In 1885 the Broadway commercial district was overrun with telephone, telegraph, and electrical lines. This view was north from Cortlandt and Maiden Lane.
Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck Trail, carved into the brush land of Manhattan by its Native American inhabitants. This trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island. Upon the arrival of the Dutch, the trail soon became the main road through the island from New Amsterdam at the southern tip. The Dutch explorer and entrepreneur David de Vries gives the first mention of it in his journal for the year 1642 ("the Wickquasgeck Road over which the Indians passed daily"). The Dutch named the road "Heerestraat". In the 18th century, Broadway ended at the town commons north of Wall Street, where Eastern Post Road continued through the East Side and Bloomingdale Road the west side of the island. In the late 19th century the widened and paved part of Bloomingdale Road north of Columbus Circle was called "The Boulevard" but at the end of the century the whole old road (the Bloomingdale Road and what was previously called Broadway) was renamed Broadway.
The history of the Broadway Theater
Broadway was originally the Wickquasgeck Trail, carved into the brush land of Manhattan by its Native American inhabitants. This trail originally snaked through swamps and rocks along the length of Manhattan Island. Upon the arrival of the Dutch, the trail soon became the main road through the island from New Amsterdam at the southern tip. The Dutch explorer and entrepreneur David de Vries gives the first mention of it in his journal for the year 1642 ("the Wickquasgeck Road over which the Indians passed daily"). The Dutch named the road "Heerestraat". In the 18th century, Broadway ended at the town commons north of Wall Street, where Eastern Post Road continued through the East Side and Bloomingdale Road the west side of the island. In the late 19th century the widened and paved part of Bloomingdale Road north of Columbus Circle was called "The Boulevard" but at the end of the century the whole old road (the Bloomingdale Road and what was previously called Broadway) was renamed Broadway.
The history of the Broadway Theater
Broadway is one of the oldest animated main avenues in New York City. It begins at the southern end of Manhattan and extends about 241 km north to Albany. Translated from Dutch ‘Brede weg’ about 1668. Because of the building of a cable-car line in 1885 and the first subway road under Broadway in 1900, the street became thoroughfare. So that theatres grew in Broadway at the end of 19th century. When numerous theaters arose here, they united around the Time Square in the 1920s and 1930s. As a result, the theatre not was only named ‘Broadway’, but it symbolized American theatre.
Initially building in 1924, it was a movie palace and a showcase for vaudeville, but in six years the Broadway began relating to the performing of plays. The one of the first plays which audience saw at theatre was Cole Porter’s The New Yorkers with Jimmy Durante as the main character.
Not to mentioned the fact that being B. S. Moss’s Colony, the theater showed the audience premiere films. It is possible to point out such great example as Steamboat Willie, the world famous work of Walt Disney, which was firstly produced in the Broadway Theater in 1928, introduced American audiences to an fascinating rodent named Mickey Mouse.
Needless to say that 1920-30s were not named “The Golden years of the great early Black Musical Comedies” for nothing. A great amount of cabarets and musical revues were produced with Afro-American actors. During this time the Broadway Theater was legalized and was baptized.
In spite of the fact that from 1934 to 1940 the house was being used as to motion picture exhibition all over again, it returned to legitimate stage production. From that time, with the exception of a Cinerama movie theatre, it has stayed showcasing live theatre.
With the growth of popularity, the Broadway Theater showed many shows moved from other theaters. One of the such shows was the work of Rodgers and Hart Too Many Girls , which can be depicted as the first of many long-running shows to transferred to the Broadway from other theatres. Other borrowed shows were My Sister Eileen (1942) from the Biltmore, the Gertrude Lawrence tour of Lady in the Dark (1943) from the road. The list of such shows can also include South Pacific (1953) from the Majestic, The Most Happy Fella (1957) from the Imperial. The process of transmitting did not finish in 1950s but continued during the 1960s and even the 1970s performing to the audience such works as Funny Girl (1966) from the Winter Garden, Cabaret (1968) from the Broadhurst, Mame (1969) from the Winter Garden, Fiddler on the Roof (1972) from the Imperial, and The Wiz (1977) from the Majestic.
