1. Broadway Theaters
Broadway is a street located in Manhattan, New York, and is worldwide known as
the heart of the American theatre industry. According to Zachary Pincus-Roth
(2008), there are 40 theaters located in the Theater District and they are
considered to “represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-
speaking world”. To know more about Broadway Theaters it is important to study
how the first theaters started to appear in New York, how were the first musicals
and how Broadway works today.
New York started to have theaters in 1750, when the actors and managers
Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a theatre company at the Nassau
Street. They presented Shakespeare’s play and ballad operas (Kenrick, 2011).
Two years later, William Hallam sent a company of 12 British actors. At first they
performed in theaters in Virginia but then they moved to New York performing
ballad operas. During the Revolutionary War theaters were suspended in New
York, but were reopened 1798, after this period theaters like Park Theater and the
Bowery Theatre were built (Kenrick, 2011). According to Robert Snyder (1995)
when the Astor Place Theatre opened in 1847, a big disturbance started between
the social classes that visited the theatre. After this riot entertainment in New York
City was divided along class lines. Operas were enjoyed for the upper middle and
upper class, minstrel shows and melodramas were enjoyed for the middle class
and variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class.
A musical is a form of theatre that combines songs, spoken dialogues, acting and
dance. The first musical is considered to be The Black Crook by Charles M. Barras
in 1866, which premiered in Niblo’s Garden on Broadway. The play was five and a
half hours long and was performed 474 times. The same year The Black
Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first musical comedy. These
comedy musicals were about the everyday life of lower classes (The First Hundred
Years of Musicals, 1987).
Most of the shows have evening performances Tuesdays through Saturdays
starting at 7pm or 8pm. The afternoon performances are at 2pm on Wednesdays
and Saturdays and at 3pm on Sundays. On this schedule must plays are not
performed on Mondays and the shows and the theaters are said to be “dark” on
that day (“Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows”, 2011).
Actors from movies or television are frequently performing in Broadway shows or
are used to replace actors. However, there are still beginner actors. Some actors
and actresses that have performed on Broadway are: Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth
Taylor, Julie Andrews and Marlon Brando. (The New York Times, 2010).
2. Most of the producers and owners are member of the Broadway League its
members include operators, producers, presenters, and general managers. This
league was founded in 1930 with the purpose of promote common interests and
eliminate the resale of tickets. The League's first successful act was the writing of
the Theater Ticket Code which later became a state law. (The Broadway League,
2010).
The TKTS sell the tickets for many Broadway and Off-Broadway shows at a
discount of 25%, 35% or 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Duffy Square, Time
Square, Lower Manhattan and in Brooklyn. Some of the prices are: The Lion King
$89, Wicked $76, The Phantom of the Opera $39, Mamma mia! $49
(Broadway.com, 2013).
The most popular Broadway Theatres are: Winter Garden, New Amsterdam,
Imperial, Majestic, Gerald Schoenfeld, Broadway, Richard Rodgers, Palace,
Foxwoods and Helen Hayes (What are the most popular Broadway Theaters, nd.).
References:
Pincus-Roth, Z. (2008). Broadway or Off-Broadway Part I. Retrieved from
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114923-ASK-PLAYBILLCOM-Broadway-or-
Off-BroadwayPart-I
Kenrick, J. (2011). Theater in NYC: A Brief History. Retrieved from
http://www.musicals101.com/bwaythhist1.htm
Blank, M. (2011). Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows. Retrieved from
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/110105-Weekly-Schedule-of-Current-
Broadway-Shows
Healy, P (2010). The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2010//06/15/theater/theaterspecial/15tony.html
The Broadway League - The Official Website of the Broadway Theatre Industry.
(2010). Retrieved from http://www.broadwayleague.com/
Broadway.com – The Official Website. (2013). Retrieved from
http://ppc.broadway.com/
Devenport, K. (2013). What are the most popular Broadway Theaters? Retrieved
from http://www.theproducersperspective.com/
