The top 20 longest-running Broadway shows

Discover the plays and musicals that have stood the test of time, some of which have played for decades — and some of which are still running right now.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo

As Frank Sinatra sings, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. While you probably know the classic musicals by heart, many Broadway shows don't make it. In fact, only a third of the shows produced on Broadway (about 40 new ones a year) actually turn a profit. These facts make it all the most impressive that some shows have lasted for decades!

Many of the titles on the list of the longest-running Broadway shows below might be familiar from Times Square billboards, your parents' tape deck, or your own collection of original cast recordings. Here are some fun facts and history behind the 20 longest-running Broadway shows of all time.

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This article was last updated with current performance counts on September 8, 2025.

20.

Life With Father

19.

Fiddler on the Roof

18.

Grease

17.

42nd Street

16.

Hamilton

15.

Miss Saigon

14.

Aladdin

13.

Jersey Boys

12.

Rent

11.

The Book of Mormon

10.

Beauty and the Beast

9.

Mamma Mia!

8.

Oh! Calcutta!

7.

A Chorus Line

6.

Les Misérables

5.

Cats

4.

Wicked

3.

The Lion King

2.

Chicago

1.

The Phantom of the Opera

20.

Life With Father

3,224 performances (November 8, 1939 - July 12, 1947)

Life With Father holds the record of Broadway's longest-running non-musical play. Based on Clarence Day's humorous, autobiographical book, the play was later adapted into a film of the same name. Despite its success, it has yet to receive a Broadway revival, though the show received a limited-run revival at New York City Center in 1967.

19.

Fiddler on the Roof

3,242 performances (September 22, 1964 - July 2, 1972)

The Bock and Harnick show might be #19 on this list, but it's one of the most produced shows in high schools across the country. (Are you a Chava, Hodel, or Tzeitel?) The original production earned nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has spawned five revivals. After all, it's tradition.

18.

Grease

3,388 performances (February 14, 1972 - April 13, 1980)

Most people are most familiar with the Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta movie, but the original production struck Broadway like greased lightning. It ran for eight years and has since birthed endless karaoke renditions of songs like "Summer Nights."

17.

42nd Street

3,486 performances (August 25, 1980 - January 8, 1989)

It's the avenue we're taking you to! Named for the iconic Times Square thoroughfare in the heart of the Theatre District, this tuner about a chorus girl who gets her chance at the big time has spawned a thousand time steps. The original production won two Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

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16.

Hamilton

3,557 performances and counting (August 6, 2015 - present)

Hamilton's success has been non-stop since its Off-Broadway premiere in 2015, which led to a near-immediate Broadway transfer later that year. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Grammy Award, and 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Hamilton has come a long way from its young, scrappy, and hungry beginnings. The Richard Rodgers Theatre is still the ultimate room where it happens.

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Hamilton

15.

Miss Saigon

4,092 performances (April 11, 1991 - January 28, 2001)

Inspired by the opera Madama Butterfly, this musical by Schönberg and Boublil (the writers of the Les Misérables musical) show launched the career of a young Lea Salonga. Salonga played Kim, a young woman in Vietnam who falls in love with an American soldier. The heat was on in Saigon for a decade, and the show won three Tony Awards.

14.

Aladdin

4,117 performances and counting (March 20, 2014 - present)

Disney fans' wishes were granted when Aladdin came to Broadway in 2014. The colorful spectacle takes audiences into a whole new world with all the beloved songs from the film about a young street urchin who transforms into a prince.

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Aladdin

13.

Jersey Boys

4,642 performances (November 6, 2005 - January 15, 2017)

The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons brought Broadway to its feet for 12 years, and showed a lot of actors out there can sing like the singular Valli. Jersey Boys proved the an audience appetite for jukebox musicals and classic hit songs on stage, winning four Tony Awards including Best Musical. Mere months after wrapping its Broadway run in 2017, Jersey Boys reopened off Broadway and ran at New World Stages for another 4.5 years.

12.

