Every so often, I like to look at the list of the longest-running shows on Broadway. The number after each show title is the number of performances the show had on Broadway, not counting previews. These are the shows that had 1,000 performances or more.
The ones here in boldface are still running and a couple of them have a shot — albeit a long one — of knocking Phantom of the Opera out of the number one spot. All the 1996 revival of Chicago has to do to achieve that is run for another 2724 performances. If they take no vacations and continue to do the customary eight shows a week, they would claim the top spot in 341 weeks, which is like six-and-a-half years. Lion King needs a little more than that.
You would think the top of the list would have a lot of shows by Neil Simon but the show of his that had the most performances was Barefoot in the Park which is in 64th place. Stephen Sondheim never wrote a show which had 1,000 performances in its initial run but the original production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum came close with 964 performances.
If you added up all the revivals, Sondheim would fare better. There have been six different Broadway productions of West Side Story totaling 2,117 performances. There have been six of Gypsy that total more than that and since there's a revival running now, that total is growing. The three Broadway productions of Forum, the four of Company, the two of A Little Night Music, the four of Sweeney Todd and the three of Into the Woods each total over a thousand performances.
Smash hits run longer these days than they did in earlier times. When the original production of Hello, Dolly! closed in 1970, Broadway pundits said no musical would ever top its long run. Two years later when the original production of Fiddler on the Roof closed, Broadway pundits said no musical would ever top its long run. Today, those shows are in 19th and 22nd place on this chart. Phantom of the Opera ran more than five times as long as Dolly!
Since this edition of the list was compiled, Hamilton has passed 42nd Street to move into 16th place and Aladdin will almost certainly move from 15th place to 14th place shortly. Before they close, those two shows both stand a good chance of making it into the Top Ten. The Book of Mormon almost certainly will.
As I think I've mentioned before, the odd presence of a revival of Oh! Calcutta! (a show almost no one liked) being in the Top Ten is due to it being a very low-budget production in a small theater that could turn a profit — and therefore, keep running — for a long time with low ticket sales. It did not have the financial burdens of most other shows. It also had a lot of naked people in it.
And of course, the number of performances a show lasted on Broadway is not the whole story. Most shows on this list and many that are not are revived and performed over and over and over all around the world. The comedy Norman, Is That You? by Sam Bobrick and Ron Clark ran twelve performances on Broadway. If you added up all the performances of all the productions it's had in regional theaters over the years, it probably beats out at least some of the shows in the Top Ten of this list. Here's this list…
- The Phantom of the Opera – 13,981
- Chicago (1996 Revival) – 11,257
- The Lion King – 10,881
- Wicked – 8,418
- Cats – 7,485
- Les Misérables – 6,680
- A Chorus Line – 6,137
- Oh! Calcutta! (1976 revival) – 5,959
- Mamma Mia! – 5,758
- Beauty and the Beast – 5,461
- The Book of Mormon – 5,271
- Rent – 5,123
- Jersey Boys – 4,642
- Miss Saigon – 4,092
- Aladdin – 4,045
- 42nd Street – 3,486
- Hamilton – 3,485
- Grease – 3,388
- Fiddler on the Roof – 3,242
- Life with Father – 3,224
- Tobacco Road – 3,182
- Hello, Dolly! – 2,844
- My Fair Lady – 2,717
- Hairspray – 2,642
- Mary Poppins – 2,619
- Avenue Q – 2,534
- Kinky Boots – 2,507
- The Producers – 2,502
- Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – 2,416
- Cabaret (1998 Revival) – 2,377
- Annie – 2,377
- Man of La Mancha – 2,328
- Rock of Ages – 2,328
- Abie's Irish Rose – 2,327
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – 2,255
- Oklahoma! – 2,212
- Smokey Joe's Cafe – 2,036
- Hadestown – 1,956
- Pippin – 1,944
- South Pacific – 1,925
- The Magic Show – 1,920
- Aida – 1,852
- Gemini – 1,819
- Moulin Rouge! – 1,809
- Deathtrap – 1,793
- Harvey – 1,775
- Dancin' – 1,774
- La Cage aux Folles – 1,761
- Hair – 1,750
- The Wiz – 1,672
- Dear Evan Hansen – 1,672
- Come From Away – 1,669
- Born Yesterday – 1,642
- Crazy For You – 1,622
- Ain't Misbehavin’ – 1,604
- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas – 1,584
- Monty Python's Spamalot – 1,575
- Mary, Mary – 1,572
- Evita – 1,567
- The Voice of the Turtle – 1,557
- Matilda The Musical – 1,554
- Six: The Musical – 1,546
- Waitress – 1,544
- Jekyll & Hyde – 1,543
- Barefoot in the Park – 1,532
- 42nd Street (2001 Revival) – 1,524
- Dreamgirls – 1,521
- Mame – 1,508
- Grease (1994 Revival) – 1,505
- Same Time, Next Year – 1,453
- Arsenic and Old Lace – 1,444
- The Sound of Music – 1,443
- MJ The Musical – 1,422
- Me and My Girl – 1,420
- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – 1,417
- Hellzapoppin – 1,404
- The Music Man – 1,375
- Funny Girl – 1,348
- Mummenschanz – 1,326
- Oh! Calcutta! – 1,316
- Billy Elliot: The Musical – 1,312
- School of Rock: The Musical – 1,309
- Movin' Out – 1,303
- Brighton Beach Memoirs – 1,299
- Angel Street – 1,295
- Lightnin' – 1,291
- Promises, Promises – 1,281
- The King and I – 1,246
- Cactus Flower – 1,234
- Sleuth – 1,222
- Torch Song Trilogy – 1,222
- 1776 – 1,217
- Equus – 1,209
- Sugar Babies – 1,208
- Guys and Dolls – 1,200
- In the Heights – 1,185
- Amadeus – 1,181
- Once – 1,168
- Memphis – 1,166
- Cabaret – 1,165
- Mister Roberts – 1,157
- Annie, Get Your Gun – 1,147
- Guys and Dolls (1992 Revival) – 1,143
- The Seven Year Itch – 1,141
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – 1,136
- Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk – 1,135
- Butterflies Are Free – 1,128
- Pins and Needles – 1,108
- Plaza Suite – 1,097
- * & Juliet – 1,093
- Fosse – 1,093
- They’re Playing Our Song – 1,082
- Kiss Me, Kate – 1,077
- Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark – 1,066
- Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope – 1,065
- The Pajama Game – 1,063
- Shenandoah – 1,050
- Annie, Get Your Gun (1999 Revival) – 1,045
- The Teahouse of the August Moon – 1,027
- Les Misérables (2014 revival) – 1,024
- Damn Yankees – 1,019
- Grand Hotel – 1,017
- Contact – 1,010
- Never Too Late – 1,007
- Beatlemania – 1,005
- Newsies – 1,004