Overview of New York Theatre

Generally, New York theatres are divided into Broadway , Off Broadway, and Off Off Broadway. Determining what is Broadway and Off Broadway is not straightforward with no 'official' guidelines as such. However, we have noted below the general rules. ** BROADWAY Generally, a theatre is classed as a Broadway Theatre if it is geographically between 41st street and 54th Street and between Sixth and Eighth Ave, and has a minimum of 499 seats.(Note, there are exceptions!!). Broadway Theatres are also mainly commercial theatres. ** OFF BROADWAY & OFF OFF BROADWAY Generally, a theatre is classed as Off Broadway if it has less than 499 seats and more than 99 seats and/or is outside the geographical Broadway area. An Off Off Broadway theatre generally has less than 100 seats. Most Off Broadway theatres are also non-profit. For the purpose of our listings on this site all shows that are not classed as Broadway, are listed as Off Broadway. **Note This is only a simple guidence. There are many exceptions and many other theatre folk/organisations may disagree !!