Rent

5,123 performances (April 29, 1996 - September 7, 2008)

The Off-Broadway premiere of Rent was marked by tragedy after composer Jonathan Larson's sudden death the day of the first preview. But on the positive side, the show was an instant success and cemented Larson as one of the musical theatre greats. The Broadway production launched a movement of Rent-heads and countless renditions of "Seasons of Love" at karaoke sessions and graduations. The musical won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

11.

The Book of Mormon

5,343 performances and counting (March 24, 2011 - present)

This runaway hit has been climbing the ranks for nearly a decade and counting. Penned by the creators of South Park and EGOT winner Robert Lopez, The Book of Mormon follows two mismatched Mormon missionaries on a troubled mission to Uganda. The musical won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. We definitely believe in the power of this show.

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The Book of Mormon

10.

Beauty and the Beast

5,461 performances (April 18, 1994 - July 29, 2007)

It's a tale as old as time: Disney Theatrical brings one of its landmark movies to the stage, and the audiences go wild. This touching tale about chosen families and how love goes beyond appearances was Disney's first Broadway production and stayed there for 13 years.

9.

Mamma Mia!

5,758 performances (October 18, 2001 - September 12, 2015)

Mamma Mia! is another testament to the power of the jukebox show. This ABBA-scored favorite holds the title of the longest-running jukebox musical. Broadway audiences said "thank you for the music" for nearly 14 years, but now with two films in the franchise, they were ready to say "here we go again" and see the 2025 revival.

8.

Oh! Calcutta!

5,959 performances (September 24, 1976 - August 6, 1989)

This musical revue, which was originally produced off Broadway in 1969, featured sketches about sex and some nudity. This production was the revival, and with a 14-year run, it was the longest-running Broadway revival for years before Chicago overtook it. It remains, though, the longest-running revue in Broadway history and the first show whose premiere and revival both ran for 1,000 performances.

7.

A Chorus Line

6,137 performances (July 25, 1975 - April 28, 1990)

Director/choreographer Michael Bennett became a trailblazer with this seminal work. He had real dancers share their stories and crafted them into a beautiful musical about what we all do for love. The original production won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

6.

Les Misérables

6,680 performances (March 12, 1987 - May 18, 2003)

"Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of ticket sales?" That's not how the song goes, but it should, considering the run the original production of this musical had on Broadway. The French epic, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

5.

Cats

7,485 performances (October 7, 1982 - September 10, 2000)

Who knew that a musical about felines could be such a worldwide phenomenon? Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, that's who. Based on T.S Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, the musical captured the hearts of cat lovers everywhere and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

A reimagined 2024 Off-Broadway revival titled Cats: The Jellicle Ball showed that the musical still has claws — and potential for plenty more than nine lives.

4.

Wicked

8,490 performances and counting (October 30, 2003 - present)

Though it lost the Tony Award for Best Musical to Avenue Q and received mixed reviews from critics, Wicked has solidified its place in the Broadway record books, and on April 11, 2023, the musical surpassed Cats to be Broadway's fourth-longest-running show. The stories about how the witches of Oz became wicked and good has captured the hearts of audiences of all ages and backgrounds, and it spawned an Oscar-winning, two part blockbuster film.

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Wicked

3.

The Lion King

10,953 performances and counting (November 13, 1997 - present)

This might be third on this list, but it does hold the record as the highest-grossing Broadway show in history thanks to plenty of international productions and tours. The Lion King has been staged around the world, but it has been going strong on Broadway for more than 20 years, with six Tony Awards including Best Musical to its name. Simba might become the king of Pride Rock, but The Lion King is the ruler of Broadway.

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2.

Chicago

11,329 performances and counting (November 14, 1996 - present)

Chicago has certainly painted the town since this revival of the Kander and Ebb musical opened in 1996. It celebrated its 25th Broadway anniversary in 2021. The production, which has become a destination for big stars to make their Broadway debuts, won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In this show about vaudeville performers-turned-criminals, murder never looked so entertaining.

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1.

The Phantom of the Opera

13,973 performances (January 26, 1988 - April 16, 2023)

The music of the night played on Broadway for 35 years, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit about a young chorus girl who falls in with the Paris Opera's mysterious Phantom is a love story for the ages. The Phantom of the Opera won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The show closed on April 16, 2023, but the show will hold its record for a long time to come.

The Phantom of the Opera