The 25 longest Broadway shows of all time

These plays and musicals have entertained the public for years - and some are still there!


The show must continue, and sometimes it continues over and over again. While the story of Broadway is strewn with spectacle playbills that have bombed and ended their shopping prematurely, the best plays and musicals have real power. New York theatrical scene have centuries of history; Some of the first pieces were played before the revolutionary war. What we consider Broadway can be traced in the mid -1800s, and The black crook , which is considered the very first musical, raised its curtain on September 12, 1866. Since then, countless shows have come and left, but some resist the test of time.

Broadway successful productions will have hundreds, even thousands of performance, and the oldest have even made five figures. Several of these shows always play on Broadway in their original form, which means that it is still time for you to go to the theater. Others have been relaunched for other stationary and / or tourist productions, or you can catch them in your local community theater.

To see if your favorite is counted among them, read the continuation for the 25 longest programs in the story of Broadway according to the number of performances they have played. (And note that if a show is still running, the number of performance is common at the time of writing.)

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25
Mary Poppins

Album art for Mary Poppins cast recording
Walt Disney records

November 16, 2006 to March 3, 2013
2,619 performances

Two years after making his debut in the West End (London's Broadway Equivalent), Disney Theatricals' Mary Poppins Musical has slowly floated in Broadway, where it opened its doors in the fall of 2006. The musical is based on the beloved Julie Andrews -The films of 1964 and present the two songs of a beloved film by Richard M. Sherman And Robert B. Sherman , as well as some newly written figures for the show. He played for almost seven years before the curtain fell for the last time in early 2013.

24
Hair lacquer

Hairspray cast recording
MasterWorks Broadway

August 15, 2002 to January 4, 2009
2,642 performances

Hair lacquer , an adaptation of John Waters' film in 1988 of the same name, was a success when he opened in Broadway in 2002. The edifying pursuit of Stardom Turnblad won eight of the 13 Tony Awards for which he was nominated in 2003, whose prize for the best musical. The stage show was adapted to another musical film in 2007, and it closed in 2009.

23
My beautiful lady

My Fair Lady cast recording
Columbia Records

March 15, 1956 to September 29, 1962
2,717 performances

Flower Girl Eliza Dolittle Cockney Accent charmed the public for nearly 3,000 performances when My beautiful lady, adapted by George Bernard Shaw Game 1913 Pygmalion , had its initial racing at Broadway from 1956. The musical closed its doors in 1962 and was revived four times in Broadway: in 1976, 1981, 1993 and 2018. Combined, these renewals represent near other performances, but they do not count it for the ranking of the longest programs.

22
Hello Dolly!

Hello, Dolly! cast recording
RCA Victor

January 16, 1964 to December 27, 1970
2,844 performances

Carol Channing Played as the nasty holder in the original distribution of this Broadway classic, which was a pillar of the scene through the 60s and was then adapted in a beloved film with Barbra Streisand . The original show finished at the end of 1970, but it was relaunched four times, more recently in 2017 with Midler beet And David Hyde Pierce in the main roles.

21
Hamilton

Hamilton cast recording
Atlantic

August 6, 2015 to present
3,005 Performances and counting

Lin-manuel miranda The musical in the history of hip-hop was a huge feeling when it opened in Broadway in 2015 following a successful Off-Brroadway race. He holds the record for the most tony appointments with 16 heads and was the hottest ticket in New York for a while. Fortunately, a seat is easier to find, but the musical is still strong at the Richard Rodgers Theater.

20
Tobacco road

Playbill for Tobacco Road
Rifle

December 4, 1933 to May 31, 1941
3,182 performances

You may have never heard of it, but Tobacco road ,, Jack Kirkland Play on farmers struck by poverty in the rural regions of Georgia, once held the record to be the oldest spectacle in history. Its classification has decreased considerably since the early 1940s, but it still has the record to be the second non -musical Broadway. (There were three alarm clocks from Tobacco road , but no recently; The last was in 1950.)

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19
Life with Father

Playbill for Life With Father
Rifle

November 8, 1939 to 12 July 1947
3,224 performances

Go just before Tobacco road East Life with Father by Howard Lindsay And Russel Crouse . It is the oldest right game in Broadway by only 42 performances. The adaptation of the author and the designer Clarence Day's Autobiographical stories are a comedy on family life in the middle class above New York. For decades, Life with Father was the oldest show of all kinds in Broadway, and it was not until 1972 that another show passed it.