However, with the large amount of transferred shows, the 1940s and 1950s also had portentous new productions. The shows about the American army were at the top of their popularity and one of them was Berlin’s This Is the Army. Firstly performed in 1942, the show, narrating about a benefit for the Army Relief Fund, had incredible popularity. In addition, the period can be marked by the unconventional adaptations of successful stories, for instance, the reproduction of Billy Rose’s all-black Carmen, named Carmen Jones (1943) and notable Beggar’s Holiday (1946), Duke Ellington’s adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera. Notable productions of the 1950s included a number of big-name stars. Sammy Davis, Jr. in Mr. Wonderful (1956) and Ethel Merman in Gypsy (1959), to name but a few.
The 1970s and 1980s characterized by the appearance tremendously famous actors not only from America, but from United Kingdom. In 1979, Evita, being the debut work of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, made Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin famous actors. Another British performances were revival of Zorba (1983) starring Anthony Quinn, the last Yul Brynner’s work The King and I (1985). Nevertheless, some shows were moved to the Imperial such as Les Miserables (1987).
Initially building in 1924, it was a movie palace and a showcase for vaudeville, but in six years the Broadway began relating to the performing of plays. The one of the first plays which audience saw at theatre was Cole Porter’s The New Yorkers with Jimmy Durante as the main character.
Not to mentioned the fact that being B. S. Moss’s Colony, the theater showed the audience premiere films. It is possible to point out such great example as Steamboat Willie, the world famous work of Walt Disney, which was firstly produced in the Broadway Theater in 1928, introduced American audiences to an fascinating rodent named Mickey Mouse.
Needless to say that 1920-30s were not named “The Golden years of the great early Black Musical Comedies” for nothing. A great amount of cabarets and musical revues were produced with Afro-American actors. During this time the Broadway Theater was legalized and was baptized.
In spite of the fact that from 1934 to 1940 the house was being used as to motion picture exhibition all over again, it returned to legitimate stage production. From that time, with the exception of a Cinerama movie theatre, it has stayed showcasing live theatre.
With the growth of popularity, the Broadway Theater showed many shows moved from other theaters. One of the such shows was the work of Rodgers and Hart Too Many Girls , which can be depicted as the first of many long-running shows to transferred to the Broadway from other theatres. Other borrowed shows were My Sister Eileen (1942) from the Biltmore, the Gertrude Lawrence tour of Lady in the Dark (1943) from the road. The list of such shows can also include South Pacific (1953) from the Majestic, The Most Happy Fella (1957) from the Imperial. The process of transmitting did not finish in 1950s but continued during the 1960s and even the 1970s performing to the audience such works as Funny Girl (1966) from the Winter Garden, Cabaret (1968) from the Broadhurst, Mame (1969) from the Winter Garden, Fiddler on the Roof (1972) from the Imperial, and The Wiz (1977) from the Majestic.
However, with the large amount of transferred shows, the 1940s and 1950s also had portentous new productions. The shows about the American army were at the top of their popularity and one of them was Berlin’s This Is the Army. Firstly performed in 1942, the show, narrating about a benefit for the Army Relief Fund, had incredible popularity. In addition, the period can be marked by the unconventional adaptations of successful stories, for instance, the reproduction of Billy Rose’s all-black Carmen, named Carmen Jones (1943) and notable Beggar’s Holiday (1946), Duke Ellington’s adaptation of The Beggar’s Opera. Notable productions of the 1950s included a number of big-name stars. Sammy Davis, Jr. in Mr. Wonderful (1956) and Ethel Merman in Gypsy (1959), to name but a few.
The 1970s and 1980s characterized by the appearance tremendously famous actors not only from America, but from United Kingdom. In 1979, Evita, being the debut work of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, made Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin famous actors. Another British performances were revival of Zorba (1983) starring Anthony Quinn, the last Yul Brynner’s work The King and I (1985). Nevertheless, some shows were moved to the Imperial such as Les Miserables (1987).
Broadway nowadays
For many people Broadway is the main street of New York. It is its longest street, which begins in downtown on Manhattan, runs through midtown and uptown and, across the Broadway Bridge connecting Manhattan with the Bronx. Then it goes through the Bronx as well. It is more than 25 km long, and of course its character changes from one end to the other. However, in midtown, Broadway means the theatre district. So much so that from 59th Street down ward, until you see the Cats marquee, Broadway might as well be the Indian path it once was.Everybody knows that there is nothing like a real Broadway show. The theaters and stages that make up the “Great White Way” are located in a small section of the city between West 41st and 53rd streets and Sixth and Eighth Avenues. Thus the Nederlander Theatre is at 41st Street, the Broadway Theatre at 53rd Street, while at 52nd Street you will see the Virginia and the Neil Simon. The Gershwin Theatre is at 51st Street, the Circle in the Square Theatre at 50th and very close to them, on Broadway proper, is the Winter Garden.
