Broadway Location?

Question

I know to be considered a Broadway theater, a theater must have 499 seats. A tour guide in New York said that a show can be a "Broadway Show" without actually being performed on the street Broadway. I was wondering if the theater has to be located in Manhattan or New York for it to be Broadway.

Answer 1

Yes, League Rules specify that a theater must be within a certain zone of Manhattan as well to be considered a Broadway venue. There are many theaters within this zone; only a few are actually located on the street Broadway. As an example, the Marquis Theatre (Drowsy Chaperone) is on Broadway; then Nederlander (Rent) is on the corner of 8th Ave. and 41st St.

So a 1000 seat theater in Harlem (or Brooklyn or New Jersey) will not count as a Broadway venue for Tony eligibility.

However, the League will grant exceptions to this: the Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center is not within the official, "Broadway" zone, but gets special dispensations from the League for its productions (which is why its current resident- South Pacific- was Tony eligible.)