"'Off Broadway'" theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of Play (theatre), musical theater or revues performed in New York City but outside the definition of Broadway theatre.

History

Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway (New York City) in Manhattan's Theatre District, New York, the hub of the theater industry in the United States, the term later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 99 and 500, or a specific production that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts. Previously, regardless of the size of the venue, a theatre could not be considered Off Broadway if it were within the "Broadway Box" (the traditional Broadway Theater District). The contractual definition changed this to encompass theaters meeting the standard, with a higher minimum salary requirement for Actors' Equity Association performers than for Off Broadway theaters outside the box.

Progression

A number of Off Broadway shows have had subsequent runs on Broadway. These have included the musicals "A Chorus Line'', ''Rock of Ages (musical)'', ''Godspell'', ''Avenue Q'', ''Rent (musical)'', ''In The Heights'', ''Spring Awakening'', ''Hair (musical)'', ''Grey Gardens (musical)'', '''', ''Little Shop of Horrors (musical)'', and ''Sunday in the Park with George'', and the plays ''Doubt (play)'', ''I Am My Own Wife'', ''Bridge & Tunnel'' and ''Coastal Disturbances''. Other productions, such as ''Stomp (dance troupe)'', ''Blue Man Group'', ''Altar Boyz'', ''Perfect Crime (play)'' and ''Naked Boys Singing'' have run for several years Off Broadway. ''The Fantasticks", the longest-running musical in theatre history, spent its original 42-year run Off Broadway.

Awards

Off Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for nomination for the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Obie Award (presented since 1956 by "The Village Voice''), and the Lucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off Broadway Theatres & Producers). Although Off Broadway shows are not eligible for Tony Awards, an exception was made in 1956 (before the rules were changed), when Lotte Lenya won for "Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical," for the Off Broadway production of ''The Threepenny Opera".

See also

Broadway theatre
Off-Off-Broadway

References

External links

45 Seconds from Broadway, Alice Playten, Barefoot in the Park, Biloxi Blues, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway Bound, Broadway theatre, California Suite, Chapter Two (play)

45 Seconds from Broadway

Alice Playten

Barefoot in the Park

Biloxi Blues

Brighton Beach Memoirs

Broadhurst Theatre

Broadway Bound

Broadway theatre

California Suite

Chapter Two (play)