The Ambassador and the Eugene O’Neill Theatres are both at 49th Street, the Walter Kerr and the Longacre are located at 48th.
The Ethel Barrymore and the Brooks Atkinson are found at 47th, while at 46th one can visit the Lunt-Fontanne and the Richard Rodgers. The heart and soul of the area is Schubert Alley, a private connecting street between 44th and 45th Streets in front of the Schubert Theatre.There you will find 11 theatres of which (at 45th Street) are the Imperial, the Music Box, the John Golden, the Royale, the Plymouth and the Booth. If you go along 44th Street, besides the Schubert, you will see there the Majestic, the Broadhurst, the St. James and the Helen Hayes. All in all there are 36 theatres in this vicinity and because at night it is as light there as in the daytime the place is also known as the Milky Way.
Off-Broadway began in Greenwich Village, at the Provincetown Playhouse, where Eugene O’Neill was the resident playwright. Even today most of the Off-Broadway action is in the Village, at the Cherry Lane, the Sullivan Street Playhouse, etc.Some New Yorkers say that these are perhaps the two most famous Off-Broadway theatres: Shakespeare in the Park (Dalacorte Theatre, Central Park, 81st Street and Central Park West) in summer, where open-air productions are almost as much fun as the Old Globe used to be, and the now world famous Public Theatre at 425 Lafayette Street, where in a six-theatre complex one could once see the famous movie-star of today, Robert de Niro, in “Cuba and His Teddy Bear,” the hit, which wound up on Broadway, as do many of the productions originating at the Public.
Particularly Off-Off-Broadway today is what Off-Broadway was yesterday – but with a difference. It is the place to experiment and for a new playwright or producer to test himself. But the movement is much larger than Off-Broadway ever was, since Off-Off-Broadway theatres nowadays can be found all over New York. One of the most respected of all the stages there is a Cafe La Mama Experimental Theatre Club at 74A East 4th Street.Off-Off-Broadway is certainly much less expensive than Off-Broadway was even in its prime time. Today, though, Off-Off-Broadway is becoming institutionalized as well, and theatres are getting grants and planning full seasons.
What can you find on Broadway in all directions? You can see here - Virtual Walking Tours of Manhattan Streets
Actors of Broadway:
Singers:
Tony Awards
Tony Awards – is one of the most notable events, turning into the most glamorous night of the Broadway season, in the USA. The Tonys are to theater what the Oscars are to film and the Grammys are to music.
The American Theatre Wing together with the League of American Theatres decided to organize special recognition of the best Broadway theater productions. In 1947, the year the fist ceremony was held, it was officially named the Antoinette Perry Awards, who was an actress, producer and one of the founder of the famous American Theatre Wing. Unfortunately, she died before the first ceremony. The organizers made a decision to name the award itself in honour of Antoinette Perry, it is also known that the award was entitled “Tony” in 1949.
In 1967, the ceremony firstly appeared on television, therefore not only the popularity of Tony Awards insignificantly rose, but the voting procedure was expanded to include approximately 650 theater professionals. Since that time it was broadcast from time to time on the local radio and television from Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Due to advertisements and the growth of the television’s impact the program reaches an abundant audience.
The Tony Awards Administration Committee is included 24 members. 10 of them were earmarked by the Wing, 10 by the League and the committee also consist of one each representatives from the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. All 24 members should settle the order of the nominations in all awards categories, prepared by The Nominating Committee. reviews the rules governing the awards.
The list of voters consists of more than 700 people who are the members of the Awards Administration Committee, which includes members from the Theatre Wing, Broadway League, Dramatists Guild and three unions.
It was comprised 27 categories: best play, best musical, best performances, design, direction, music and lyrics and choreography. In addition to that special awards were also given for notable accomplishments by theater artists or groups. It may, at its discretion, bestow two non-competitive Tony Awards: Special Tony Awards and the Regional Theatre Tony Award; as well as Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.
