Teatro de Broadway

Este artículo trata sobre el tipo de teatro. Para el teatro individual, vea Broadway Theatre (53rd Street) . Para otros usos, vea Broadway Theatre (desambiguación) .

Class of professional theater presented in New York City, United States

The John Golden Theatre , Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre , Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre y Booth Theatre en West 45th Street en el distrito de los teatros de Manhattan

El teatro de Broadway , ^{[nb 1]} también conocido simplemente como Broadway , se refiere a las representaciones teatrales que se presentan en los 41 teatros profesionales , cada uno con 500 o más asientos, ubicados en el distrito de los teatros y el Lincoln Center a lo largo de Broadway , en Midtown Manhattan . Nueva York . ^{[1] [2]} Broadway y el West End de Londres juntos representan el nivel comercial más alto de teatro en vivo en el mundo de habla inglesa . ^[3]

Si bien la vía en sí tiene el mismo nombre del distrito y su colección de 41 teatros, y también se identifica estrechamente con Times Square , solo tres de los teatros están ubicados en Broadway (a saber, el Teatro Broadway , el Teatro Palace y el Winter Garden Teatro ). El resto está ubicado en las calles transversales numeradas que se extienden desde el Nederlander Theatre, una cuadra al sur de Times Square en West 41st Street, al norte a lo largo de ambos lados de Broadway hasta la 53rd street, así como el Vivian Beaumont Theatre, en el Lincoln Center en West 65th street. Si bien existen excepciones, el término "teatro de Broadway" generalmente se reserva para lugares con una capacidad de asientos de al menos 500 personas, los teatros más pequeños se denominan fuera de Broadway (independientemente de la ubicación), mientras que los lugares muy pequeños (menos de 100) son llamado off-off-Broadway , un término que también puede aplicarse al teatro no comercial o de vanguardia , o producciones realizadas fuera de los lugares de teatro tradicionales. ^[4]

El distrito de los teatros es una atracción turística popular en la ciudad de Nueva York . Según The Broadway League , para la temporada 2018-2019 (que terminó el 26 de mayo de 2019) la asistencia total fue de 14,768,254 y los espectáculos de Broadway tuvieron US $ 1,829,312,140 en ingresos brutos, con un aumento de la asistencia del 9.5%, un aumento bruto del 10.3% y semanas de actuación en un 9.3%. . ^[5]

La mayoría de los espectáculos de Broadway son musicales . El historiador Martin Shefter sostiene que "los 'musicales de Broadway', que culminaron con las producciones de Richard Rodgers y Oscar Hammerstein , se convirtieron en formas enormemente influyentes de la cultura popular estadounidense " y contribuyeron a hacer de la ciudad de Nueva York la capital cultural del mundo " ^[6].

Historia

Teatro temprano en Nueva York

Interior del Park Theatre , construido en 1798

Nueva York no tuvo una presencia teatral significativa hasta alrededor de 1750 cuando los actores-directores Walter Murray y Thomas Kean establecieron una compañía de teatro residente en el Theatre de Nassau Street , que tenía capacidad para unas 280 personas. Presentaron obras de Shakespeare y óperas de baladas como The Beggar's Opera . ^[7] En 1752, William Hallam envió una compañía de doce actores de Gran Bretaña a las colonias con su hermano Lewis como su manager. Establecieron un teatro en Williamsburg, Virginia , y abrieron con The Merchant of Venice y The Anatomist . La compañía se trasladó a Nueva York en 1753, realizandoóperas de baladas y baladas-farsas como Damon y Phillida . La Guerra de la Independencia suspendió el teatro en Nueva York, pero a partir de entonces el teatro se reanudó en 1798, el año en que se construyó el Park Theatre de 2.000 asientos en Chatham Street (ahora llamado Park Row ). ^[7] El Bowery Theatre se inauguró en 1826, ^[8] seguido de otros.

