Washington D.C.’s theatre scene encompasses everything from historic venues to new-work incubators. Award-winning Broadway shows like Dear Evan Hansen and A Strange Loop found early success in the DMV before going on to wider fame.

• Arena Stage: This was the first non-NYC venue to receive a special Tony Award, giving way to the Regional Theatre Tony Award that still exists today. It's also the first regional theater that transferred a production to Broadway: 1967’s The Great White Hope. More recently, Dear Evan Hansen premiered here in 2015.
• Kennedy Center: The Kennedy Center was the first federally funded performing arts center. It's had several shows transfer to NYC from its Broadway Center Stage program, including revivals of Spamalot and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
• Woolly Mammoth: This nonprofit theatre showcases thought-provoking, bold new shows in a small setting. After its Off-Broadway premiere, A Strange Loop had a limited run here before its Tony Award-winning Broadway run.
• Signature Theatre: This theatre is known for its Stephen Sondheim Award, with recipients like Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, and more. Recent Broadway musicals like Wanted and originated here.

Although it’s best known for Hollywood, Los Angeles also has a bustling theatre scene. You can catch large-scale Broadway tours at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, see new plays and musicals at the Geffen Playhouse, or watch a show at the Pasadena Playhouse, where some of the most famous American playwrights had world premieres.

• Pasadena Playhouse: The official state theatre of California, Pasadena Playhouse held world premieres by playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Noël Coward, and Eugene O’Neill and was the first American theatre to put on all 37 Shakespeare plays. It received the 2023 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
• Center Theatre Group: This nonprofit organization operates the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The Taper held the premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America, while the Ahmanson held six world premieres of Neil Simon plays.
• Geffen Playhouse: With a close partnership with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse often hosts award-winning plays and musicals right after their Broadway runs. Purpose and Liberation are recent examples.
• Hollywood Pantages Theatre: This former cinema is now home to Broadway tours, with major musicals like Hamilton, Wicked, and The Book of Mormon having appeared there. The Lion King even had a long sit-down run between 2000 and 2003.

The laid-back beach town has a thriving theatre community, with major Broadway hits like Jersey Boys getting their starts at venues like La Jolla Playhouse on the UC San Diego campus.

• La Jolla Playhouse: The La Jolla Playhouse has hosted over 130 world premieres. Over 30 Broadway shows got their starts there, such as Big River, The Who’s Tommy, Jersey Boys, and Come From Away. The venue won the 1993 Regional Theatre Tony Award.
• The Old Globe: This venue originally focused on Shakespeare, as it was designed to mimic London's Globe Theatre. The Tony Award-winning theatre has since originated numerous Broadway musicals, including Into the Woods, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Bright Star, and Almost Famous.

Head up north, and California has even more to offer the theatre community. Berkeley Rep is behind numerous pre-Broadway shows, while San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre has also kickstarted musicals like Evita and Mamma Mia! Broadway tours also make their way to the city at the Curran Theatre.

• Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Berkeley Rep puts on classic and modern plays and musicals and has held world premieres of many Broadway-bound shows, including American Idiot, Amélie, Ain’t Too Proud, Paradise Square, Swept Away, and Galileo. It won the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1997.
• Curran Theatre: Numerous pre-Broadway productions have performed at the Curran Theatre, including Wicked, Oliver!, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and more. It also hosts Broadway tours, and it held the longest American run of The Phantom of the Opera outside NYC.
• Orpheum Theatre: The historic theatre opened as the Pantages Theatre in 1926 and has since staged Broadway-bound productions like Evita, Mamma Mia!, Bring It On: The Musical, and The Act.
• Golden Gate Theatre: This venue in the heart of San Francisco hosts touring Broadway musicals, plays, and operas. Legally Blonde: The Musical premiered here before heading to Broadway, as did revivals of Cabaret, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and My Fair Lady.

Boston is an underrated theatre hotspot, with the city’s many colleges adding to the vibrant culture scene. Many modern Broadway successes like Moulin Rouge!, Six, and Waitress played here first.