18
roof violin

Fiddler on the Roof cast album
MasterWorks Broadway

September 22, 1964 to July 2, 1972
3,242 performances

The show that finally beat Life with Father was none other than the next entry of this list, roof violin , a beloved musical on Jewish milk and her three stubborn daughters living in the early 1900s, imperial Russia. He won nine Tony Awards, held the oldest Broadway show record for 10 years and gave five Broadway alarm clock.

17
Fat

Grease cast recording
Polydor

February 14, 1972 to April 13, 1980
3,388 performances

Fat The public delighted for hundreds of "summer nights" - and a lot of nights of autumn, winter and spring, because the musical of rock and roll has already known the record to be the most broadway show ancient. Original production closed in 1980, two years after John Travolta And Olivia Newton-John Played in an equally emblematic cinematographic adaptation. There were two alarm clocks - one in 1994 which ranks n ° 66 on the longer version of this list - and one in 2007 with the winners of a Fat -Commment on the theme .

16
42nd street

42nd Street cast recording
MasterWorks Broadway

August 25, 1980 to January 8, 1989
3,486 performances

Based on the novel and the film, 42nd street Takes the public of the theater fans behind the scenes because it follows the troubled production of a fictitious musical during the Great Depression. A jukebox musical, he presents figures from the 1933 film, as well as several popular songs during the decade when it is defined. 42nd street Closed after nine years; A revival in 2001 took place for 1,524 performances.

15
Alladdin

Aladdin cast recording
Walt Disney records

March 20, 2014 to present
3,563 performance and counting

Alladdin is one of the many Disney animated films that has been successfully adapted for the scene, and this 1992 film took its doors in 2014 and is still dazzling to the public to date. As with many of these Disney films that have become musicals, Alladdin offers additional songs that are not in the original film, including some that were originally written for the film but cut.

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14
Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon cast recording
Deca

April 11, 1991 to January 28, 2001
4,092 performances

Miss Saigon , an update of the 1904 opera Madama Butterfly , opened its doors to Broadway in 1991. For a complete decade, the musical fascinated the public with its starry story during the fall of Saigon. He closed in 2001, although a 2017 revival was also a success. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

13
Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys cast recording
Warner music

November 6, 2005 to January 15, 2017
4,642 performances

This beloved musical from Juke-Box on the Frankie Valli -The rock group and roll the Four Seasons ran on Broadway for many more than four seasons. Presenting successes such as "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "I can't take your eyes off", " Jersey Boys won four Tony Awards.

12
Mormon's book

Book of Mormon cast recording
Ghostlight records

March 24, 2011 to present
4,791 performance and counting

This satirical (but serious) comedy about two naive missionaries of the Holy Day Church is an original idea of Southern park creators Trey Parker And Matt Pierre , with the composer Robert Lopez . Their stage experience The scene has proven as successful as their long -standing cartoon, as Mormon's book won nine Tony prices and still preaches on Broadway to date. (During the cocovated locking hiatus, however, he suffered a little overhaul in the name of being more racly sensitive .)

11
To rent out

Rent cast recording
UNI / Dream Works records

April 29, 1996 to September 7, 2008
5,123 performances

As the song does, there are 525,600 minutes in a year, and since To rent out Was in Broadway for about a dozen years, he accumulated about 6,307,200 minutes. The incredibly influential and popular musical documents of the life of a group of artists from the New York village while dealing with poverty, AIDS and other struggles, and he closed in 2008 , years after being established as a cultural phenomenon.

10
The beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast cast recording
Walt Disney records

April 18, 1994 to July 29, 2007
5,461 performances

The first of Disney cinema musical adaptations was something in a full circle, because the Disney Renaissance of the 90s was fueled by films inspired by Broadway, of which The beauty and the Beast And The little Mermaid . When The beauty and the Beast Done on stage in 1994, he instantly found an audience and paved the way for Disney Theatricals Productions.