En la década de 1840, PT Barnum operaba un complejo de entretenimiento en el Bajo Manhattan . En 1829, en Broadway y Prince Street, Niblo's Garden abrió y pronto se convirtió en uno de los principales locales nocturnos de Nueva York. El teatro de 3.000 asientos presentó todo tipo de entretenimientos musicales y no musicales. En 1844, Palmo's Opera House abrió y presentó ópera durante solo cuatro temporadas antes de que la bancarrota lo llevara a cambiar su nombre como lugar para obras de teatro bajo el nombre de Burton's Theatre. La Ópera de Astor abrió sus puertas en 1847. En 1849 estalló un motín cuando los mecenas de clase baja del Bowery se opusieron a lo que percibían como esnobismo por parte del público de clase alta en Astor Place: "Después de laAstor Place Riot de 1849, el entretenimiento en la ciudad de Nueva York se dividió en líneas de clase: la ópera era principalmente para las clases media alta y alta, espectáculos de juglares y melodramas para la clase media, espectáculos de variedades en salones de conciertos para hombres de la clase trabajadora. y la clase media de los barrios marginales ". ^[9]

Las obras de William Shakespeare se representaron con frecuencia en los escenarios de Broadway durante el período, sobre todo por el actor estadounidense Edwin Booth, conocido internacionalmente por su interpretación de Hamlet . Booth interpretó el papel en las famosas 100 actuaciones consecutivas en el Winter Garden Theatre en 1865 (y la carrera terminó solo unos meses antes de que el hermano de Booth, John Wilkes Booth, asesinara a Abraham Lincoln ), y más tarde revivió el papel en su propio Booth's Theatre (que fue dirigido durante un tiempo por su hermano Junius Brutus Booth, Jr. ). Otros renombrados shakesperianos que aparecieron en Nueva York en esta época fueronHenry Irving , Tommaso Salvini , Fanny Davenport y Charles Fechter .

Nacimiento del musical y de la posguerra civil

El teatro en Nueva York se trasladó gradualmente del centro de la ciudad al centro de Manhattan a partir de 1850, en busca de bienes raíces menos costosos. A principios del siglo XIX, el área que ahora comprende el Distrito de los Teatros era propiedad de un puñado de familias y comprendía algunas granjas. En 1836, el alcalde Cornelius Lawrence abrió la calle 42 e invitó a los habitantes de Manhattan a "disfrutar del aire puro y limpio". ^[10] Cerca de 60 años después, el empresario teatral Oscar Hammerstein I construyó el icónico Teatro Victoria en West 42nd Street. ^[10]

El primer musical de "larga duración" de Broadway fue un éxito de 50 funciones llamado The Elves en 1857. En 1870, el corazón de Broadway estaba en Union Square , y para fines de siglo, muchos teatros estaban cerca de Madison Square . Los teatros no llegaron al área de Times Square hasta principios de la década de 1900, y los teatros de Broadway no se consolidaron allí hasta que se construyó una gran cantidad de teatros alrededor de la plaza en las décadas de 1920 y 1930. Las carreras en Nueva York continuaron a la zaga de las de Londres, ^[11] pero la "burletta musical" de Laura Keene The Seven Sisters (1860) rompió récords anteriores de Nueva York con una serie de 253 presentaciones. Fue en una actuación de la compañía de Keene deNuestro primo estadounidense en Washington, DC que le dispararon a Abraham Lincoln.

The Black Crook (1866), considerado por algunos historiadores como el primer musical. ^[12] Póster para el resurgimiento de 1873 de The Kiralfy Brothers .

La primera obra de teatro que se ajusta a la concepción moderna de un musical, agregando danza y música original que ayudó a contar la historia, se considera The Black Crook , que se estrenó en Nueva York el 12 de septiembre de 1866. La producción fue de cinco años. horas y media de duración, pero a pesar de su duración, tuvo un récord de 474 actuaciones. El mismo año, The Black Domino / Between You, Me and the Post fue el primer programa en llamarse a sí mismo una "comedia musical". ^[12]

Tony Pastor abrió el primer teatro de vodevil a una cuadra al este de Union Square en 1881, donde actuó Lillian Russell . Los comediantes Edward Harrigan y Tony Hart produjeron y protagonizaron musicales en Broadway entre 1878 ( The Mulligan Guard Picnic ) y 1890, con libros y letras de Harrigan y música de su suegro David Braham . Estas comedias musicales presentaban personajes y situaciones extraídos de la vida cotidiana de las clases bajas de Nueva York y representaban un importante paso adelante desde el vodevil y el burlesque hacia una forma más alfabetizada. Protagonizaron cantantes de alta calidad ( Lillian Russell , Vivienne Segal yFay Templeton ), en lugar de las mujeres de reputación cuestionable que habían protagonizado formas musicales anteriores.

