Broadway Shows

The Broadway theatre district is centralized around Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. Most Broadway theatres are located between 54th and 41st Streets north to south and Sixth and Ninth Avenues east to west. Only three Broadway theatres (the Broadway, Winter Garden, and Palace) are actually located on the central street called Broadway.

Every Broadway theatre has one day (usually Monday) when it is dark, meaning there are no performances. However, some shows take a different day off, so there is at least one Broadway show on every day of the week, with some exceptions for holidays.

There is currently one Broadway show, Chicago, with Monday performances. Most shows do not perform that day. Read our guide to Broadway shows with nontraditional performance schedules, including Monday performances.

The length of Broadway shows vary, but the general range is between 90 minutes and 3 hours. Musicals tend to average around 2.5 hours (though some, like the 80-minute Six, are exceptions). Plays vary in length.

There is no dress code for Broadway shows. If your trip to Broadway is a special occasion, you might want to dress up, but the most important thing is to wear clothes you'll be comfortable sitting in for a few hours. It is recommended, however, that you don't wear noisy accessories, such as bangles or watches that beep, that might distract from the performance.

We recommend arriving to Broadway shows about 30 minutes early. This will give you time to wait in line to get into the theatre, get your bag and tickets checked, use the bathroom, purchase concessions, and find your seat before the show starts.

Not all Broadway shows have intermissions. Typically, shows that run shorter than 2 hours will be performed without an intermission. Shows without intermissions are particularly important to arrive early for — many don't allow late seating or re-entry since there isn't a designated break in the action, and pre-show is the only opportunity to use the bathroom and get concessions.

There are 41 Broadway theatres. All but one (the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center) are located in the Theatre District around Times Square. All Broadway theatres have at least 500 seats; anything with fewer seats is automatically an Off-Broadway theatre.

The longest-running Broadway show of all time is The Phantom of the Opera, which closed on April 16, 2023 after 35 years and nearly 14,000 performances. The longest-running show currently playing (and second-longest-running of all time) is Chicago, which has run since 1996.

If you want to get tickets for a specific seating section or price point, or if you are planning a trip and want to see specific shows in a short amount of time, we recommend purchasing tickets at least a few weeks in advance. However, Broadway tickets are available up to the day of the performance, so you can purchase next-day or same-day tickets, sometimes at a lower price point through rush and lottery programs, if you have last-minute availability and are willing to be flexible.

You can get official tickets to Broadway shows right here on New York Theatre Guide, all in one place.