I Can’t Sleep - Broadway Theater | Can’t Sleep? Let’s Go Behind the Curtain

Episode Date: September 30, 2026

Broadway theater grew from a collection of New York stages into one of the most recognizable forms of commercial theater in the world. This episode explores the history of Broadway, how the Theater District developed, what officially makes a theater a Broadway theater, and how productions make their way from an idea to the stage. Along the way, you’ll learn about musicals, plays, landmark venues, long-running shows, and the awards and traditions that turned a few blocks of Manhattan into a theatrical institution with an impressive number of people singing at full volume. It’s steady and consistent, with no whispering and no sudden changes, just enough to give your mind something to follow as you wind down. Happy sleeping! — Ad-free episodes: https://icantsleep.supportingcast.fm/Have a topic in mind? https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/request-a-topic Read with permission from Broadway theatre, Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_theatre), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New from Nespresso. Blend wellness into your coffee routine with the coffee plus range infused with functional benefits. Choose the coffee you love with added B vitamins, like coffee plus B12 to help support immune function, and coffee plus B6 to keep your day moving. Or go with the flow and choose ginseng delight. Our new double espresso with ginseng extract. Whatever lies ahead, don't change your morning. Let your morning change you.

Discover Coffee Plus on Nispresso.com. Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about Broadway theater. In communities across Canada, hourly Amazon employees earn an average of over $26 an hour. Employees also have the opportunity to grow their skills and their paycheck by enrolling in free skills training program, for in-demand fields like software development and information technology. Learn more at aboutamazon.ca. Thank you to Amy for sponsoring today's episode.

Broadway theater is a theater genre that consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seeds in the theater district and, Lincoln Center along Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the Broadway thoroughfare is eponymous with the district, it is closely identified with Times Square. Only three theaters are located on Broadway itself. The Broadway Theater, Palace Theater, and Winter Garden Theatre.

The rest are located on the numbered cross streets extending from the Naderlander Theater one block south of Times Square on West 41st Street, north along either side of Broadway to 53rd Street, and Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street. While exceptions exist, the term Broadway Theater is used predominantly to describe venues with seating capacities of at least 500 people.

Smaller theaters in New York City are referred to as off-Broadway, regardless of location, while very small venues with fewer than 100 seeds are called Off-Off-Off Broadway. A term that can also apply to non-commercial avant-garde or production. held outside of traditional theater venues. The theater district is an internationally prominent tourist attraction in New York City. According to the Broadway League, shows on Broadway sold tickets worth about $1.54 billion in the 2022-203 season, repeating the feat the 2020-2024 season.

About 12.3 million people attend per season. per season. Most Broadway shows are musicals. Historian Martin Schaefter argues that Broadway musicals, culminating in the productions of Rogers and Hammerstein, became enormously influential forms of American popular culture and contributed to making New York City the cultural capital of the world. The Tony Awards, presented annually by the American Theater Wing, and the Broadway League, recognize excellence in live Broadway theater, and are the American theater industry's highest honor.

New York City's first significant theater was established in the mid-18th century around 1750, when actor-managers, Walter Murray and Thomas Keene established a resident theater company at the theater on Nussie, South Street in Lower Manhattan, which held about 280 people. They presented William Shakespeare's plays and ballad operas, such as the Beggars Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of 12 actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Louis as their manager. He established a theater in Williamsburg, Virginia, and opened with the merchant event.

and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad farces like Damon and Philida. During the Revolutionary War, theater was suspended in New York City, but after the war's end, theater resumed in 1798, when the 2000-seat Park Theater was built on Chatham Street on present-day

Park Row. A second major theater, Bowery Theater, opened in 1826, followed by others. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in Lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premier night spots. The 3,000-seat theater presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmo's Opera House opened and presented opera for only four seasons, before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burden's Theater. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847. The plays of William Shakespeare were free. frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor

Edwin Booth, who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tomaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, and Charles Fetcher. Theater in New York moved from downtown, gradually to Midtown Manhattan. beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate. At the beginning of the 19th century, the area that now comprises the theater district was owned by a handful of families and comprised a few farms. In 1836, Mayor Cornelius Lawrence opened 42nd Street

and invited Manhattanites to enjoy the pure, clean air. Close to 60 years later, theatrical entrepreneur Oscar Hammerstein I, built the iconic Victoria Theatre on West 42nd Street. Broadway's first long-run musical was a 50 performance hit called The Elves in 1857. In 1870, the heart of Broaddard, was in Union Square.

And by the end of the century, many theaters were near Madison Square. Theaters arrived in the Times Square area in the early 1900s, and the Broadway theaters consolidated there after a large number were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London. But Laura Keens' musical Burletta, The Seven Sisters, shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. The first theater piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, heading dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York on September 20, 12, 1866. The production was five and a half hours long. But despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking

474 performances. The same year, the Black Domino, between you, me, and the Post, was the first show to call itself a musical comedy. Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theater one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hard, produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law, David Brom. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and, street lighting made for safer travel at night. The number of potential patrons for the growing number of theaters increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences,

leading to better profits and improved production values. Gilbert and Sullivan's family-friendly comic opera hits, beginning with HMS Pinafore in 1878, were imported to New York by the authors and also in numerous unlicensed productions. They were imitated in New York by American productions, such as Reginald Dekevon's Robin Hood, 1891, and John Phillips Husses El Capitan, 1896, along with operas, ballets, and other British and European hits.