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9
Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia cast recording
Polydor Ltd. (United Kingdom)

October 18, 2001 to September 12, 2015
5,758 performances

Abba jumped radio records on stage when Mamma Mia! , a jukebox musical featuring several of the most famous songs of the Swedish Swedish pop group, opened in Broadway in the fall of 2001. The original show lasted almost a decade and a half, and Meryl Streep Played in a cinematographic adaptation which came out halfway from the initial race. Mamma Mia! Dull the distinction of being the most old jukebox musical in Broadway.

8
Oh! Calcutta!

Oh! Calcutta! cast recording
Aidart

September 24, 1976 to August 6, 1989
5,959 performances

The original series of Oh! Calcutta! , a risky theatrical review lasted three years after its opening in 1969, making it the 78th longest show in Broadway's story. The renewal of 1976 was much more successful, playing more than four times more performance over 13 years. It is the oldest review that Broadway has ever seen, and since the magazines have largely fallen out of fashion compared to the big musicals, it seems unlikely that his record will never be broken.

7
A choir line

A Chorus Line cast recording
MasterWorks Broadway

July 25, 1975 to April 28, 1990
6,137 performances

A choir line Follows a group of actors full of hope when they audition to be part of a fictitious show with the A-Show choir line and was, for a while, the production of the oldest Broadway of all the time. It was also the first Broadway show to have more than 4,000 performances - a record that he broke twice when he crossed the 5,000 and finally notes of 6,000 performances before closing in 1990. There has been a renewal, so far, in 2006.

6
Wretched

Les Misérables cast recording
First night (red)

March 12, 1987 to May 18, 2003
6,680 performances

"Do you hear people singing?" Well, for 16 years, the Broadway public heard the cast of Wretched , the musical acclaimed on the French Revolution, stop the now iconic songs of Claude-Michel Schönberg ,, Alain Boublil , And Jean-Marc Natel . Wretched won eight Tony Awards, and after the end of the show in 2003, there were two alarm clocks: a few years later, in 2006 and another in 2014.

5
Cats

Cats cast recording
Polydor

October 7, 1982 to September 10, 2000
7,485 performances

Do Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats make sense? This is not really the goal, and the public clearly loved its feline delights, like the musical based on T.S. Eliot poetry collection Old Possum practical cat book Once the record is the most old Broadway show of all time. A large budget for megamusic cats helped to transform Broadway before it ultimately closed in 2000. There was a revival in 2016, and an Off-Broadway version redesigned is later this year. No matter how long it lasts, we will always have ... memories.

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4
Wicked

Wicked cast recording
Group of universal classics

October 30, 2003 to present
7,936 Performances and counting

Soon be a major film (which was divided into two parts, for any reason), Wicked tells the story of The Wizard of Oz From the point of view of the so-called nasty. A musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked seems ready to cross the brand of 8,000 performances this year, because it still works Under the giant dragon clock at Gershwin Theater.

3
The Lion King

The Lion King cast recording
Walt Disney records

November 13, 1997 to the presence
10,397 performance and counting

The Lion King Maybe the only third longest show in the story of Broadway, but he takes first place on another list: this is most profitable show In the story of Broadway. Renowned for its elaborate costumes and the use of puppets to bring animals from the African savannah to (stylized) on stage, The Lion King is another Disney musical who lives up to the media threw (and the cost of a ticket.) The circle of life continues at the Minskoff Theater.

2
Chicago

Chicago cast recording
RCA Victor

November 14, 1996 to the presence
10,777 performance and counting

The oldest show currently on Broadway is also the oldest renewal, while the curtain rose on the first production of Chicago in 1975. The original show took place for 939 performances; While the revival of 1996 is one of the only two shows to have more than 10,000 performances to its credit. Chicago The history of crime and fame in the era of jazz can still be seen at the Ambassador theater.

1
The Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera cast recording
The really useful group

January 26, 1988 to April 16, 2023
13,981 performances

Consider this: the famous chandelier that blocks (almost) in the public during The Phantom of the Opera fell almost 14,000 times. The musical Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Gaston Leroux Novel is the oldest show in the story of Broadway by 3,000 performances - a really amazing feat. While other productions from around the world are still underway, New York production closed its doors in the spring of 2023, as a presence for the expensive show took a hit According to the Pandemic COVID-19. However, there is a good chance that the ghost will be back to haunt a revival at some point in the future.


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