Broadway is the English name derived from “brede weg”, the name given to the oldest north-south trade route in New York by its early Dutch settlers. This road actually runs for 13 miles through Manhattan, starting at Bowling Green, a further 2 miles through the Bronx and another 18 miles through Westchester Country.
“Broadway” is also the name given to theatres with over 500 seats between 40th Street and 54th Street, and from West of 6th Avenue to East of Eighth Avenue, including Times Square. There are 41 theatres in this area but only 4 of them are actually located on Broadway itself. Along with London’s West End, this area produces the best quality live theatre in the English-speaking world.
New York’s Broadway shows attract more than 13 million spectators annually, 63% of the spectators are tourists and seeing a show in this famous theatre district is on many travelers’ bucket lists. Phantom of the Opera is the longest running show on Broadway, opening in 1988 it is now in its fourth decade. Chicago is the second longest running performance, the original production opened in 1975 and following a break in 1977 it started running again in 1996. The award for the highest grossing production on Broadway goes to Lion King which has grossed an incredible $1.6bn!
Image by Denys Nevozhai/Unsplash
Tips
- Decent seats at some shows such as Hamilton can cost over $300 and get booked up months in advance. If you’re not so fussed about seeing a particular show, there are options to get cheaper Broadway tickets:
o The TKTS Booth under the red steps in Duffy Square sells tickets on the day which are discounted by up to 50%.
o Theatre box offices sometimes sell tickets on the day, from opening (usually 10am), which can be as cheap as $20.
o Apps such as TodayTix (discounted tickets up to a month in advance), BroadwayBox, TheaterMania and GoldStar offer deals.
Tickets on the day may be singles, standing only or restricted view seats, but are often very cheap, so get there early if you’re interested! - Shows generally take place 8 times a week, from Tuesday to Sunday with an additional matinee performance on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Therefore, it is said that Broadway is “dark” on Mondays, although there are a few exceptions to this.
Highlights
- Interesting fact: There’s no ‘I’ row in Broadway, only rows A-H and J-Z are present. Too many people got annoyed when they realised their seat was not row 1 but actually row 9!