In 1896, theater owners, Mark Claw, and A.L. Erlinger, formed the theatrical syndicate which controlled almost every legitimate theatre in the u s for the next sixteen years however smaller vaudeville and variety houses proliferated and off broadway was well established by the end of the nineteenth century new york runs continued to be relatively short with a few exceptions compared with london runs until world war one A few very successful British musicals continue to achieve great success in New York, including Flora in 1901. In the early years of the 20th century, translations of popular late 19th century continental operas were joined by the Princess Theatre shows of the 1910s

by writers such as P.G. Woodhouse, Guy Bolton, and Harry B. Smith. beginning with the red mill broadway shows installed electric signs outside the theaters since colored bulbs burned out too quickly white lights were used and broadway was nicknamed the great white way in august nineteen nineteen the actors equity association demanded a standard contract for all professional productions after a strike show down all the theaters, the producers were forced to agree. By the 1920s, the Schubert brothers had risen to take over the majority of the theaters from the Erlanger Syndicate. During this time, the play Lightning by Winchell Smith and Frank Bacon became the first Broadway show to reach 700 performances. From then it would go on to become the first show to reach 1,000 performances.

Lightning was the longest-running Broadway show until being overtaken in performance totals by Abbey's Irish Rose in 1925. The motion picture mounted a challenge to the stage. At first, films were silent and presented only limited competition. By the end of the 1920s, films like the jazz singer

were presented with synchronized sound, and critics wondered if cinema would replace live theater altogether. While live vaudeville could not compete with these inexpensive films that featured vaudeville stars and major comedians of the day, other theaters survived. The musicals of the Roaring 20s, borrowing from vaudeville, music hall and other light entertainment tended to ignore plot in favor of emphasizing star actors and actresses,

big dance routines, and popular songs. Florence Seekfield produced annual spectacular song and dance reviews on Broadway, featuring extravagant sets and elaborate costumes, but there is little to tie the various numbers together. other. Leaving these comparatively frivolous entertainments behind and taking the drama a step forward, showboat premiered on December 27, 1927, at the Zeigfeld Theater. It represented a complete integration of book and score with dramatic themes, as told through the music, dialogue, setting, and movement, woven together more seamlessly than in previous musicals.

it ran for five hundred and seventy-two performances after the lean years of the great depression broadway theater had entered a golden age with the blockbuster hit oklahoma in nineteen forty three which ran for two thousand two hundred and twelve performances according to john kenrick's writings on broadway musicals every season saw new stage musicals send songs songs to the top of the charts. Public demand, a booming economy, and abundant creative talent kept Broadway hopping. To this day, the shows of the 1950s formed the core of the musical theater repertoire. Kenrick notes that the late 1960s marked a time of cultural upheaval. All those changes would prove painful for many, including those behind the scenes. as well as those in the audience.

Of the 1970s, Kenrick writes, Just when it seemed that traditional book musicals were back in style, a decade ended with critics and audiences giving mixed signals. Many Broadway productions struggle due to low attendance rates, which resulted in perceived mediocrity among such plays. For this reason, the Theatre Development Fund, was created, with the purpose of assisting productions with high cultural value that likely

would struggle without subsidization, by offering tickets to those plays to consumers at reduced prices. In early 1982, Joe Pab, the theatrical producer and director who established the public theater, led the Save the Theater's campaign. It was a not-for-profit group, supported by the actors' equity union, to save the theater buildings in the neighborhood from demolition by a moneyed Manhattan development interest. PAP provided resources, recruiting a publicist, and celebrated actors, and provided audio, lighting, and technical crews for the effort.

Although there are some exceptions, shows, with open-ended runs generally have evening performances Tuesday through Saturday, with a 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. curtain. The afternoon matinee performances are at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. This makes for an 8-performance week. On this schedule, most shows do not play on Monday, and the shows and theaters are said to be dark on that day. The actors and the crew in these shows tend to regard Sunday evening through Monday evening as their weekend. The Tony Award presentation ceremony is usually held on a Sunday evening in June to fit this schedule. In recent years, some shows have moved their Tuesday

showtime an hour earlier at 7 p.m. The rationale for this move was that since fewer tourists take in shows midweek, Tuesday attendance depends more on local patrons. The earlier curtain makes it possible for suburban patrons to get home by a reasonable hour after the show. Some shows, especially those Disney producers, change their performance schedules fairly frequently depending on the season. This is done in order to maximize access to their target audience. Most Broadway producers and theater owners are members of the Broadway League,

formerly the League of American Theaters and Producers, a trade organization that promotes Broadway theater as a whole, negotiates contracts with the various theatrical unions and agreements with the guilds, and co-administeres the Tony Awards, with the American Theater Wing, a service organization. While the League and the theatrical unions are sometimes at loggerheads during those periods when new contracts are being negotiated,

they also cooperate on many projects and events designed to promote professional theater in New York. All four of the four non-profit theater companies with Broadway theaters, Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theater, Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Second Stage Theater, belong to the League of Resident Theaters and have contracts with the theatrical unions, which are negotiated separately from the other Broadway theater and producers.

