The theater is one of the most loved forms of entertainment. Along with providing a vast setup like movies or TV shows, there is the added thrill of watching performers live. Live acting in front of an audience is one of the most daunting forms of entertainment. One of the most prominent honors in theater is to perform on Broadway. It is a group of 41 theatres in New York City with seating of more than 500 seats. Broadway represents the highest level of live theater in English speaking world. Hence, it is highly prestigious when a play is on Broadway.
But some of the plays on Broadway have left such an impression on the theater world that they have gone on to stage for thousands of shows. Some of these have been around for years and even decades. Many of these shows are still seen by thousands every week and their success has translated to adaptations for TV and movie screens. So which of the Broadway shows have been running for the longest time? Let’s find out.
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10 Longest Running Shows On Broadway
10. Beauty And The Beast
‘Beauty and the Beast‘ is a musical which is based on the Disney story ‘Beauty and the Beast‘. The story is based on the French fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The musical’s first show premiered on April 18, 1994, at the Palace Theatre. The show has been performed on stage more than five thousand times and the production even won a Tony Award in 1994.
The show ended on July 29, 2007, after 5,461 shows, and is the longest-running Broadway production on Palace Theatre as well as Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The story follows a rude prince who is transformed into a beast by an enchantress for his cruel and disrespectful manner. The curse can only be broken if the beast’s love is reciprocated before the last petal of the enchantress’s rose falls down.
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9. Mamma Mia!
‘Mamma Mia!‘ is also another musical that is one of the longest shows to be performed on Broadway. The musical is based on the pop group ABBA and featured many popular pop songs that were going around that time. Even the name has been taken from an ABBA song released in 1975. The jukebox musical first graced the stage on October 18, 2001, at the Winter Garden Theatre. This musical also had more than five thousand performances on Broadway and is the longest-running Jukebox musical on Broadway.
The musical ‘Mamma Mia!‘ was performed on Broadway for the last time on September 12, 2015, after 5,758 shows. The musical follows 20-year-old Sophie who lives with her mother Donna. Sophie is getting married and she wishes to have her father attend her wedding. The only problem is that Sophie has no idea about her father’s identity. She invites three men who were in a relationship with her mom and decides to find out about her father’s identity.
8. Oh! Calcutta!
‘Oh! Calcutta!’ is a dramatic play written by Kenneth Tynan. It is a revue consisting of multiple short sketches based on sex-related topics. The show first started on off-Broadway and West End before starting on Broadway on September 24, 1976. The original production of the play also ran for more than a thousand shows. The 1976 revival had 5,959 performances and finally ended on August 6, 1989.
It is the eighth-longest-running show on Broadway and was the first revival to perform 1000 shows just like its original. The play has two acts consisting of multiple sketches that reflect upon people’s ideas and perceptions about sex, consent, and intimacy. The play also consists of scenes with complete nudity which started a controversy during the time.
7. A Chorus Line
Yet another musical makes it to the longest-running shows on Broadway. ‘A Chorus Line‘ is a musical which is based on a fictional story following Broadway dancers. The musical was performed over six thousand times on Broadway. The first show premiered on July 25, 1975, and went on to have 6,137 shows before ending on April 28, 1990.
The musical went on to win nine Tony Awards including the Best Musical Award in 1976. The musical narrates the story of a group of Broadway dancers who are auditioning for a play. While facing the harsh nature of the audition process, the group unites and bonds together into an inseparable entity. The group bonds over their mutual love of dancing and becomes an ensemble.
6. Les Misérables
Another musical on the list of longest-running Broadway shows is ‘Les Misérables‘. The musical is based on the play written by French author Victor Hugo in the 19th century. The original run of the Broadway musical started on March 12, 1987, and ended on May 18, 2003, after whopping 6,680 shows on Broadway. The Broadway run also won 8 Tony Awards along with the Best Musical award.
The musical follows Jean Valjean who is an ex-convict and raises the daughter of an employee. He works hard throughout his life to become a good person after the bishop changes his life by showing generosity and kindness towards him. He saves the lives of multiple people around him and dies after fulfilling all his promises. The musical also won the Grammy Awards for Best Musical Cast Show twice.
5. Cats
‘Cats‘ is yet another musical that ran for a long time on Broadway. The musical ‘Cats‘ is based on the poem collection by T. S. Eliot and the music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Broadway run of the musical started on October 7, 1982, and ended on September 10, 2000, after 7,485 successful shows. The musical is also one of the longest-running shows on the West End.
‘Cats‘ Musical won seven Tony Awards including the Best Musical Award and Best Original Score in 1983. The musical follows a group of cats who go by the name of Jellicles. Every year, their leader Old Deuteronomy chooses a cat who gets a rebirth on the Heaviside Layer. The musical also won the Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album in 1984.
4. Wicked
‘Wicked‘ is a musical based on the book ‘Wicked‘ by Winnie Holzman. It is one of the longest Broadway shows that is still running to date. The musical’s first performance happened on October 30, 2003, and is still running at the Gershwin Theatre as of 2023. There have been a whopping 7,493 shows of this musical. The book by Winnie Holzman is based on books like ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz‘ and ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West‘.
The story follows witches who are from the Land of Oz. The story is centered on the relationship between two witches, Glinda, who is the Good Witch of the North, and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wicked musical has also won three Tony Awards in 2004 and also a Grammy award in 2005.
3. The Lion King
‘The Lion King‘ is a musical based on a film by Walt Disney Studios released in 1994. It is yet another musical backed by Disney that is part of the longest-running shows on Broadway. The Broadway run of the musical started on November 13, 1997, and is still going on as of 2023. The show is currently running at the Minskoff Theatre and has completed 9,953 performances to date.
The musical follows the animal kingdom Pride Lands which is ruled by the lion Mufasa. His brother Scar betrays the king and the kingdom to obtain power and rule over the Pride Lands. The responsibility of saving Pride Lands falls to Simba, the son of Mufasa who must stop his uncle from ravaging havoc over the land. The Lion King won six Tony Awards in 1998 and is also recognized as the highest-grossing Broadway show in history.
2. Chicago
‘Chicago‘ is a musical based on the play ‘Chicago‘ written by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It is the second longest-running show on Broadway with 10,337 performances as of 2023. The musical is currently running at the Ambassador Theatre after starting on November 14, 1996, at the Richard Rogers Theatre. The original production of ‘Chicago‘ ran from 1975 to 1977 and the 1996 revival holds the record for the longest-running revival on Broadway.
The play and musical are based during the Jazz Age in Chicago in the 1920s. The musical follows Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, criminals who have been arrested for killing loved ones, and desperately try to become celebrity criminals. The musical received six Tony Awards in 1997 including Best Revival of a Musical. The revival also won a Grammy award in 1998.
1. The Phantom Of The Opera
‘The Phantom of the Opera‘ is the longest-running musical on Broadway with over 13 thousand performances. The music for the show is written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the musical is based on the book ‘The Phantom of the Opera‘ by Gaston Leroux. The musical first started on January 26, 1988, at the Majestic Theatre. The musical’s run ended after 13,981 performances on April 16, 2023.
The musical follows events that happen in a famous opera house which is rumored to be haunted by a Phantom. The phantom follows a soprano named Christine and vies for her affection. But Christine is enamored with her childhood friend Raoul de Chagny. Multiple chaotic events follow and chaos ensues at the Opera House. The musical won eight Tony Awards in 1988 including Best Musical.
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