SafekipediaOff-Broadway
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
Off-Broadway theatres are special places in New York City where people can watch plays, musicals, and other shows. These theatres are smaller than the big Broadway theatres, but they are bigger than the very small off-off-Broadway theatres. An off-Broadway theatre can hold between 100 and 499 people.
Shows at off-Broadway theatres are called off-Broadway productions. These shows follow special rules made by trade unions and other groups. Sometimes, a show that starts at an off-Broadway theatre becomes so popular that it moves to a bigger Broadway theatre. This makes off-Broadway an important place for new and exciting performances.
For the American rock band, see Off Broadway USA. For the 1982 play by Norman Krasna, see Off Broadway (play).
History
The term "off-Broadway" originally described any theatre located on streets that cross Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, especially in the busy Theater District. Over time, it came to mean a professional theatre in Manhattan that seats between 100 and 499 people. These theatres follow special rules set by unions and other groups.
Off-Broadway theatres began in the 1950s as an alternative to big Broadway shows. They offered cheaper tickets and became a place where new artists could try their work. One early success was a play called Summer and Smoke in 1952. In the 1970s, a group of theatres along West 42nd Street, called Theatre Row, grew to become a centre for off-Broadway shows.
Many off-Broadway shows later moved to bigger Broadway theatres, such as Hair and Hamilton. Some shows, like The Fantasticks, ran for many years only off-Broadway.
Awards
Off-Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff can receive several awards, including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Obie Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, and the Drama League Award. Normally, off-Broadway shows are not eligible for Tony Awards, but in 1956, an exception was made when Lotte Lenya won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in the off-Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera.
List of off-Broadway theatres
Capacity is based on the capacity given for the respective theatre at the Internet Off-Broadway Database.
| Theatre | Address | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 47th Street Theatre | W. 47th St. (No. 304) | 196 |
| 59E59 Theaters, Theatre A | E. 59th St. (No. 59) | 196 |
| 777 Theatre | 8th Ave. (No. 777) | 158 |
| Abrons Arts Center, Playhouse Theatre | Grand St. (No. 466) | 300 |
| Actors Temple Theatre | W. 47th St. (No. 339) | 199 |
| Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre | W. 42nd St. (No. 480) | 191 |
| Anne L. Bernstein Theater | W. 50th St. (No. 210) | 199 |
| Anspacher Theatre | Lafayette St. (No. 425) | 275 |
| Astor Place Theatre | Lafayette St. (No. 434) | 298 |
| Asylum NYC | E. 24th St. (No. 123) | 150 |
| Barrow Street Theatre | Barrow St. (No. 27) | 199 |
| Cherry Lane Theatre | Commerce St. (No. 38) | 179 |
| Claire Tow Theater | W. 65th St. (No. 150) | 112 |
| Classic Stage Company | E. 13th St. (No. 136) | 199 |
| Daryl Roth Theatre | E. 15th St. (No. 101) | 299 |
| The Duke on 42nd Street | W. 42nd St. (No. 229) | 199 |
| Ellen Stewart Theater, La MaMa | E. 4th St. (No. 66) | 175 |
| Gramercy Arts Theatre | E. 27th St. (No. 138) | 140 |
| The Gym at Judson | Thompson St. (No. 243) | 200 |
| Irene Diamond Stage, Signature Theatre | W. 42nd St. (No. 480) | 294 |
| Irish Repertory Theatre | W. 22nd St. (No. 132) | 148 |
| Jerome Robbins Theatre | W. 37th St. (No. 450) | 238 |
| Jerry Orbach Theater | W. 50th St. (No. 210) | 199 |
| John Cullum Theatre | W. 54th St. (No. 314) | 140 |
| Laura Pels Theatre | W. 46th St. (No. 111) | 425 |
| Linda Gross Theatre | W. 20th St. (No. 336) | 199 |
| Loreto Theater, Sheen Center | Bleeker St. (No. 18) | 273 |
| Lucille Lortel Theatre | Christopher St. (No. 121) | 299 |
| LuEsther Theatre | Lafayette St. (No. 425) | 160 |
| Lynn Redgrave Theatre | Bleecker St. (No. 45) | 199 |
| Manhattan Movement & Arts Center | W. 60th St. (No. 248) | 180 |
| Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater | W. 63rd St. (No. 5) | 145 |
| Martinson Theatre | Lafayette St. (No. 425) | 199 |
| McGinn/Cazale Theater | Broadway (No. 2162) | 108 |
| Minetta Lane Theatre | Minetta Lane (No. 18) | 391 |
| Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater | W. 65th St. (No. 150) | 299 |
| New Victory Theater | W. 42nd St. (No. 209) | 499 |
| New World Stages, Stage 1 | W. 50th St. (No. 340) | 499 |
| New World Stages, Stage 2 | 350 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 3 | 499 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 4 | 350 | |
| New World Stages, Stage 5 | 199 | |
| New York City Center Stage I | W. 55th St. (No. 131) | 300 |
| New York City Center Stage II | 150 | |
| New York Theatre Workshop, Theatre 79 | E. 4th St. (No. 79) | 199 |
| Newman Theatre | Lafayette St. (No. 425) | 299 |
| Newman Mills Theatre | W. 52nd St. (No. 511) | 245 |
| Orpheum Theatre | Second Ave. (No. 126) | 347 |
| Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons | W. 42nd St. (No. 416) | 128 |
| Players Theatre | MacDougal St. (No. 115) | 248 |
| Playwrights Horizons Mainstage | W. 42nd St. (No. 416) | 198 |
| The Shed (Kenneth C. Griffin Theater) | 545 W. 30th St. | 500 |
| Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre | W. 42nd St. (No. 480) | 191 |
| SoHo Playhouse | Vandam St. (No. 15) | 178 |
| St. Clement's Theatre | W. 46th St. (No. 423) | 161 |
| St. Luke's Theatre | W. 46th St. (No. 308) | 178 |
| Stage 42 | W. 42nd St. (No. 422) | 499 |
| Studio Seaview | W. 43rd St. (No. 305) | 296 |
| Susan & Ronald Frankel Theatre | W. 52nd St. (No. 511) | 100 |
| Theater 555 | W. 42nd St. (No. 555) | 130 |
| Theatre at St. Clement's Church | W. 46th St. (No. 423) | 151 |
| Theatre at St. Jeans | E. 76th St. (No. 150) | 204 |
| Theatre Three at Theatre Row | W. 42nd St. (No. 410) | 199 |
| Triad Theatre | W. 72nd St. (No. 158) | 130 |
| Vineyard Theatre | E. 15th St. (No. 108) | 132 |
| Westside Theatre, Downstairs Theatre | W. 43rd St. (No. 407) | 249 |
| Westside Theatre, Upstairs Theatre | 270 |
Related articles
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