A medida que el transporte mejoró, la pobreza en Nueva York disminuyó y el alumbrado público hizo que los viajes nocturnos fueran más seguros, la cantidad de clientes potenciales para el creciente número de teatros aumentó enormemente. Las obras podrían durar más y aún atraer al público, lo que generaría mejores ganancias y mejores valores de producción. Al igual que en Inglaterra, durante la segunda mitad del siglo, el teatro comenzó a limpiarse, con menos prostitución obstaculizando la asistencia al teatro de mujeres. Los éxitos de la ópera cómica familiar de Gilbert y Sullivan , comenzando con HMS Pinafore en 1878, fueron importados a Nueva York (por los autores y también en numerosas producciones sin licencia). Fueron imitados en Nueva York por producciones estadounidenses comoReginald Dekoven 's Robin Hood (1891) y John Philip Sousa ' s El Capitán (1896), junto con óperas, ballets, y otros éxitos británicas y europeas.

1890 y principios de 1900

Partitura de "Give My Regards to Broadway"

A Trip to Chinatown (1891), de Charles H. Hoyt , se convirtió en el campeón a largo plazo de Broadway, con 657 representaciones en el escenario. Esto no sería superado hasta Irene en 1919. En 1896, los propietarios de teatros Marc Klaw y AL Erlanger formaron Theatrical Syndicate , que controló casi todos los teatros legítimos en los Estados Unidos durante los siguientes dieciséis años. ^[13] Sin embargo, proliferaron las casas de variedades y vodevil más pequeñas, y el Off-Broadway estaba bien establecido a finales del siglo XIX.

A Trip to Coontown (1898) fue la primera comedia musical enteramente producida e interpretada por afroamericanos en un teatro de Broadway (inspirada en gran medida en las rutinas de los espectáculos de juglares ), seguida de Clorindy: The Origin of the Cakewalk (1898) con tintes ragtime. ) y el exitoso In Dahomey (1902). Cientos de comedias musicales se representaron en Broadway en la década de 1890 y principios de 1900 compuestas por canciones escritas en el Tin Pan Alley de Nueva York con la participación de compositores como Gus Edwards , John Walter Bratton y 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.^[11]A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01.

1900–1925

Victor Herbert

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)).^[14]

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.^[15]

During this time, the play Lightnin' by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then, it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances. Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925.

Competing with motion pictures

Broadway north from 38th St., New York City, showing the Casino and Knickerbocker Theatres ("Listen, Lester", visible at lower right, played the Knickerbocker from December 23, 1918, to August 16, 1919), a sign pointing to Maxine Elliott's Theatre, which is out of view on 39th Street, and a sign advertising the Winter Garden Theatre, which is out of view at 50th Street. All but the Winter Garden are demolished. The old Metropolitan Opera House and the old Times Tower are visible on the left.

The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like The Jazz Singer were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if the cinema would replace live theatre altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theatres survived. The musicals of the Roaring Twenties, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall, and other light entertainment, 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 such as 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. Live theatre has survived the invention of cinema.

Between the wars

Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre. It represented 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.^[16]

This February 21, 1925 Judge magazine cover by Ralph Barton features caricatures of various movie and theater personalities from the 1920s; click on a caricature to be taken to the corresponding person's Wikipedia article.

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, Clifford Odets, 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 José 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.

As World War II approached, a dozen Broadway dramas addressed the rise of Nazism in Europe and the issue of American non-intervention. The most successful was Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, which opened in April 1941.^[17]

1943–1970

After the lean years of the Great Depression, Broadway theatre had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma!, in 1943, which ran for 2,212 performances. According to John Kenrick's writings on Broadway musicals, "Every season saw new stage musicals send songs to the top of the charts. Public demand, a booming economy and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s form the core of the musical theatre repertory."^[18] Kenrick notes that "the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. The changes would prove painful for many—including those behind the scenes, as well as those in the audience."^[19] Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes: "Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style, the decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals."^[20]

Ken Bloom observed that "The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the area [Times Square] and a drop in the number of legitimate shows produced on Broadway."^[21] By way of comparison, in the 1950 to 1951 season (May to May) 94 productions opened on Broadway; in the 1969 to 1970 season (June to May) there were 59 productions (fifteen were revivals).^[22][23] In the twenties, there were 70–80 theaters, but by 1969, there were 36 left.^[24]

