"I feel it is my job in life to provide helpful tidbits, and it is Tim Horton's job in my life to provide helpful Timbits."
The above quote is from yours truly. Since I was a little kid, I have been fascinated by trivia and fun facts related to all different areas of knowledge. I even competed on my high school quiz team with this acquired knowledge, scoring major wins with my teammates.
Today's post will be a fact dump of neat Broadway facts that I have acquired recently. Next week will be another review of a popular musical! In the meantime, here are 10 musical theatre facts that will surely satisfy the trivia nerd in you.
1. The cost of a Broadway ticket is about $95 on average.
This is less than I anticipated. However, as I am a college student trying to get by, I'm still going to pass, no matter how much I want to see "Be More Chill".
2. In 2012, Broadway ticket offices sold 12.4 million tickets!
9,081,636 of these tickets were sold for musical attendees. That number rose to 11,454,081 for the 2017-2018 season!
3. The first production on Broadway was produced by legendary showman P.T. Barnum in 1870.
That must've been the greatest show! You can throw popcorn at me now.
4. The longest running show on Broadway is "The Phantom Of The Opera". It premiered on Jan. 26, 1988. As of March 19, 2019, it has run for 12,959 performances.
The second-longest running show is "Chicago", which has had 9,283 performances so far!
5. Theatres in New York City must follow specific criteria in order to be considered a "Broadway" theatre.
They must seat at least 500 people and have to be located between 40th Street and 54th Street, west of 6th Avenue and east of 8th Avenue.
6. There are a total of 41 Broadway theatres. However, if you look at the number of Broadway theatres actually located on Broadway, the number is drastically reduced to four.
The Circle In The Square Theatre, the Marquis Theatre, the Palace Theatre, and the Winter Garden Theatre are the only theatres located on the street known as Broadway.
7. Speaking of the street, Broadway is the most lengthy road in the city. It runs for 33 whole miles, starting in Lower Manhattan and ending in Albany.
The street was originally called Brede Weg by the Dutch, which can be literally translated into "Broad Way".
8. Broadway theatres do not have a row designated with the letter "I". Why is this? Too many theatregoers were discouraged after realizing that "Row 1" on their ticket was actually row I, so the row designation was dissolved.
Another reason behind the change? Ticketholders who had tickets to that row went to the front row instead of the ninth and got into fights.
If I was a theatregoer with a "Row I" ticket, I would think it meant a first row ticket also, so I'm not surprised that they made this change.
9. The highest grossing Broadway show is "The Lion King".
Based on the 1994 Disney flick, the "Lion King" musical has made over $1.4 billion in ticket sales. This amounts to around $2 million each week.
Just this week, the show has made over $2.024 million, coming in second to recent powerhouse "Hamilton".
10. The Palace Theatre, located on Broadway, is said to be haunted, with around 100 spirits passing through. Popular supernatural visitors include the ghosts of actress Judy Garland and acrobat Louis Bossalina.
What is your favorite tidbit of Broadway trivia? Have you ever seen a spirit lurking in the Palace Theatre? Would you accidentally go to the wrong row if you had a ticket for row I? Feel free to comment down below!
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