You can’t have a Broadway play without a Broadway theater. Here are some behind-the-scenes facts about the big-money theaters that make it all happen.
• A “Broadway play” does not necessarily mean that a show is being produced at a theater on Broadway itself. Instead, it indicates the size of the theater. Broadway venues are the ones with the most seats: 500 or more. (Off-Broadway theaters have 100 to 499 seats; off-off-Broadway have fewer than 100.)
• All of the Broadway theaters happen to be in New York’s main theater district in Times Square, through which Broadway Avenue runs. One exception: the Vivian Beaumont Theater, which is at Lincoln Center.
• Only five theaters have a Broadway address. The rest are in the West 40s and 50s.
• Currently, there are 40 Broadway theaters. Most are large—30 of them seat more than 1,000.
• Largest Broadway theater: the Gershwin, with 1,935 seats. Smallest: the Helen Hayes Theater, with 597 seats.
• Of the 40 theaters, 17 are owned by the Shubert Organization, which owns more than 50 theaters in New York City…including the Shubert Theater.
• Total number of seats in all the Broadway theaters put together: 49,670. (Total number of seats in the new Yankee Stadium:52,325.)
• Oldest operating Broadway theaters: the Lyceum and the New Amsterdam, both built in 1903. In 1974 the Lyceum became the first Broadway theater to be named a historical landmark. The New Amsterdam is the earliest example of the Art Nouveau architectural style in New York City
• Latest Broadway theater to close: the Stephen Sondheim, in 2004, although a new theater was built on the site, and the name carried over.
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• Newest Broadway theater: In 2010, the Henry Miller Theatre was built directly behind the famous Studio 54 disco, which had been converted into its own theater in 1998. The first production on Studio 54’s stage: Cabaret.
• Like sports stadiums, many Broadway theaters have changed their names to reflect corporate sponsorship. Two current examples: the American Airlines Theater and the Cadillac Winter Garden Theatre.
• Other theaters are named after theatrical icons, such as musical composer Richard Rodgers, playwright Eugene O’Neill, actress Ethel Barrymore, and longtime New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson.
• The New Amsterdam is corporate-owned by Disney, for its stage-musical adaptations, but the company opted not to rename it because of the building’s historical importance.
“Being on Broadway is the modern equivalent of being a monk. I sleep a lot, eat a lot, and rest a lot.”
—Hugh Jackman
“Broadway has been very good to me. But then, I’ve been very good to Broadway.”
—Ethel Merman
“People wear shorts to the Broadway theater. There should be a law against that.”
—Stanley Tucci
“The only stuff I don’t like are Broadway musicals. I hate them. I don’t even like to talk about it. I can’t bear musicals.”
—Laurie Anderson
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