1980s

In early 1982, Joe Papp, the theatrical producer and director who established The Public Theater, led the "Save the Theatres" campaign.^[25] It was a not-for-profit group supported by the Actors Equity union to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by monied Manhattan development interests.^{[26][27][28][29]} Papp provided resources, recruited a publicist and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for the effort.^[27]

At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress, entitled "H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site".^[30] The legislation would have provided certain US government resources and assistance to help the city preserve the district.^[30] Faced with strong opposition and lobbying by Mayor Ed Koch's Administration and corporate Manhattan development interests, the bill was not passed. The Save the Theatres campaign then turned their efforts to supporting the establishment of the Theater District as a registered historic district.^[31][32] In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared "The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan", and demanded that each theater in the district receive landmark designation.^[32] Mayor Ed Koch ultimately reacted by creating a Theater Advisory Council, which included Papp.^[27]

COVID-19 pandemic

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Broadway theaters closed March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The shutdown was extended first to April, then to May, then June, then September 2020 and January 2021,^[33] and later to June 1, 2021.^[34] The 74th Tony Awards were also postponed and were supposed to be held virtually later in 2020, but nothing new has been announced after the Tony nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, by James Monroe Iglehart.^[35] Broadway performances are tentatively set to resume in September 2021.^[36]

Description

Schedule

Although there are some exceptions, shows with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with a 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. "curtain". The afternoon "matinée" performances are at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an eight-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday and the shows and theatres are said to be "dark" on that day.^[37][38] The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony award presentation ceremony is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule.

In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7:00 pm.^[37] The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those produced by Disney, change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on the season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience.

Producers and theatre owners

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.

Of the four non-profit theatre companies with Broadway theatres, all four (Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Second Stage Theatre) 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.)

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; the Nederlander Organization, which controls nine theatres; and Jujamcyn, which owns five Broadway houses.

Personnel

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 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.^[39]

According to 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 [sic] 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."^[40]

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, while at the Music Box Theatre it is 9.^[41]

Runs

See also: List of the longest-running Broadway shows

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 need not make a profit immediately; should they make their "nut" (weekly operating expenses), or lose money at a rate acceptable to the producers, 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, 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 money to a show 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, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Second Stage Theater are the four non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues. Some other productions are produced on Broadway with "limited engagement runs" for several 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, 2009's God of Carnage, and 2012's Newsies.

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.^[42]

Audience

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 20 to 50%.^[43] The TKTS booths are located in Times Square, in Lower Manhattan, and at Lincoln Center. This service is run by Theatre Development Fund. 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.^[44] According to The Broadway League, total Broadway attendance was 14.77 million in 2018–2019, compared to 13.79 million in 2017–2018.^[5] The Broadway League also reports that approximately 66% of all Broadway tickets were purchased by tourists in the 2012–2013 season, an increase of three percent from the 2011–2012 season.^[45] By way of comparison, London's West End theatre reported a total attendance of 15.5 million for major commercial and grant-aided theatres in central London for 2018.^[46] The average age of the Broadway audience in the 2017–18 theater season was 40, the lowest it had been in nearly two decades.^[47]

Off-Broadway and US tours

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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 Theater District, which are the criteria that 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, In the Heights, Fun Home, Dear Evan Hansen, and Hamilton, began their runs Off-Broadway and later transferred to 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 new casts and crew for the Broadway national tour, which travels to theatres in major cities across the country. Sometimes when a show closes on Broadway, the entire production, with most if not all of the original cast intact, is relaunched as a touring company, hence the name "Broadway national tour". Some shows may even have several touring companies out at a time, whether the show is still running in New York or not, with many companies "sitting down" in other major cities for their own extended runs.

Smaller cities may attract national touring companies, but for shorter periods they may even be serviced by "bus and truck" tours. These are scaled-down versions of the larger, national touring productions, historically acquiring their name because the casts generally traveled by bus instead of by air, while the sets and equipment traveled by truck. Tours of this type, which frequently feature a reduced physical production to accommodate smaller venues and tighter schedules, often run for weeks rather than months. Some will even play "split weeks", which are half a week in one town and the second half in another. On occasion, they will also play "one-nighters". The production values are usually less lavish than the typical Broadway national tour or national touring production and the actors, while still members of the actor's union, are compensated under a different, less lucrative union contract. The Touring Broadway Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honored excellence in touring Broadway.

