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Anoff-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with aseating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller thanBroadway theatres, but larger thanoff-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer than 100.
An "off-Broadway production" is a production of aplay,musical, orrevue that appears in such a venue and adheres to relatedtrade union and other contracts.[1] Some shows that premiere off-Broadway are subsequently produced on Broadway.[2][3]
The term originally referred to any venue, and its productions, on a street intersectingBroadway inMidtown Manhattan'sTheater District, the hub of the American theatre industry. It later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in Manhattan with aseating capacity of at least 100, but not more than 499, or a production that appears in such a venue and adheres to relatedtrade union and other contracts.[1]
Previously, regardless of the size of the venue, a theatre was considered a Broadway (rather than off-Broadway) house if it was within the "Broadway Box", extending from 40th Street north to 54th Street and fromSixth Avenue west toEighth Avenue, includingTimes Square and West42nd Street. This change to the contractual definition of "off-Broadway" benefited theatres satisfying the 499-seat criterion because of the lower minimum required salary forActors' Equity performers at off-Broadway theatres as compared with the salary requirements of the union for Broadway theatres.[4] The adoption of the 499-seat criterion occurred after a one-day strike in January 1974.[5] Examples of off-Broadway theatres within the Broadway Box are theLaura Pels Theatre andThe Theater Center.
The off-Broadway movement started in the 1950s as a reaction to the perceived commercialism of Broadway and provided less expensive venues for shows that have often employed future Broadway artists. An early success wasCircle in the Square Theatre's 1952 production ofSummer and Smoke byTennessee Williams.[6] According to theatre historians Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik, off-Broadway offered a new outlet for "poets, playwrights, actors, songwriters, and designers. ... The first great Off-Broadway musical was the 1954 revival" ofThe Threepenny Opera, which proved that off-Broadway productions could be financially successful.[7] CriticJohn Gassner argued at the time, however, that "Broadway is just as eclectic – and just as footless – as 'Off-Broadway'."[8]Theatre Row, on West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan, is a concentration of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatres. It was developed in the mid-1970s and modernized in 2002.[9]
Many off-Broadway shows have had subsequent runs on Broadway, including such musicals asHair,Godspell,Little Shop of Horrors,Sunday in the Park with George,Rent,Grey Gardens,Urinetown,Avenue Q,The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,Rock of Ages,In the Heights,Spring Awakening,Next to Normal,Hedwig and the Angry Inch,Fun Home,Hamilton,Dear Evan Hansen,Hadestown, andKimberly Akimbo.[3][10] In particular, two that became Broadway hits,Grease andA Chorus Line, encouraged other producers to premiere their shows off-Broadway.[7] Plays that have moved from off-Broadway houses to Broadway includeDoubt,I Am My Own Wife,Bridge & Tunnel,The Normal Heart,Oh, Mary!, andCoastal Disturbances. Other productions, such asStomp,Blue Man Group,Altar Boyz,Perfect Crime,Forbidden Broadway,Nunsense,Naked Boys Singing,Bat Boy: The Musical, andI Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change have had runs of many years off-Broadway, never moving to Broadway.The Fantasticks, the longest-running musical in theatre history, spent its original 42-year run off-Broadway from 1960 to 2002 and had another off-Broadway run from 2006 to 2017.[11]
Off-Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for the following awards: theNew York Drama Critics' Circle Award, theOuter Critics Circle Award, theDrama Desk Award, theObie Award (presented since 1956 byThe Village Voice), theLucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers), and theDrama League Award. Although off-Broadway shows are not eligible forTony Awards, an exception was made in 1956 (before the rules were changed), whenLotte Lenya wonBest Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the off-Broadway production ofThe Threepenny Opera.[12]
Capacity is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at theInternet Off-Broadway Database.
