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Broadway theatre

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For other uses of "Broadway", see Broadway.
The Lion King at the New Amsterdam Theatre, 2003

Broadway theatre[1] is the most well known form of professional theatre to the American general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.

Broadway theatre, or a Broadway show, refers to a performance, usually a play or musical presented in one of the thirty-nine large professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. [2] The shows that reach Broadway and thrive there have historically been perceived as more mainstream and less cutting edge than those produced Off- and Off-Off-Broadway or in regional non-profit theatres such as the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Runs

Most Broadway shows are commercial productions intended to make a profit for the producers and investors ("backers"), and therefore meant to have open-ended runs, meaning that they may be presented for a varying number of weeks depending on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising, all of which determine ticket sales. However, some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season — Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company and Manhattan Theatre Club are the three non-profit theatre companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues.

Musicals on Broadway tend to have much longer runs than do "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.[3]

Schedule

Generally speaking, shows with open-ended runs all operate on the same schedule, with evening performances Tuesday through Saturday with an 8PM "curtain". Shows will also have afternoon "matinée" performances on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday; typically at 2 PM on Wednesdays and Saturdays and 3 PM on Sundays to round out an 8 show per week schedule. Broadway performances rarely occur at any time on Monday, and shows are said to be "dark" on that day. Therefore, actors and crew 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, many shows have moved their Tuesday show time an hour earlier to 7PM. The rationale for the move was that fewer tourists took in shows midweek, so the Tuesday crowd 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.

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 in screen roles only secondarily.

In the past, stage actors had a somewhat superior attitude towards other kinds of live performances, such as vaudeville and burlesque, which were felt to be tawdry, commercial and low-brow — they considered their own craft to be a higher and more artistic calling. This attitude is reflected in the term used to describe their form of stage performance: "legitimate theatre". (The abbreviated form "legit" is still used for live theatre by the entertainment industry newspaper Variety as part of its unique "slanguage.") [4] This rather condescending attitude also carried over to performers who worked in radio, film and television instead of in "the theatre", but this attitude is much less prevalent now, especially since film and television work pay so much better than almost all theatrical acting, even Broadway. The split between "legit" theatre and "variety" performances still exists, however, in the structure of the actors' unions: Actors' Equity represents actors in the legitimate theatre, and the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) represents them in performances without a "book" or through-storyline — although it's very rare for Broadway actors not to work under an Equity contract, since most plays and musicals come under that union's jurisdiction.

Almost all of the people involved with a Broadway show at every level are represented by unions or other protective, professional or trade organization. The actors, dancers, singers, chorus members and stage managers are members of Actors' Equity Association (AEA), musicians are represented by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and stagehands, dressers, hairdressers, designers, box office personnel and ushers all belong to various locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, also known as "the IA" or "IATSE" (pronounced "eye-ot-zee"). Directors and choreographers belong to the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSD&C), playwrights to the Dramatists Guild, and house managers, company managers and press agents belong to the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers (ATPAM). Casting directors (who tried in 2002-2004 to become part of ATPAM) is the last major components of Broadway's human infrastructure who are not unionized. (General managers, who run the business affairs of a show, and are frequently producers as well, are management and not labor.)

Producers and theatre owners

Most Broadway producers and theatre owners are members of 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 ("houses") 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 LiveEnt before it closed down its operations.) However, generally, shows that play in any of the Broadway houses are eligibile 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 17 theatres (it recently retained full ownership of the Music Box from the Irving Berlin Estate); The Nederlander Organization, which controls 9 theatres; and Jujamcyn which owns five.

Touring

In addition to long 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 & 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 weeks per city at a minimum. The Touring Broadway Awards, presented by The League of American Theatres and Producers, honor excellence in touring Broadway.

Audience

Seeing a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York, and Broadway theatres generates billions of dollars annually. The TKTS booths — one in Duffy Square (47th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue) and one in Lower Manhattan (199 Water Street — Corner of Front & John Streets) — sell same-day tickets for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at a discount ranging from 10% to 50%. This service helps sell seats that would otherwise go empty, and makes seeing a show in New York more affordable. Many Broadway theatres also offer special student rates, same-day "rush" tickets, or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theatres are as full, and their "grosses" as high, as possible.

Some theatregoers prefer the more experimental, challenging, and intimate performances possible in smaller theatres, which are referred to as Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway (though some may be physically located on or near Broadway). An example of this would be the hit musical Spring Awakening, which began its run Off-Broadway in a small, intimate environment, and continued onto Broadway, where it still gives the similar, intimate experience. 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 defines Broadway theatre.

Total Broadway attendance in 2005 was just under 12 million. [5] This was approximately the same as London's West End theatre. [6] The attendance rose 4.1 percent from the previous year and it also marked the first time ever that attendance approached the 12 million mark.