Awards

Broadway productions and artists are honored by the annual Antoinette Perry Awards (commonly called the "Tony Awards", or "Tony"), given by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, and that were first presented in 1947.^[48] The Tony is Broadway's most prestigious award, comparable to the Academy Awards for Hollywood film productions. Their importance has increased since 1967 when the awards presentation show began to be broadcast on national television. In a strategy to improve the television ratings, celebrities are often chosen to host the show, some with scant connection to the theatre.^[49] The most recent Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 9, 2019. Other awards given to Broadway productions include the Drama Desk Award, presented since 1955, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, first given in 1936, and the Outer Critics Circle Award, initially presented in 1950.

Broadway theatres and current productions

Main article: List of Broadway theaters

• An * after the opening date indicates that the listed show has not yet opened, but is scheduled to open on the given date at that theatre.
• An * after the closing date indicates that there is another production scheduled for this theatre.
• Capacity is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at the Internet Broadway Database.^[50]

Theatre	Address	Capacity	Owner/Operator	Current production	Type	Opening	Closing
Al Hirschfeld Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 302)	1424	Jujamcyn Theaters	Moulin Rouge!	Musical	2019-07-25July 25, 2019	Open-ended
Ambassador Theatre	W. 49th St. (No. 219)	1125	Shubert Organization	Chicago	Musical	1996-11-14November 14, 1996	Open-ended
American Airlines Theatre	W. 42nd St. (No. 227)	740	Roundabout Theatre Company
August Wilson Theatre	W. 52nd St. (No. 245)	1228	Jujamcyn Theaters	Pass Over[51]	Play	TBA*	TBA
Belasco Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 111)	1018	Shubert Organization	Girl from the North Country[52]	Musical	2020-03-05March 5, 2020	Open-ended
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 242)	1078	Shubert Organization	Company[53]	Musical	TBD*	Open-ended
Booth Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 222)	766	Shubert Organization
Broadhurst Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 235)	1186	Shubert Organization	Jagged Little Pill[54]	Musical	2019-12-05December 5, 2019	Open-ended
Broadway Theatre	W. 53rd St & Broadway (No. 1681)	1761	Shubert Organization	West Side Story[55]	Musical	2020-02-20February 20, 2020	Open-ended
Brooks Atkinson Theatre	W. 47th St. (No. 256)	1094	Nederlander Organization	Six[56]	Musical	2021-10-03October 3, 2021*	Open-ended
Circle in the Square Theatre	W. 50th St. (No. 235)	840	Independent	American Buffalo[57]	Play	TBA*	Limited engagement
Cort Theatre	W. 48th St. (No. 138)	1084	Shubert Organization
Ethel Barrymore Theatre	W. 47th St. (No. 243)	1096	Shubert Organization
Eugene O'Neill Theatre	W. 49th St. (No. 230)	1066	Jujamcyn Theaters	The Book of Mormon	Musical	2011-03-24March 24, 2011	Open-ended
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 236)	1079	Shubert Organization	Come from Away	Musical	2017-03-12March 12, 2017	Open-ended
Gershwin Theatre	W. 51st St. (No. 222)	1933	Nederlander Organization	Wicked	Musical	2003-10-30October 30, 2003	Open-ended