• Emerson Colonial Theatre: Boston’s oldest continually running theatre, the Colonial regularly hosts Broadway tours and large-scale musicals and plays. It held the premiere of the Tony-winning Moulin Rouge! The Musical in 2018 before it opened on Broadway the next year.
• Huntington Theatre Company: A recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Huntington is most famous for producing eight August Wilson plays, such as Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, before their New York premieres. It has also transferred numerous other shows to Broadway, including Lydia R. Diamond's Stick Fly and Stephen Karam's Sons of the Prophet.
• American Repertory Theater: A.R.T. has received a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and a Jujamcyn Award, among others. Its roster of pre-Broadway productions includes Waitress and the U.S. premieres of the London hits Six and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).

Chicago is one of the best places to catch shows before they make it big on Broadway. Venues like Steppenwolf, Goodman, and Cadillac Palace have put out celebrated shows ranging from August: Osage County to The Producers.

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Steppenwolf, which operates three performance spaces, received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1985 and the National Medal of Arts in 1998. It has produced several pre- and post-Broadway shows by playwrights like Tracy Letts (August: Osage County, The Minutes) and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Purpose, The Comeuppance).
• Goodman Theatre: Chicago’s oldest active nonprofit theatre, the Goodman has put on numerous Broadway-bound productions and won several awards, including the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1992. It held the world premiere of David Mamet’s American Buffalo and Arthur Miller’s final play, Finishing the Picture. Its 1998 production of Death of a Salesman also transferred to Broadway.
• Chicago Shakespeare: Putting on a staggering 600 performances a year, the Chicago Shakespeare, another of the city’s Regional Tony Award-winning venues, is famous for its devotion to the Bard’s works. It also puts on non-Shakespeare plays as well as musicals, including the world premieres of Broadway musicals like The Notebook and Illinoise.
• Cadillac Palace: This venue hosts Broadway tours and other large-scale musicals and plays, as well as pre-Broadway runs. It held the world premieres of Aida, The Producers, and The Color Purple, and it launched national tours of Mary Poppins and Shrek: The Musical.

Up in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle has a lively theatre scene. At the center of it is the 5th Avenue Theatre, with a robust history of pre-Broadway productions.

• 5th Avenue Theatre: Seattle’s primary theatre venue, it hosts national tours of Broadway productions as well as original shows from the 5th Avenue Theatre Association. It’s held premieres of Broadway-bound shows like Aladdin, Shrek the Musical, Catch Me If You Can, and more.

Atlanta is one of the South’s biggest pre-Broadway hubs, with venues that have deep theatrical roots. Premier among them is the Alliance Theatre, which has launched many Broadway shows over the years.

• Alliance Theatre: Since it opened in 1968, the Alliance Theatre has held the world premiere of Tennessee Williams's Tiger Tail, as well as other premieres of Broadway-bound productions such as Bring It On: The Musical, Tuck Everlasting, The Prom, Water for Elephants, and Maybe Happy Ending.

Being next to New York City, it’s no surprise that New Jersey has close ties with Broadway. The storied Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn has launched many Broadway-bound shows, while Red Bank's Two River Theater is another local favorite showcasing emerging talent and new works.

• Paper Mill Playhouse: The Tony Award-winning Paper Mill Playhouse puts on musicals, plays, ballets, and more. Its pre-Broadway world premieres include Newsies, The Great Gatsby, A Bronx Tale, and more, as well as the U.S. premiere of The Bodyguard and runs of new musicals like Hercules and Mystic Pizza that went on to play across the country and world.
• Two River Theater: With many programs centered on finding and promoting new theatre writers, Two River Theater has held world premieres of Broadway musicals including the cult favorite Be More Chill and Off-Broadway plays like The Monsters.

Connecticut has a rich theatre history, having played a role in launching classics like Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady. Cities like Hartford and New Haven are theatre hotspots, hosting world premieres as well as tours of major Broadway musicals.

• Hartford Stage: This Tony Award-winning theatre has produced over 80 world and North American premieres, including of the Broadway musicals Anastasia and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Several plays, like Scott McPherson’s Marvin’s Room and Edward Albee’s Tiny Alice, have also transferred to Broadway from there.
• Goodspeed Opera House: This two-time Tony Award-winning theatre in East Haddam launched many famous musicals, like Annie and Man of La Mancha. It’s sent over 20 shows to Broadway.
• Shubert Theatre: Throughout its over 100-year history, New Haven’s Shubert Theatre has been a popular tryout venue for Broadway-hopeful productions. It's held more than 100 world premieres and 50 American premieres, like pre-Broadway runs of iconic musicals such as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, My Fair Lady, Damn Yankees, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and more.