The American Theatre Wing together with the League of American Theatres decided to organize special recognition of the best Broadway theater productions. In 1947, the year the fist ceremony was held, it was officially named the Antoinette Perry Awards, who was an actress, producer and one of the founder of the famous American Theatre Wing. Unfortunately, she died before the first ceremony. The organizers made a decision to name the award itself in honour of Antoinette Perry, it is also known that the award was entitled “Tony” in 1949.
In 1967, the ceremony firstly appeared on television, therefore not only the popularity of Tony Awards insignificantly rose, but the voting procedure was expanded to include approximately 650 theater professionals. Since that time it was broadcast from time to time on the local radio and television from Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. Due to advertisements and the growth of the television’s impact the program reaches an abundant audience.
The Tony Awards Administration Committee is included 24 members. 10 of them were earmarked by the Wing, 10 by the League and the committee also consist of one each representatives from the Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association, United Scenic Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. All 24 members should settle the order of the nominations in all awards categories, prepared by The Nominating Committee. reviews the rules governing the awards.
The list of voters consists of more than 700 people who are the members of the Awards Administration Committee, which includes members from the Theatre Wing, Broadway League, Dramatists Guild and three unions.
It was comprised 27 categories: best play, best musical, best performances, design, direction, music and lyrics and choreography. In addition to that special awards were also given for notable accomplishments by theater artists or groups. It may, at its discretion, bestow two non-competitive Tony Awards: Special Tony Awards and the Regional Theatre Tony Award; as well as Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre.
Broadway
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Getting tickets:
You can purchase tickets to Broadway shows over the Internet, via telephone, at the Broadway Concierge & Ticket Center™, or at the box office. In general, you will have to pay service charges for telephone and Internet sales; you can avoid these charges by visiting the theatre box office in person. For real-time Internet sales, you can link to each show’s official ticketing site from the show's page on this site. You'll be able to check availability on any date you choose, select your exact seat locations, and then purchase your tickets immediately. To purchase tickets by phone, call Telecharge.com at (212) 279-6028 or Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100, depending on the show. In general, matinee and weekday evening (Monday through Thursday) performances have greater ticket availability than Friday or Saturday evening performances. It’s always a good idea to purchase your tickets well in advance of the performance date. Still, don’t assume any particular performance is sold out – additional tickets occasionally become available at the last minute! As to the cost of tickets, in New York, full price show tickets generally range from approximately $20 to $120. You can expect to pay higher prices for the best seats to hit shows on weekend nights. On the other hand, you can save money if you’re willing to sit in the mezzanine or be flexible about performance dates and times. Some shows even offer standing room tickets at a deep discount. Premium tickets (preferred locations in the theatre) are available for certain shows at higher prices. Some shows sell discounted tickets on the day of the performance for selected seats. These tickets are called “Rush” tickets and may be available to students, or the general public. At some shows they are distributed by lottery.
Webliography:
http://www.broadwaytheatreleague.org/ a site is dedicated not only to the Broadway Theater League, but the history of the theater
http://theater.about.com/ a very useful site where is possible to find the material concerning to theaters and special awards
http://www.nysonglines.com/ Virtual Walking Tours of Manhattan Streets
http://www.encarta.msn.com/ this reliable site has a great amount of articles about actors, singers
http://www.wikipedia.org/ this site has information about the history of Broadway
http://www.britannica.com/ the site also has a great amount of information not only about the theater, but about the most famous plays
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/ Broadway reviews
http://www.musicals101.com/bwayhouses.html/ New York theaters: past and present
http://www.history.com/ use this site to know more about Broadway’s history
http://www.history.com/ use this site to know more about Broadway’s history
http://www.nytimes.com/ this reliable resource has remarkable articles about Tony Awards. You can also examine your knowledge here
http://www.broadway.com/ information about getting tickets
http://www.sondheimguide.com/ useful resourse which gives you the description of "The New Yorkers"
http://disney.go.com/ the site has god description of "Streamboat Willie"
http://www.imdb.com general information about "My Sister Eileen " can be seen here
http://www.anthonyquinn.com/ the site can help you to learn more about the outstanding actor
http://manhattan.about.com/ if you want to get additional information about Manhattan, visit this site
http://theater2.nytimes.com/venues/off-broadway.html the list of off-Broadway theaters is here
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