Tony Awards

Broadway shows and artists are honored every June when the Antoinette Perry Awards (Tony Awards) are given by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers. The Tony is Broadway's most prestigious award, the importance of which has increased since the annual broadcast on television began. Celebrities are often chosen to host the show, like Hugh Jackman and Rosie O'Donnell, in addition to celebrity presenters. While some critics have felt that the show should focus on celebrating the stage, many others recognize the positive impact that famous faces lend to selling more tickets and bringing more people to the theatre. The performances from Broadway musicals on the telecast have also been cited as vital to the survival of many Broadway shows. Many theatre people, notably critic Frank Rich, dismiss the Tony awards as little more than a commercial for the limited world of Broadway, which after all can only support a maximum of two dozen shows a season, and constantly call for the awards to embrace off-Broadway theatre as well. (Other awards given to New York theatrical productions, such as the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Circle Critics Award, are not limited to Broadway productions, and honor shows that are presented throughout the city.)

List of Broadway theatres

  • 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 play listed is the last one that closed (shows marked with closing date)
Theatre Current show Address Capacity Opening date
Ambassador Theatre Chicago 219 West 49th Street 1088 1996-11-14
American Airlines Theatre Pygmalion 227 West 42nd Street 740 2007-10-18 *
Brooks Atkinson Theatre Grease 256 West 47th Street 1069 2007-08-19
Ethel Barrymore Theatre November 243 West 47th Street 1058 2008-01-17 *
Belasco Theatre Lone Star Love 111 West 44th Street 1016 2007-12-03 *
Vivian Beaumont Theatre (at Lincoln Center) Cymbeline 150 West 65th Street 1080 2007-12-02 *
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Rock 'n' Roll 242 West 45th Street 1078 2007-11-04 *
Biltmore Theater Mauritius 261 West 47th Street 650 2007-10-04 *
Booth Theatre The Seafarer 222 West 45th Street 766 2007-11-15 *
Broadhurst Theatre Les Misérables 235 West 44th Street 1156 2006-11-09
Broadway Theatre The Color Purple 1681 Broadway 1761 2005-12-01
Circle in the Square Theatre The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 235 West 50th Street 620 2005-05-02
Cort Theatre The Homecoming 138 West 48th Street 1082 2007-12-09 *
George Gershwin Theatre Wicked 222 West 51st Street 1933 2003-10-30
John Golden Theatre Avenue Q 252 West 45th Street 804 2003-07-31
Helen Hayes Theatre Xanadu 240 West 44th Street 595 2007-07-10
Hilton Theatre Young Frankenstein 213 West 42nd Street 1815 2007-11-08 *
Al Hirschfeld Theatre Curtains 302 West 45th Street 1292 2007-03-22
Imperial Theatre August: Osage County 249 West 45th Street 1443 2007-11-20 *
Walter Kerr Theatre A Bronx Tale 218 West 48th Street 945 2007-10-25 *
Longacre Theatre Talk Radio (closed 2007-06-24) 240 West 47th Street 1091 2007-03-11
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Little Mermaid 205 West 46th Street 1489 2007-12-06 *
Lyceum Theatre Is He Dead? 149 West 45th Street 922 2007-11-29 *
Majestic Theatre The Phantom of the Opera 247 West 44th Street 1645 1988-01-26
Marquis Theatre The Drowsy Chaperone 1535 Broadway 1611 2006-05-01
Minskoff Theatre The Lion King 1515 Broadway 1597 1997-11-13
Music Box Theatre The Farnsworth Invention 239 West 45th Street 1009 2007-11-14 *
Nederlander Theatre Rent 208 West 41st Street 1232 1996-04-29
New Amsterdam Theatre Mary Poppins 214 West 42nd Street 1745 2006-11-16
Eugene O'Neill Theatre Spring Awakening 230 West 49th Street 1110 2006-12-10
Palace Theatre Legally Blonde 1564 Broadway 1740 2007-04-29
Richard Rodgers Theatre Cyrano de Bergerac 226 West 46th Street 1319 2007-11-01 *
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre A Chorus Line 236 West 45th Street 1079 2006-10-05
Sam S. Shubert Theatre Spamalot 225 West 44th Street 1460 2005-03-17
Neil Simon Theatre Hairspray 250 West 52nd Street 1445 2002-08-15
St. James Theatre Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 246 West 44th Street 1623 2007-11-01 *
Studio 54 The Ritz 254 West 54th Street 920 2007-10-11 *
August Wilson Theatre Jersey Boys 245 West 52nd Street 1263 2005-11-06
Winter Garden Theatre Mamma Mia! 1634 Broadway 1526 2001-10-18

Notes and references

  1. ^ Although theater is the preferred spelling in the U.S. (see further at American and British English spelling differences#-re / -er), the majority of venues, performers, and trade groups for live dramatic presentations use the spelling theatre.
  2. ^ A2C2.org
  3. ^ News.BBC.co.uk
  4. ^ Variety.com
  5. ^ NYTimes.com
  6. ^ TimesOnline.co.uk


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