Hayes Theater	W. 44th St. (No. 240)	597	Second Stage Theater	Clyde's[58]	Play	Fall 2021*	Limited engagement
Hudson Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 141)	975	Ambassador Theatre Group
Imperial Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 249)	1443	Shubert Organization	Ain't Too Proud	Musical	2019-03-21March 21, 2019	Open-ended
John Golden Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 252)	805	Shubert Organization	Thoughts of a Colored Man[59]	Play	TBA*	Limited Engaegment
Longacre Theatre	W. 48th St. (No. 220)	1091	Shubert Organization	Diana[60]	Musical	December 16, 2021*	Open-ended
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre	W. 46th St. (No. 205)	1519	Nederlander Organization	Tina—The Tina Turner Musical	Musical	2019-11-07November 7, 2019	Open-ended
Lyceum Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 149)	922	Shubert Organization
Lyric Theatre	W. 43rd St. (No. 214)	1622	Ambassador Theatre Group	Harry Potter and the Cursed Child	Play	2018-04-22April 22, 2018	Open-ended
Majestic Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 245)	1645	Shubert Organization	The Phantom of the Opera	Musical	1988-01-26January 26, 1988	Open-ended
Marquis Theatre	W. 46th St. (No. 210)	1612	Nederlander Organization
Minskoff Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 200)	1621	Nederlander Organization	The Lion King	Musical	1997-11-13November 13, 1997	Open-ended
Music Box Theatre	W. 45th St. (No. 239)	1009	Shubert Organization	Dear Evan Hansen	Musical	2016-12-04December 4, 2016	Open-ended
Nederlander Theatre	W. 41st St. (No. 208)	1235	Nederlander Organization	The Lehman Trilogy[61]	Play	TBD*	Limited engagement
Neil Simon Theatre	W. 52nd St. (No. 250)	1467	Nederlander Organization	MJ: The Musical[62]	Musical	September 2021*	Open-ended
New Amsterdam Theatre	W. 42nd St. (No. 214)	1747	Disney Theatrical Group	Aladdin	Musical	2014-03-20March 20, 2014	Open-ended
Palace Theatre	W. 47th St. & Broadway (No. 1564)	1743	Nederlander Organization	ZzThe Palace Theatre closed for renovation in September 2018. It is scheduled to reopen in or around 2021.[63]
Richard Rodgers Theatre	W. 46th St. (No. 226)	1400	Nederlander Organization	Hamilton	Musical	2015-08-06August 6, 2015	Open-ended
St. James Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 246)	1709	Jujamcyn Theaters
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre	W. 47th St. (No. 261)	650	Manhattan Theatre Club	Lackawanna Blues[64]	Play	Fall 2021*	Limited Engagement
Shubert Theatre	W. 44th St. (No. 225)	1460	Shubert Organization	To Kill a Mockingbird	Play	2018-12-13December 13, 2018	Open-ended
Stephen Sondheim Theatre	W. 43rd St. (No. 124)	1055	Roundabout Theatre Company	Mrs. Doubtfire[65]	Musical	TBD*	Open-ended
Studio 54	W. 54th St. (No. 254)	1006	Roundabout Theatre Company	Caroline, or Change[66]	Musical	Fall 2021*	Limited engagement
Vivian Beaumont Theater	W. 65th St. (No. 150)	1080	Lincoln Center Theatre	Flying Over Sunset[67]	Musical	Fall 2021*	Open-ended
Walter Kerr Theatre	W. 48th St. (No. 219)	945	Jujamcyn Theaters	Hadestown	Musical	2019-04-17April 17, 2019	Open-ended
Winter Garden Theatre	W. 50th St. & Broadway (No. 1634)	1526	Shubert Organization	The Music Man[68]	Musical	2022-02-10February 10, 2022*	Open-ended