| Theatre | Address | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 47th Street Theatre | W. 47th St.(No. 304) | 196 |
| 59E59 Theaters, Theatre A | E. 59th St.(No. 59) | 196 |
| 777 Theatre | 8th Ave.(No. 777) | 158 |
| Abrons Arts Center, Playhouse Theatre | Grand St.(No. 466) | 300 |
| Actors Temple Theatre | W. 47th St.(No. 339) | 199 |
| Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre | W. 42nd St.(No. 480) | 191 |
| Anne L. Bernstein Theater | W. 50th St.(No. 210) | 199 |
| Anspacher Theatre | Lafayette St.(No. 425) | 275 |
| Astor Place Theatre | Lafayette St.(No. 434) | 298 |
| Asylum NYC | E. 24th St.(No. 123) | 150[13] |
| Barrow Street Theatre | Barrow St.(No. 27) | 199 |
| Cherry Lane Theatre | Commerce St.(No. 38) | 179 |
| Claire Tow Theater | W. 65th St.(No. 150) | 112[14] |
| Classic Stage Company | E. 13th St.(No. 136) | 199 |
| Daryl Roth Theatre | E. 15th St.(No. 101) | 299 |
| The Duke on 42nd Street | W. 42nd St.(No. 229) | 199 |
| Ellen Stewart Theater, La MaMa | E. 4th St.(No. 66) | 175[15] |
| Gramercy Arts Theatre | E. 27th St.(No. 138) | 140[16] |
| The Gym at Judson | Thompson St.(No. 243) | 200 |
| Irene Diamond Stage, Signature Theatre | W. 42nd St.(No. 480) | 294 |
| Irish Repertory Theatre | W. 22nd St.(No. 132) | 148[17] |
| Jerome Robbins Theatre | W. 37th St.(No. 450) | 238 |
| Jerry Orbach Theater | W. 50th St.(No. 210) | 199 |
| John Cullum Theatre | W. 54th St.(No. 314) | 140 |
| Laura Pels Theatre | W. 46th St.(No. 111) | 425 |
| Linda Gross Theatre | W. 20th St.(No. 336) | 199 |
| Loreto Theater, Sheen Center | Bleeker St.(No. 18) | 273[18] |
| Lucille Lortel Theatre | Christopher St.(No. 121) | 299 |
| LuEsther Theatre | Lafayette St.(No. 425) | 160 |
| Lynn Redgrave Theatre | Bleecker St.(No. 45) | 199 |
| Manhattan Movement & Arts Center | W. 60th St.(No. 248) | 180 |
| Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater | W. 63rd St.(No. 5) | 145[19] |
| Martinson Theatre | Lafayette St.(No. 425) | 199 |
| McGinn/Cazale Theater | Broadway(No. 2162) | 108 |
| Minetta Lane Theatre | Minetta Lane(No. 18) | 391 |
| Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater | W. 65th St.(No. 150) | 299 |
| New Victory Theater | W. 42nd St.(No. 209) | 499 |
| New World Stages, Stage 1 | W. 50th St.(No. 340) | 499 |
| New World Stages, Stage 2 | 350 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 3 | 499 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 4 | 350 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 5 | 199 | |
| New York City Center Stage I | W. 55th St.(No. 131) | 300 |
| New York City Center Stage II | 150 | |
| New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre 79 | E. 4th St.(No. 79) | 199[20] |
| Newman Theatre | Lafayette St.(No. 425) | 299 |
| Newman Mills Theatre | W. 52nd St.(No. 511) | 245[21] |
| Orpheum Theatre | Second Ave.(No. 126) | 347 |
| Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons | W. 42nd St.(No. 416) | 128 |
| Players Theatre | MacDougal St.(No. 115) | 248 |
| Playwrights Horizons Mainstage | W. 42nd St.(No. 416) | 198 |
| The Shed (Kenneth C. Griffin Theater) | 545 W. 30th St. | 500[22] |
| Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre | W. 42nd St.(No. 480) | 191 |
| SoHo Playhouse | Vandam St.(No. 15) | 178[23] |
| St. Clement's Theatre | W. 46th St.(No. 423) | 161[24] |
| St. Luke's Theatre | W. 46th St.(No. 308) | 178 |
| Stage 42 | W. 42nd St.(No. 422) | 499 |
| Studio Seaview[25] | W. 43rd St.(No. 305) | 296 |
| Susan & Ronald Frankel Theatre | W. 52nd St.(No. 511) | 100[26] |
| Theater 555 | W. 42nd St.(No. 555) | 130[27] |
| Theatre at St. Clement's Church | W. 46th St.(No. 423) | 151 |
| Theatre at St. Jeans | E. 76th St.(No. 150) | 204 |
| Theatre Three at Theatre Row | W. 42nd St.(No. 410) | 199 |
| Triad Theatre | W. 72nd St.(No. 158) | 130 |
| Vineyard Theatre | E. 15th St.(No. 108) | 132 |
| Westside Theatre, Downstairs Theatre | W. 43rd St.(No. 407) | 249 |
| Westside Theatre, Upstairs Theatre | 270 |
No matter what else you may have heard, the distinction is mainly one of contracts. There are so many theatres of so many different sizes served by so many different unions in New York that this three-tiered Broadway/Off-Broadway/Off-Off-Broadway system evolved to determine who would get paid what. ... Most "Broadway" theatres are not on Broadway, the street. A few theatres on Broadway, the street, are considered "Off-Broadway."
