", Theatre in NYC:History – Part II, c. 2005 Musicals101.com, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ Snyder, Robert W. The Encyclopedia of New York City (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), Kenneth T. Jackson, editor, p. 1226.
- ^ Hoffos, Signe and Moulder, Bob. "Desperately Seeking Lydia" and "Appreciating Lydia" The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery Magazine, Vol. 43, Autumn 2006, pp. 1–7
- ^ Gänzl, Kurt. "Lydia Thompson", Encyclopaedia of the Musical Theatre, Blackwell/Schirmer (1994), ISBN 0-631-16457-X
- ^ a b "Longest Running Plays in London and New York" dgillan.screaming.net (stagebeauty.net), copyright 2007, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ a b Sheridan, Morley. Spread A Little Happiness:the First Hundred Years of the British Musical, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1987, ISBN 0-500-01398-5, p.15
- ^ Kenrick, John."Kenrick's summary of New York theatre from 1865–1900" Musicals101.com, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ Midkoff, Neil."Discovering Dorothy" home.earthlink.net, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ Kenrick, John."Kenrick's summary of the 20th century history of theatre in New York" Musicals101.com, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ a b Blank, Matthew."Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows" Playbill.com, August 21, 2011
- ^ Simonson, Robert."When Did Broadway Shows Start Offering Sunday Performances?" Playbill.com, April 1, 2011
- ^ Healy, Patrick. "Time Is Short to See Tony Winners"The New York Times, June 14, 2010
- ^ Shenton, Mark."Rewarded today, gone tomorrow….."The Stage, June 17, 2010
- ^ Local 802 Agreement, p. 10 local802afm.org, retrieved December 25, 2009
- ^ Playbill Staff."Long Runs on Broadway" Playbill.com, November 20, 2011
- ^ Blank, Matthew. "Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies". Playbill.com, March 1, 2011
- ^ "The Demographics of the Broadway Audience, 2010-2011 Season" broadwayleague.com, accessed April 24, 2012
- ^ "Society of London Theatre Annual Report, 2009, p.4" solt.co.uk, retrieved January 4, 2011
- ^ "Tony Awards History" tonyawards.com, accessed February 25, 2011
- ^ McKinley, Jesse."Tony Awards Finish Up With a Fuzzy Surprise; Puppet Musical Wins Big, as Does 'My Own Wife'" The New York Times, June 7, 2004
- ^ "Venues at the Internet Broadway Database InternetBroadwayDatabase.com, accessed August 26, 2011
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "End of the Rainbow Will Shine at the Belasco; Michael Cumpsty, Tom Pelphrey and Jay Russell Join Cast" Playbill.com, November 17, 2011
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Rising Quickly, 'Once' Will Play Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Starting Feb. 28" Playbill.com, December 6, 2011
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Peter and the Starcatcher Will Land On Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in March" playbill.com, January 19, 2012
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Broadway Will Hear The Roar of The Lyons This Spring" Playbill.com, February 21, 2012
- ^ Gans, Andrew."'Spider-Man' Star Andrew Garfield Will Join Philip Seymour Hoffman in Broadway's 'Death of a Salesman' " Playbill.com, August 11, 2011
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Broadway's 'Best Man' Will Star Angela Lansbury, Candice Bergen, John Larroquette, Michael McKean, James Earl Jones" Playbill.com, November 1, 2011
- ^ "'Nice Work If You Can Get It' Starring Kelli O'Hara & Matthew Broderick Set to Play Imperial Theatre, April 2012" Broadwayworld.com, November 4, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Max von Essen Joins Cast of 'Evita' Revival; Complete Company and Creative Team Announced", playbill.com, December 8, 2011
- ^ BWW News Desk."Extra Extra Its Official 'Newsies' to Hit Broadway in Spring 2012" Broadwayworld.com, November 15, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Norm Lewis-Audra McDonald 'Porgy and Bess' Will Play Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre" Playbill.com, June 29, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Boyd Gaines and Margaret Colin Will Join John Lithgow in Broadway's The Columnist" Playbill.com, February 21, 2012
- ^ "Three Cheers! Bring It On: The Musical Confirmed to Play Broadway This Summer" playbill.com, May 15, 2012
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Jim Parsons, Jessica Hecht, Charles Kimbrough Will Star in Broadway Revival of Harvey" Playbill.com, November 29, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Clybourne Park Will Open on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in April" playbill.com, January 18, 2012
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Rebecca's Manderley Will Rise This Fall at the Broadhurst; Lead Casting Yet to Be Revealed" playbill.com, May 3, 2012
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Chaplin Musical to Play Broadway's Barrymore Theatre Starting in August" playbill.com, May 10, 2012
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "LCT Plans Broadway Revival of 'Golden Boy', Plus Christopher Durang's 'Vanya' and 'Sonia'... Off-Broadway" playbill.com, March 5, 2012
- ^ [1]playbillvault.com
- ^ "Broadway Revival of 'Annie' Sets Date at the Palace Theatre" broadway.com, May 21, 2012
- ^ [2]playbillvault.com
- ^ [3]playbillvault.com
- ^ "'The Big Knife' Listing" roundabouttheatre.org, accessed May 20, 2012
- ^ [4]playbillvault.com
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth.ttp://www.playbill.com/news/article/166059-Whos-Afraid-of-Virginia-Woolf-with-Tracy-Letts-and-Amy-Morton-Will-Arrive-On-Broadway-in-September "'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?', with Tracy Letts and Amy Morton, Will Arrive On Broadway in September"] playbill.com, May 17, 2012
- ^ Healy, Patrick. "Royal Shakespeare Company Bringing Dahl’s 'Matilda the Musical' to Broadway" The New York Times, February 28, 2012
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Zooey Deschanel Will Star in Broadway Stage Adaptation of "Coal Miner's Daughter"Playbill.com, May 11, 2012
- ^ Hugh Jackman Will Be Houdini in New Broadway Musical During 2013-2014 Seasonplaybill.com
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "'Prince of Broadway' Gets New Producers — and a New Broadway Launch Window" playbill.com, May 24, 2012
- ^ Herick, Adam. "Kathleen Marshall Will Direct Broadway Debut of 'Ever After', Based On 1998 Cinderella Film" playbill.com, May 15, 2012
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. Woody Allen Adapting "Bullets Over Broadway" as Musical for 2013 Season" playbill.com, February 23, 2012
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Picnic and A Few Good Men Broadway Revivals Now Aiming for Next Season" playbill.com, January 2, 2012
Coordinates: 40°45′21″N 73°59′11″W / 40.75583°N 73.98639°W / 40.75583; -73.98639
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Broadway theatres
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Active, by owner
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Other (6)
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Extant former
Broadway theatres
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Defunct and/or demolished
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