Upcoming productions

The following have been announced as future Broadway productions. The theatre in which they will run may not yet be known, or, if known, may be currently occupied by another show.

Production	Type	Theatre	Opening	Ref
1776	Musical	American Airlines Theatre	Spring 2022	[66]
American Utopia	Special	TBA	September 17, 2021	[69]
Between Riverside and Crazy	Play	Hayes Theater	Fall 2022	[58]
Birthday Candles	Play	American Airlines Theatre	Late 2021	[66]
How I Learned to Drive	Play	Samuel J. Friedman Theatre	Spring 2022	[64]
The Minutes	Play	TBA	2022-03-15March 15, 2022	[70]
Plaza Suite	Play	Hudson Theatre	TBA	[71]
Sing Street	Musical	Shubert Theatre to be announced	2021–22 Season	[72]
Skeleton Crew	Play	Samuel J. Friedman Theatre	Winter 2022	[73]
Take Me Out	Play	Hayes Theater	Spring 2022	[58]
Trouble in Mind	Play	American Airlines Theatre	Late 2021	[66]

Notes

1. Although theater is the generally preferred spelling in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), many Broadway venues, performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations use the spelling theatre.

References

Citations

1. Pincus-Roth, Zachary. "Ask Playbill.com: Broadway or Off-Broadway—Part I". Playbill, February 7, 2008, accessed September 11, 2016
2. Viagas, Robert. "Hudson Theatre Will Be Reopened as Broadway House". Playbill, December 16, 2015
3. Naden, Corinne J. (2011). The Golden Age of American Musical Theatre: 1943–1965. Scarecrow Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780810877344.
4. "How To Tell Broadway From Off-Broadway From..." Playbill. Playbill, Inc. January 13, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
5. "2018 – 2019 Broadway End-of-Season Statistics". Broadway League, May 28, 2019.
6. Martin Shefter (1993). Capital of the American Century: The National and International Influence of New York City. Russell Sage Foundation. p. 10. ISBN 9781610444972.
7. Kenrick, John (2003–2005). "Theatre in NYC: A Brief History I". Musicals101.com.
8. "Bowery Theatre history, Internet Broadway Database listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 26, 2011
9. Snyder, Robert W. (1995). Jackson, Kenneth T. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 1226.
10. "Urban Development". spotlightonbroadway.com. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
11. "Longest Running Plays in London and New York" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine dgillan.screaming.net (stagebeauty.net), copyright 2007, accessed August 26, 2011
12. 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
13. Kenrick, John. "Kenrick's summary of New York theatre from 1865–1900" Musicals101.com, accessed August 26, 2011
14. Midkoff, Neil. "Discovering Dorothy". home.earthlink.net. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009.
15. Kenrick, John (2003). "Theatre in NYC: History – Part IV". Musicals101.com.
16. Lubbock, Mark (1962). The Complete Book of Light Opera. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. pp. 807–8.
17. Atkinson, Brooks (April 2, 1941). "Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine Acted With Paul Lukas in the Leading Part" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
18. Kenrick, John. "History of The Musical Stage. 1950s I: When Broadway Ruled" musicals101.com, accessed December 2, 2012
19. Kenrick, John. "History of The Musical Stage.1960s II: Long Running Hits" musicals101.com, accessed December 2, 2012
20. Kenrick, John. "History of The Musical Stage. 1970s Part V: Change" musicals101.com, accessed December 2, 2012
21. Bloom, Ken. "Introduction" Broadway: Its History, People, and Places (2004) (books.google.com) Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-415-93704-3, p.xvi
22. "Productions Opening During the Season 1950–1951". InternetBroadwayDatabase.
23. "Productions Opening During the Season 1969–1970". InternetBroadwayDatabase. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013.
24. "Broadway 1950–1970" Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine mapsites.net, December 2, 2012
25. The name of the organization was "Save the Theatres, Inc., as noted in court papers. See Shubert Organization, Inc. v. Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York and Save the Theatres, Inc. Archived May 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, May 16, 1991, accessed March 10, 2013
26. "Proposal to Save Morosco and Helen Hayes Theaters". LHP Architects. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
27. Helen Epstein (March 1, 1996). Joe Papp: An American Life. ISBN 0-306-80676-2. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
28. "City Panel Near Vote on Save-The-Theaters Proposals". NYTimes.com. New York City. April 15, 1984. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
29. Corwin, Betty "Theatre on film and tape archive" Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts, accessed May 10, 2013
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31. Lynne B. Sagalyn (2003). Times Square Roulette: Remaking the City Icon. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-69295-3. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
32. Peter Bosselmann (August 28, 1985). Representation of Places – Imprimé: Reality and Realism in City Design. ISBN 978-0-520-91826-9. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
33. Paulson, Michael (October 9, 2020). "Broadway Will Remain Closed at Least Through May". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
34. "Broadway League Extends Shutdown Until June 2021". Spectrum News. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
35. Moynihan, Caitlin (October 8, 2020). "2020 Tony Awards Nominations Will Be Announced on October 15". Broadway.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
