What Is Broadway Anyway?
What Is Broadway Anyway?
What is Broadway Anyway?
By Rylee Vogel
If you or a loved one is involved in the theater scene, you have likely encountered terms such as “Broadway”, “Off-Broadway”, “touring show”, “regional theater”, “community theater”, and countless others. But what’s the difference?
These are simply ways to differentiate between types of productions and theaters. It
primarily comes down to pay, venue size, and location.
Let's start with the big one: Broadway.
A Broadway show is a play or musical running in a theater that has more than 500 seats in central New York City. Fun fact: there are currently 41 theaters on Broadway! For many actors, performing on Broadway is the ultimate goal, as these shows are often considered the most prestigious shows in modern theater.
Off-Broadway is a closely associated term.
Off-Broadway refers to professional plays or musicals that are located in central New York City in theaters with 100 to 499 seats. Many Broadway shows started in off-Broadway theaters and made their transfer with the success of the run! There are just over 60 Off-Broadway theaters in NYC. Any theater that seats less than 100 in New York City is considered off-off-Broadway!
Getting out of the big apple...
a tour is a production that travels around the country (and sometimes even the world). Tours are usually professional productions and take the full cast, crew, set, and costumes to each location with them. Much like a musician’s tour, a Broadway tour will occupy a city’s prominent venue for a short amount of time before moving onto the next.
A regional theater is a professional theater located outside of New York City.
Regional theaters can have any number or seats, vary dramatically in pay for employees, and have different length runs of shows (one night to several years). However, the common factor is that it is all considered professional work where actors and crew are getting compensated for their time.
Community theater is similar to regional theater...
in that it can have any number of seats, varying run lengths, and varying production value; however, the defining factor of community theater is that the actors and crew are not paid for their work. It is simply an incredible opportunity to get involved in the community and create art!
There are countless other forms of theater that were not discussed here (such as educational, summer stock, and countless international venues). Nevertheless, creating theater in any capacity is truly a gift, and the performing arts deeply enrich our communities and bring people together!
It's Showtime!
We are very excited to launch our “In the Wings” blog at Wenger. Of course, you’ve known Wenger since you stepped foot on the theatre stage or sang your heart out standing on the choral risers. Now as an performing arts professional, you’re molding and guiding performers every day, and we’d love to help. You can subscribe, or follow us on social channels so you never miss a post.
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