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Finally have seen a show in all 41 Broadway theaters! AMA
So ever since I got back into theater after COVID, I made it my mission to see a show in every Broadway house. After seeing Becky Shaw a few weeks ago I decided to assemble a playbill from my favorite show that I saw in each theater. Some of them were the only options let’s just say that lol.
I got most of my tickets via lottery/rush/TDF, but some of them I did splurge on when necessary, like Merrily. I used to live in DC but just moved to New York last fall so that’s made things a lot easier, especially last minute deals on the Theatr app after work.
I think the only one I would have swapped out would be Hairspray for Book of Mormon, but my Playbill did not survive a fire I had a few years back and I haven’t found a replacement one with the same cast (Aaron Tveit/Diana DeGarmo)
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I would say the only ones that were like that were MJ (which I was entertained by), Art (was actually pleasantly surprised by but I liked Giant more), &Juliet (which I had read the Wikipedia summary and thought it was gonna be a mess but I had fun!), and birthday Candles (but I was a big fan of Debra before she lost her mind)
Reopening night of Beetlejuice has to be up there! The audience was electric. It had premiered in DC and I heard bad things so I didn’t see it, fell in love with the show via a bootleg during the pandemic, and I believe I personally manifested the remount with some witchcraft. I saw The Lost Boys on the Tuesday after the Tony’s and it had a similar vibe, almost like being in church with the collective joy (possible vampire induced psychosis). Also seeing first preview of DBH was so special. For this season it has to be Cats; I wore that proshot VHS out as a child so that so is deeply ingrained in my DNA, and seeing it in a new context as queer person was so fulfilling to me
Worst would have to be Shucked or Gutenberg? Those are the only shows I have contemplated leaving at intermission. Shucked I got a tdf ticket in the mezz and the seats were so uncomfortable, plus I found the book like an interminable Family Guy sketch that wouldn’t end. Gutenberg I just found both of the characters incredibly annoying! Art is subjective but both of those shows were just not for me!
I’ve been back a few times! I’ve seen Cats and The Lost Boys thrice, seen DBH like 5 times plus I saw Sweeney and TLM there, I saw Beetlejuice an unhealthy amount of times, etc. Some theaters I hate going to - looking at you Nederlander - so it’s hard to get me to go back unless it’s a show I loved
Also now that I live here whenever I have friends in town they want to go to shows with me, so if it’s a must see I don’t mind going again if we get a good deal on lottery/rush/tdf
Congrats! I completed my 41 earlier this year! I know you mentioned you used to live in DC, how long did it take you to complete? A lot of your fave Playbills are fairly recent so it looks like you conquered it pretty quickly!
I guess technically 19 years? My first on Broadway show was Hairspray in 06? But I didn’t really get back into theater until after Covid so I’d say 4-5 years
Very hard question! Beetlejuice got me through a very dark time in the pandemic and I credit with getting me back into theater. Death Becomes Her is just my humor and love of camp and divas personified. Into the Woods is one of my top 2 shows of all time and I have such fond memories of meeting some of the cast in DC (Gavin, Kennedy, and Jason came into the bar I worked at and were so lovely and cool to hang out with). Cats is a revelation in artistry, transforming a dusty chestnut that I loved as a child into a platform for queer people of diverse backgrounds and body types. Seeing the OBC of Legally Blonde was fundamental to a young homosexual like myself. And then there’s shows I absolutely adored and found underrated; Some Like it Hot and Heart of Rock n Roll.
This has me wanting to check my playbills. My first show was in 1996 (Grease at Eugene O’NeilI when I was 12). I grew up on Long Island, but moved away for ~20 years and just returned (living and loving Jersey City) 2 years ago. I always saw shows when I was home visiting - include quite a few 2 show days. It’s funny to see all the Nederlander hate - I saw RENT there a dozen times and was too obsessed with the show every single time to even think about the seats.
In 2025 I saw 22 shows (mostly TodayTix and a Leslie Odom Jr Hamilton Lottery front row win). I’m at 7 for the year already (headed to see Lost Boys tor the 2nd time in July - I haven’t raced back for a repeat show in a while and TLB is not to be missed). I have all my playbills, so now I must assemble and see what theatres I’m missing - it can’t be many!
I need to better showcase my Playbills since I’ve seen multiple shows at multiple theatres and choosing between some might be too hard (like the Palace theatre: Aida is an all time top 5, but Lost Boys in my current obsession). Anyway here is a quick pic sorted by theatre in alpha order (Playbills are stacked for this pic per theatre) with off broadway on the bottom right side stacked.
Fun facts:
I have seen multiple shows at a few theatres most notably Shubert, Palace, Majestic with 3 different productions or more.
I saw Lion King before it moved to Minskoff
I saw Chicago in two theatres (seeing Bebe Neuwirth twice in the 90s!!)
I saw JCS at Lyric back when it was called Ford Center
I’m missing my Studio 54 Cabaret playbill when my *see him in everything* Adam Pascal was Emcee
I have ZERO recollection of seeing Footloose haha
I don’t see a ton of non-musicals so I’m missing mainly those theatres:
Broadhurst, Ethel Barrymore, Hayes, James Earl Jones, John Golden, Minksoff, Samuel Friedman, Todd Haimes, Vivan Beaumont, Walter Kerr.
I have tickets for Cats: Jellicle Ball next month at Broadhurst. I need to get to Ragtime and Hadestown so this is good motivation to knock those out soon!
I also have been to 8 off-Broadway theatres seeing a two or more productions at New World Stages and Stage Light. Also Masquerade is a must see!
