Broadway Theater

Broadway theater is a form of commercial stage entertainment that became prominent in the late 19th century and remains popular to the present day. It has flourished in New York City through plays and musicals for many decades, while also [Page 253]wielding national influence through touring companies. The form first made an impact through a “Broadway” brand in the late 19th century, when hit shows were sold as Broadway within New York City and nationally through railroad tours. In addition to being branded this way, plays and musicals began exhibiting a unique, American-born Broadway style in the 1920s and 1930s. As this style coalesced in the mid-20th century and the brand continued to fuel ticket sales nationally, Broadway became more clearly defined and entered what ...