Description of the attraction
The Theater District is located in central Manhattan and occupies a quadrangle, the sides of which are Sixth and Eighth Avenues and 40th and 54th Streets. Most of Broadway theaters are located here, as well as many cinemas, restaurants, clubs, recording studios, theater agencies. At the heart of the Theater District is Times Square.
More than forty Broadway theaters, concentrated in the quarter, make it an important segment of the urban economy with a turnover of $ 2 billion a year: the theaters of Gershwin, Neil Simon, August Wilson, Ed Sullivan, Ambassador, Imperial, Music Box, Majestic "," New Amsterdam "… Of course, viewers do not think about the economy, they just go to the call of advertising lights. It was these shining lights that more than a century ago gave the area a second name - the Great White Way (colored bulbs burned out too quickly, only white ones had to be used). Since then, Broadway theaters have been one of New York's top attractions.
It all began in 1750, when Walter Murray and Thomas Keane created a theater company in New York that presented Shakespeare's plays. Two years later, twelve English actors came to America and founded a theater, which was also opened by Shakespeare. Years passed, theaters multiplied, new genres appeared: burlesque, then musical.
Musicals (shows that combine song, dialogue and dance) have become a highlight and an integral part of Broadway theaters. Already in the 19th century, musicals became an important part of American culture, provincials came to New York specifically to visit Broadway theaters, and touring around the country was also a great success.
The greatest popularity of musicals reached in the XX century. Here, on Broadway, George Gershwin made his debut and here in 1935 his "Porgy and Bess" premiered. Here were the world famous musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber "The Phantom of the Opera", "Cats", "Evita", Claude-Michel Schoenberg - "Les Miserables", Frederick Lowe - "My Fair Lady", Jerry Herman - "Hello, Dolly!", Galt McDermott - "Hair", John Kander - "Cabaret" and "Chicago", "The Lion King" using music by Elton John, "Mamma Mia!" stories, and many of them are still on the stages of local theaters.
If a tourist wants to enjoy a Broadway show, Theater District is the place to be. Here you can have a snack before the performance next to the theater and have dinner after. If one theater runs out of tickets, there is a chance to make it to others. And in addition, in Times Square (in the part that bears a separate name Duffy Square) there is a kiosk TKTS - a company that sells "last minute" theater tickets with discounts.
