History of Broadway Timeline

Broadway's first 'long-run' musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857.

New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keene's 'musical burletta' The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances.

Image source: Laura Keene

Booth played Hamlet for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, with the run ending just a few months before his brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. He would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre.

Image source: Edwin Booth

The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866.

Image source: The Black Crook

Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (The Mulligan Guard Picnic) and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham.

Image source: Edward Harrigan

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas, beginning with H.M.S. Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York by the authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions.

Image source: H.M.S. Pinafore

Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed.

Image source: Tony Pastor

British comic operas were imitated in New York by American productions such as Reginald Dekoven's Robin Hood (1891) and John Philip Sousa's El Capitan (1896), along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits.

Image source: El Capitan (operetta)

Hoyt's show A Trip to Chinatown became Broadway's long-run champion when it surpassed Adonis and its 603 total performances in 1893, holding the stage for 657 performances.

Image source: A Trip to Chinatown

In 1896, theatre owners Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger formed a powerful syndicate that controlled bookings for theatres across America.

A Trip to Coontown was the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by African Americans in a Broadway theatre, inspired largely by the routines of the minstrel shows, followed by Clorindy: The Origin of the Cakewalk (1898) and In Dahomey (1902).

Victor Herbert produced intimate musical plays with modern settings as well as his string of famous operettas including The Fortune Teller (1898), Babes in Toyland (1903), Mlle. Modiste (1905), The Red Mill (1906), and Naughty Marietta (1910).

Image source: Victor Herbert

A few very successful British musicals continued to achieve great success in New York, including Florodora in 1900–01.

Image source: Florodora

George M. Cohan scored major Broadway hits with Little Johnny Jones (1904), 45 Minutes From Broadway (1906), and George Washington Jr., helping define the American musical.

Image source: George M. Cohan

In August 1919, the Actors' Equity Association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions, leading to a landmark strike that transformed actors' working conditions.

Image source: Actors' Equity Association

Chinatown was surpassed by the musical Irene (1919) in 1921 as the longest-running Broadway musical, and even earlier, in March 1920, by Lightnin' (1918) as the longest-running Broadway show.

Image source: Lightnin' (play)

Lightnin' was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abie's Irish Rose in 1925.

Image source: Abie's Irish Rose

Leaving comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking drama a step forward, Show Boat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, integrating story, music, and dance in a groundbreaking way.

Image source: Show Boat

In 1930, Theatre Guild's production of Roar, China! was Broadway's first play with a majority Asian cast.

The most successful play of its era was Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine, which opened in April 1941.

Image source: Watch on the Rhine

After the lean years of the Great Depression, Broadway theatre entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit Oklahoma!, which ran for 2,212 performances.

Image source: Oklahoma

Broadway productions and artists are honored by the annual Antoinette Perry Awards, commonly called the Tony Awards, given by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League, first presented in 1947.

Image source: Tony Awards

Other awards given to Broadway productions include the Outer Critics Circle Award, initially presented in 1950, honoring outstanding achievements in Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre.

The Drama Desk Award has been presented since 1955, recognizing excellence in New York theatre across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions.

Image source: Drama Desk Awards

The importance of the Tony Awards increased since 1967 when the awards presentation show began to be broadcast on national television.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a worsening of the Times Square area and a drop in legitimate shows: 94 productions opened in the 1950–51 season versus 59 in 1969–70. In the 1920s there were 70–80 theaters; by 1969 only 36 remained.

In early 1982, Joe Papp, who established The Public Theater, led the 'Save the Theatres' campaign to preserve the historic Broadway/Times Square theatre district.

Image source: Joseph Papp

At Papp's behest, in July 1982, a bill was introduced in the 97th Congress entitled 'H.R.6885, A bill to designate the Broadway/Times Square Theatre District in the City of New York as a national historic site.'

In December 1983, Save the Theatres prepared 'The Broadway Theater District, a Preservation Development and Management Plan,' demanding landmark designation for each theater in the district.

The August Wilson Theatre, owned by Jujamcyn, had been renamed after Black playwright August Wilson in 2005, honoring his legacy on Broadway.

Image source: August Wilson Theatre

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.

Image source: The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, Broadway theaters closed on March 12, 2020, shuttering 16 shows that were playing or were in the process of opening. The shutdown was extended multiple times into 2021.

Image source: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts

The 74th Tony Awards were postponed due to the pandemic; nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, and the ceremony took place on September 26, 2021.

Image source: 74th Tony Awards

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most sectors of New York would have restrictions lifted on May 19, 2021, but Broadway could not immediately resume. He set a target that Broadway theaters should reopen on September 14.

Springsteen on Broadway became the first full-length show to resume performances, opening on June 26, 2021, to 1,721 vaccinated patrons at the St. James Theatre.

Image source: Springsteen on Broadway

On July 30, 2021, it was announced that all Broadway theaters required attendees aged 12+ to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination. Effective December 14, guests ages 5–11 needed at least one shot until January 29, 2022, when they had to be fully vaccinated.

Pass Over had its first preview on August 4 and opened on August 22, 2021, becoming the first new play to open on Broadway since the pandemic shutdown.

Hadestown and Waitress were the first musicals to resume performances on September 2, 2021, marking the return of full-scale musical productions to Broadway.

Image source: Hadestown

In 2022–2023, the first full season since the pandemic, Broadway sold 12.3 million tickets, 35% to local residents and 17% to international visitors. Shows sold about US$1.54 billion in tickets in both the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 seasons.

The Shuberts announced in March 2022 that the Cort Theatre, which was under renovation at the time, would be renamed after actor James Earl Jones; it was rededicated in September 2022.

Image source: James Earl Jones Theatre

In June 2022, the Nederlanders announced that the Brooks Atkinson Theatre would be renamed after Lena Horne; the Lena Horne Theatre was rededicated that November.

Image source: Lena Horne Theatre

The Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway on April 16, 2023, soon after celebrating its 35th anniversary, after a total of 13,981 performances.

While existing musicals and revivals continued with acceptable returns post-2021, most newly-created musicals have struggled. As of January 2026, just four post-2021 musicals reported profits: MJ, & Juliet, Six, and The Outsiders.

The most recent Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 7, 2026, continuing the tradition of honoring excellence on Broadway.