36. Paulson, Michael (May 5, 2021). "Broadway Is Reopening. But Not Until September". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
37. Blank, Matthew. "Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows" Playbill.com, August 21, 2011
38. Simonson, Robert. "When Did Broadway Shows Start Offering Sunday Performances?" Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 1, 2011
39. Healy, Patrick. "Time Is Short to See Tony Winners". The New York Times, June 14, 2010
40. Shenton, Mark. "Rewarded today, gone tomorrow..." Archived June 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. The Stage, June 17, 2010
41. "Local 802 Agreement". local802afm.org. p. 10. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
42. Playbill Staff. "Long Runs on Broadway" Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, November 20, 2011
43. "TKTS Discount Booths in NYC, Theatre Development Fund". www.tdf.org.
44. Blank, Matthew. "Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies" Archived May 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Playbill.com, March 1, 2011
45. Hetrick, Adam. Broadway League Announces 2012–13 Demographics; Young Theatregoers and International Tourists on the Rise" Archived January 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, January 9, 2014
46. "Society of London Theatre Box Office Figures, 2018" solt.co.uk, Date Published: March 1, 2019
47. Ginia Bellafante (December 27, 2019). "9 Ways New York Changed That We Didn't See Coming". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
48. "Tony Awards History" Archived May 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine tonyawards.com, accessed February 25, 2011
49. 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
50. "Venues at the Internet Broadway Database InternetBroadwayDatabase.com, accessed August 26, 2011
51. McPhee, Ryan. "Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu's Pass Over Is Heading to Broadway" Playbill.com, May 4, 2021
52. McPhee, Ryan. "Bob Dylan Musical Girl From the North Country to Play Broadway" Playbill.com, June 18, 2019
53. McPhee, Ryan. "London's Gender-Bent Company Will Play Broadway With Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone" Playbill.com, August 30, 2019
54. Peikert, Mark. "Jagged Little Pill Announces Broadway Dates". Playbill. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
55. McPhee, Ryan. "Isaac Powell, Shereen Pimentel, More Set for West Side Story Broadway Revival" Playbill.com, July 10, 2019
56. McPhee, Ryan. "Six Musical Announces New Broadway Opening Date" Playbill.com, May 6, 2021
57. "Tracy Letts' The Minutes and David Mamet's American Buffalo Plan to Open on Broadway in Spring 2021" Playbill.com, June 25, 2020
58. Meyer, Dan. "Broadway’s ‘Take Me Out’, ‘Clyde’s’ & ‘Between Riverside And Crazy’ Set Openings" deadline.com, May 7, 2021
59. Meyer, Dan. "Thoughts of a Colored Man Lands Broadway Theatre" Playbill.com, February 26, 2021
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61. Clement, Olivia (September 3, 2019). "The Lehman Trilogy to Open on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
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64. Meyer, Dan. "Manhattan Theatre Club Will Present Broadway Bow of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's Lackawanna Blues" Playbill.com, November 16, 2020
65. Clement, Olivia. "Mrs. Doubtfire Musical Sets Broadway Cast and Dates" Playbill.com, October 16, 2019
66. Gans, Andrew. "Caroline, or Change Will Open on Broadway in Fall 2021, 1776 Set for Spring 2022" Playbill.com, November 17, 2020
67. Gans, Andrew. "Lincoln Center Theater's Flying Over Sunset and Intimate Apparel Set New Dates for Fall 2021" Playbill.com, October 13, 2020
68. McPhee, Ryan. "The Music Man Revival, Starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, Sets New Dates in Light of Extended Broadway Shutdown" Playbill.com, October 9, 2020
69. Gans, Andrew. "David Byrne's American Utopia Sets 2021 Date for Broadway Return" Playbill.com, October 14, 2020
70. Meyer, Dan. "The Minutes Aims to Reopen in 2022, But Will Have to Find a New Home" Playbill.com, November 16, 2020
71. Meyer, Dan. "Broadway Revival of Plaza Suite, Starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Pushed to 2021" Playbill.com, May 12, 2020
72. McPhee, Ryan. "Sing Street Now Eyes 2021–2022 Broadway Bow" Playbill.com, August 3, 2020
73. Gans, Andrew. "Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew Heading to Broadway" Playbill.com, January 11, 2021

Further reading

• Ackerman, Alan. "Liberalism, Democracy, and the Twentieth-Century American Theater," American Literary History (2005) 17#4 pp. 765–780.
• Bordman, Gerald. American Musical Comedy (Oxford University Press, 1982)
• Bordman, Gerald. American Operetta (Oxford University Press, 1981)
• Knapp, Raymond. The American Musical and the Formation of National Identity (Princeton University Press, 2005)
• Middeke, Martin, et al. The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights (2013)
• Mordden, Ethan. Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre (2013)
• Roudane, Matthew Charles. American Drama Since 1960: A Critical History (1996)
• Shiach, Don. American Drama 1900–1990 (2000)
• Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater (WW Norton, 2010) 826 pp.
• Weales, Gerald Clifford. American drama since World War II (1962)
• White, Timothy R. Blue-Collar Broadway: The Craft and Industry of American Theater (2014)
• Wolf, Stacy. Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical (2010)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Broadway theatre.

• The Internet Broadway Database
• The Houses of Broadway, The New York Times, April 30, 2010