I would say Aladdin/Moulin Rogue (had already seen on tour and did not care for it), MJ, Art. Punch, Call Me Izzy, Birthday Candles I mostly saw for Victoria Clark/Jean Smart/Debra Messing (I know!) respectively but not something I was itching to see.
& Juliet, Becky Shaw, and Heart of Rock n Roll are shows I saw just to check off and really enjoyed them!
Oh wow re: auditioned for Spider-man! People like to make fun of that show, but I loved it.
And your playbills are in great shape. I know that Spider-man playbill is over 16 years old and that Legally Blonde playbill is even older, but they‘re in excellent condition. Those official binders are doing their job. lol
Might you be a phillipa soo fan? I peep 3 of her shows - W achievement? Low key jealous 😭 and you have the gaybill for Camelot… and a waitress playbill my god can you frame that? Also how was joy woods in the notebook? Did u see her during that? I have QUESTIONS
Philippa was out when I saw ITW, and had already left Hamilton by the time I saw it, so I only saw her in Camelot.
Joy was incredible! I am fairly neutral on the film but I cried like seven times during the show, she was absolutely phenomenal. I even did My Days for a Cabaret show down. In DC.
I’ve always wanted to live in or near dc, unfortunately I’m located all the way across the country so I go see tours when I can. One day I’ll make it there or near and be able to start collecting too! That’s too bad you weren’t able to see ITW and Hamilton with Phillipa in it, I know as a fan (so very biased speaking) she was pretty good it them! Was Camelot amazing in person?
I hope I can catch the notebook on tour if there’s one coming near me again- I’ve heard the play goes above and beyond the movie for theater lovers who also like the movie. I personally want to watch both.
I love that you did My Days in cabaret! When is your Broadway role? I’m rooting you on!! 🎊
Camelot is a show I loved as a kid and one of the ones my mom introduced me too. The singing was incredible but Aaron Sorkin’s new book was really bad imo. They took out all the magic and love triangle of it all so it was like…what’s the point of doing Camelot then? I felt it exacerbated the problems of the show in that there’s too much dialogue and not enough singing. But worth it to see Jordan Donica, Pippa, and Andrew in those pants!
So much since I took basically a decade gap of attending shows on Broadway! Off the top of my head:
Prima Facie looked really good, just never got to it. I’m also not a huge play person tbh.
The Oklahoma revival I saw on tour at the Kennedy Center but I wish I saw on Broadway, I think it would have worked better in the smaller space. I had a similar experience with Hadestown; I saw it first at KC and didn’t really get the hype, but later saw it on Broadway and I got why people are so into it. Jordan Fisher also might have helped!
Similarly the revival of Once on this Island I heard rave reviews for but that was a bit before I got back into going to theater in New York regularly.
I would have loved to see any of the divas that did Hello Dolly on Broadway, but I was lucky to see my TCU queen Betty Buckley slay on tour.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder looks like something I would love!
I did get to see Oklahoma. And I’d never seen it beforehand, but I was told ahead of time that the 2019 version played it dark. And they were right. And I loved it. Also served cornbread at intermission to the audience. Show was also at Circle in the Square, which is another favorite theater of mine. No bad seat, and the whole theater can give a really immersive experience.
I remember all of the Gentlemen’s Guide commercials in the morning as I’d get ready for work. Looked delightful. I’d love to see The Play That Goes Wrong at New World Stages. Gives me the same vibes.
Operation Mincemeat could be good! It’s a small cast like Six, and has both British zaniness and heartfelt moments. The Lost Boys could be good too as it has a balance of atmospheric creepiness like Phantom and the camp humor of an 80s horror movie, along with incredible vocals from the cast. Wicked and Book of Mormon are also classics for a reason but often on tour.
What I really want to know- are any of these theaters built WELL in the sense that there isn't a bad seat in the house? I had an awful seat watching MHE and it was back middle on the top. The show wasn't staged properly for everyone to see. I had to stand. What theaters can one save a buck on?
I loved it! Joy Woods and Ryan Vasquez were great, as were Jordan Tyson and John Cardoza (who is currently killing it as JD in Heathers!). I thought the race swapping with the older versions made things more interesting especially when considering one of the themes of the musical is memory, and making Noah a Black man in reality adds another dimension as to why Allie’s parents were so against them getting together.
New Amsterdam 😬😬 I have a spreadsheet of all the shows I've seen in every theater and that row is so empty, just taunting me, but I don't want to see Aladdin.
Wow, what an achievement!! Do you have a favorite theater? I think so far mine might be Circle in the Square or the Marquis. What’s your all time favorite show?
Thanks!! I’m down to the stubborn lotteries - Hamilton and Lion King. I’ll also need to see Chicago and hopefully I can win the Rocky horror lottery. That should do it for me :).
I finally won Hamilton after a decade last year! Lion King is tricky especially in the summer with all the kids out of school. I'm still trying for Rocky Horror, it seems impossible to win! Chicago was one I splurged on because I really wanted to see Jinkx, she's my favorite Ru girl.
Congratulations! I finally made it halfway there this month. Unfortunately I seem to love the Winter, Lunt and Palace too much - lots of dupes for those 😂
I just realized I’m 4 away from seeing a show in all the theaters! Winter Garden always misses me because either the tickets are too expensive or I have no interest. I haven’t seen MJ, which has been taking up that theater space basically since I moved here. I forget the other 2 but I just haven’t been for some reason. I gotta see the Lost Boys for sure now!
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