Broadway Stats

Every so often, I like to look at the list of the longest-running shows on Broadway. The number after each show title is the number of performances the show had on Broadway, not counting previews.  These are the shows that had 1,000 performances or more.

The ones here in boldface are still running and a couple of them have a shot — albeit a long one — of knocking Phantom of the Opera out of the number one spot. All the 1996 revival of Chicago has to do to achieve that is run for another 2724 performances. If they take no vacations and continue to do the customary eight shows a week, they would claim the top spot in 341 weeks, which is like six-and-a-half years. Lion King needs a little more than that.

You would think the top of the list would have a lot of shows by Neil Simon but the show of his that had the most performances was Barefoot in the Park which is in 64th place.  Stephen Sondheim never wrote a show which had 1,000 performances in its initial run but the original production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum came close with 964 performances.

If you added up all the revivals, Sondheim would fare better.  There have been six different Broadway productions of West Side Story totaling 2,117 performances.  There have been six of Gypsy that total more than that and since there's a revival running now, that total is growing.  The three Broadway productions of Forum, the four of Company, the two of A Little Night Music, the four of Sweeney Todd and the three of Into the Woods each total over a thousand performances.

Smash hits run longer these days than they did in earlier times.  When the original production of Hello, Dolly! closed in 1970, Broadway pundits said no musical would ever top its long run. Two years later when the original production of Fiddler on the Roof closed, Broadway pundits said no musical would ever top its long run. Today, those shows are in 19th and 22nd place on this chart.  Phantom of the Opera ran more than five times as long as Dolly!

Since this edition of the list was compiled, Hamilton has passed 42nd Street to move into 16th place and Aladdin will almost certainly move from 15th place to 14th place shortly.  Before they close, those two shows both stand a good chance of making it into the Top Ten.  The Book of Mormon almost certainly will.

As I think I've mentioned before, the odd presence of a revival of Oh! Calcutta! (a show almost no one liked) being in the Top Ten is due to it being a very low-budget production in a small theater that could turn a profit — and therefore, keep running — for a long time with low ticket sales.  It did not have the financial burdens of most other shows.  It also had a lot of naked people in it.

And of course, the number of performances a show lasted on Broadway is not the whole story.  Most shows on this list and many that are not are revived and performed over and over and over all around the world.  The comedy Norman, Is That You? by Sam Bobrick and Ron Clark ran twelve performances on Broadway.  If you added up all the performances of all the productions it's had in regional theaters over the years, it probably beats out at least some of the shows in the Top Ten of this list.  Here's this list…

The Phantom of the Opera – 13,981 Chicago (1996 Revival) – 11,257 The Lion King – 10,881 Wicked – 8,418Cats – 7,485Les Misérables – 6,680A Chorus Line – 6,137Oh! Calcutta! (1976 revival) – 5,959Mamma Mia! – 5,758Beauty and the Beast – 5,461 The Book of Mormon – 5,271Rent – 5,123Jersey Boys – 4,642Miss Saigon – 4,092 Aladdin – 4,04542nd Street – 3,486 Hamilton – 3,485Grease – 3,388Fiddler on the Roof – 3,242Life with Father – 3,224Tobacco Road – 3,182Hello, Dolly! – 2,844My Fair Lady – 2,717Hairspray – 2,642Mary Poppins – 2,619Avenue Q – 2,534Kinky Boots – 2,507The Producers – 2,502Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – 2,416Cabaret (1998 Revival) – 2,377Annie – 2,377Man of La Mancha – 2,328Rock of Ages – 2,328Abie's Irish Rose – 2,327 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – 2,255Oklahoma! – 2,212Smokey Joe's Cafe – 2,036 Hadestown – 1,956Pippin – 1,944South Pacific – 1,925The Magic Show – 1,920Aida – 1,852Gemini – 1,819 Moulin Rouge! – 1,809Deathtrap – 1,793Harvey – 1,775Dancin' – 1,774La Cage aux Folles – 1,761Hair – 1,750The Wiz – 1,672Dear Evan Hansen – 1,672Come From Away – 1,669Born Yesterday – 1,642Crazy For You – 1,622Ain't Misbehavin’ – 1,604The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – 1,584Monty Python's Spamalot – 1,575Mary, Mary – 1,572Evita – 1,567The Voice of the Turtle – 1,557Matilda The Musical – 1,554 Six: The Musical – 1,546Waitress – 1,544Jekyll & Hyde – 1,543Barefoot in the Park – 1,53242nd Street (2001 Revival) – 1,524Dreamgirls – 1,521Mame – 1,508Grease (1994 Revival) – 1,505Same Time, Next Year – 1,453Arsenic and Old Lace – 1,444The Sound of Music – 1,443 MJ The Musical – 1,422Me and My Girl – 1,420How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – 1,417Hellzapoppin – 1,404The Music Man – 1,375Funny Girl – 1,348Mummenschanz – 1,326Oh! Calcutta! – 1,316Billy Elliot: The Musical – 1,312School of Rock: The Musical – 1,309Movin' Out – 1,303Brighton Beach Memoirs – 1,299Angel Street – 1,295Lightnin' – 1,291Promises, Promises – 1,281The King and I – 1,246Cactus Flower – 1,234Sleuth – 1,222Torch Song Trilogy – 1,2221776 – 1,217Equus – 1,209Sugar Babies – 1,208Guys and Dolls – 1,200In the Heights – 1,185Amadeus – 1,181Once – 1,168Memphis – 1,166Cabaret – 1,165Mister Roberts – 1,157Annie, Get Your Gun – 1,147Guys and Dolls (1992 Revival) – 1,143The Seven Year Itch – 1,141The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – 1,136Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk – 1,135Butterflies Are Free – 1,128Pins and Needles – 1,108Plaza Suite – 1,097* & Juliet – 1,093Fosse – 1,093They’re Playing Our Song – 1,082Kiss Me, Kate – 1,077Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark – 1,066Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope – 1,065The Pajama Game – 1,063Shenandoah – 1,050Annie, Get Your Gun (1999 Revival) – 1,045The Teahouse of the August Moon – 1,027Les Misérables (2014 revival) – 1,024Damn Yankees – 1,019Grand Hotel – 1,017Contact – 1,010Never Too Late – 1,007Beatlemania – 1,005Newsies – 1,004