The majority of Broadway theaters are owned or managed by three organizations. The Schubert Organization, a for-profit arm of the Non-profit Schuber Foundation, which owns 17 theaters, the Niederlander Organization, which controls nine theaters, and ATG Entertainment, which owns seven Broadway houses. Both musicals and straight plays on Broadway often rely on casting well-known performers in leading roles. to draw larger audiences or bring in new audience members to the theater actors from film and television are frequently cast for the revivals of broadway shows or are used to replace actors leaving the cast there are still however performers who are primarily stage actors spending most of their time on the boards and appearing in screen roles only secondarily Broadway once had many homegrown stars who committed to working on a show for a year, as Nathan Lane has for the Adams family.

In 2010, some theater heavyweights like Mr. Lane were not even nominated. Instead, several Tony Awards were given to productions that were always intended to be short-timers on Broadway, given that many of their film star performers had to move on to other commitments. According to Mark Shenton, one of the biggest changes to the commercial theatrical landscape on both sides of the Atlantic over the past decade or so is that sightings of big star names turning out to do plays has gone up, but the runs they are prepared to commit to has gone down. Time was that a producer would require a minimum commitment from his star of six months, months and perhaps a year. Now the 13-week run is the norm. Most Broadway shows are commercial

productions, intended to make a profit for the producers and investors, and therefore have open-ended runs, meaning that the length of their presentation is not set beforehand, but depends on critical response, word of mouth, and the effectiveness of the show's advertising. all of which determine ticket sales. Investing in a commercial production carries a very degree of financial risk. Shows need not make a profit immediately, should they make their nut weekly operating expenses, or lose money at a rate acceptable to the producers. They may continue to run in the expectation that eventually they will pay back their initial costs and become profitable.

In some borderline situations, producers may ask that royalties be temporarily reduced or waived, or even that performers, with the permission of their unions, take reduced salaries to prevent a show from closing. Theater owners, who are not generally profit participants in most productions, may waive or reduce rents or even lend money to a show to keep it running. Some Broadway shows are produced by non-commercial organizations as part of a regular subscription season, Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theater Company, Manhattan Theater Club, and Second Stage Theater, or the four non-profit theater companies that currently have permanent Broadway venues.

Some other productions are produced on Broadway with limited engagement runs, for several reasons. including financial issues, prior engagements of the performers, or temporary availability of a theater between the end of one production and the beginning of another. However, some shows with planned limited engagement runs may, after critical acclaim or box office success, extend their engagements or convert to open and it runs. Historically, musicals on Broadway tend to have longer runs than straight plays. On January 9, 2006, the Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theater

became the longest-running Broadway musical, with 7,486 performances, overtaking cats. 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. Attending a Broadway show is a common tourist activity in New York. The TKTS booths sell same-day tickets,

and in certain cases next-day matinee tickets, for many Broadway and off-Broadway shows, at a discount of 20 to 50%. The TKTS booths are located in Times Square in Lower Manhattan and at Lincoln Center. This service is run by Theater Development Fund. Many Broadway theaters also offer special student rates, same-day rush or lottery tickets,

or standing-room tickets to help ensure that their theaters are as full and their grosses as high as possible. Second-tier and smaller cities can also attract national tools. tours, but these are more likely to be bus and truck tours. These are scaled-down versions of the larger national touring productions, historically acquiring their name because the casts generally traveled by bus instead of by air, while the sets and equipment traveled by trek. Tours of this type often run for weeks rather than months

and frequently feature a reduced physical production to accommodate smaller venues and tighter schedules and to fit into fewer trucks. A typical second-tier city can usually sell only up to about eight shows one week of tickets. For cities smaller than that, a touring production might move twice a week, split weeks, or every day. one-nighters. For bus and truck tours, the production values are usually less lavish than the

typical Broadway national tour or national touring production and the actors, while still members of the actors' union are compensated under a different, less lucrative union contract. The Touring Broadway Awards, presented by the Broadway League, honored excellence in touring Broadway. Broadway productions and artists are honored by the annual Antoinette Perry Awards, commonly called the Tony Awards, or Tonys, given by the American Theater Wing and the Broadway League. And that were first presented in 1947. The Tony is Broadway's most prestigious award comparable to the Academy Awards for Hollywood film productions. They're important. The importance has increased since 1967 when the awards presentation show began to be broadcast on national television.

In a strategy to improve the television ratings, celebrities are often chosen to host the show. Some was scant connection to the theater. The most recent Tony Awards ceremony was held on June 7, 26. Other awards given to Broadway productions include the Drama Desk Award, presented since 1955, the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, first given in 1936, and the Outer Critics Circle Award, initially presented in 1950.