Broadway
1681 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, United States
Broadway Theatre, also known simply as Broadway, refers to the dramatic productions performed at 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London’s West End together represent the English-speaking world’s highest standard of commercial live theatre. Although the thoroughfare itself has become eponymous with the district and its set of 41 theatres, only three of the theaters are physically situated on Broadway itself (the Broadway Theatre, the Palace Theatre, and the Winter Garden Theatre), the rest are situated on the numbered cross streets that stretch one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street from the Nederlander Theatre, nor are they located on West 41st Street. Although there are variations, the word “Broadway Theatre” is usually reserved for locations with a seating capacity of at least 500 people, smaller theaters are referred to as off-Broadway (regardless of location), whereas very small locations (less than 100) are referred to off-Broadway, a concept that can also apply to non-commercial or avant-garde theatres, or performances performed outside traditional broadway theatre.
The Theater District is a renowned New York City tourist attraction. According to The Broadway League, the total attendance for the 2018–2019 season (which concluded May 26, 2019) was 14,768,254 and Broadway shows had US$ 1,829,312,140 in gross, with attendance up 9.5 percent, grosses up 10.3 percent, and weeks of play up 9.3 percent. The majority of Broadway shows are musicals. Historian Martin Shefter claims that “Broadway musicals, culminating in Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s productions, were immensely dominant elements of American popular culture” and helped make New York City the Western Hemisphere’s cultural capital.
Although there are several variations, open-ended shows typically have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, at 7 p.m. And 8:00 hrs. “Curtain,” he said. The “matinée” shows in the afternoon are at 2:00 p.m. Saturdays and Wednesdays and 3:00 p.m. Sundays. That makes for an eight week of success. Most shows don’t play on Monday on this schedule, so on that day the shows are said to be “empty”. The actors and crew of these shows appear to look at Sunday evening as their weekend until Monday evening. The presentation ceremony for the Tony award is usually held in June on a Sunday evening to suit this timetable.
Some shows have changed their Tuesday display time to 7:00 pm an hour earlier in recent years. The reason for this move was that because fewer visitors take in midweek events, attendance on Tuesday is more dependent on local patrons. The earlier curtain helps suburban patrons to get home after the show by a decent hour. Some shows change their performance schedules relatively frequently depending on the season, especially those created by Disney. This is done to increase their target audience’s exposure.
