The Top Broadway Shows Of All Time

Opening Night Thrills

“Everyone deserves the chance to fly,” claims the musical Wicked, but some Broadway productions fly higher than others. Relying on ticket sales and number of shows, let’s see which musicals cast a magical spell over audiences—even as others fail to defy gravity.

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Hadestown

Premiering in 2019, this Broadway production is still running, racking up more than $200 million in ticket sales. Inspired by Greek myth, singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell wrote a tale of how singer/songwriter Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice, then vows to rescue her from a dismal underworld factory run by Hades. The show won eight Tony Awards, including for Best Musical.

Set of Hadestown musical on the Broadway production Bex Walton, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Music Man

This Broadway show took in $206 million at the box office from 1957 to 1961—and that’s not adjusting for inflation! A traveling con man risks getting caught when he finds himself in love with a music teacher, making it hard to skip town yet again. Meredith Willson’s first musical won the Tony for Best Musical, and is best remembered for the alarmist tune “Ya Got Trouble”.

Joan Weldon & Forrest Tucker in the original US National Tour of the musical The Music Man John E. Hall studio, Wikimedia Commons

MJ The Musical

Hitting Broadway in 2022, this tribute to Michael Jackson has taken in $237 million at the box office so far. Myles Frost won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for playing Jackson. Though critics were lukewarm about the musical, it’s turned out to be one of the hottest tickets in town.

The Neil Simon Theatre in Manhattan, New York Epicgenius, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Hairspray

Running from 2002 to 2009, Hairspray took in $252 million in ticket sales with its tale of Tracy Turblad and her 1962 dream of appearing on a local TV dance show. Based on John Waters’ 1988 film, the Broadway production won seven Tony Awards including for Best New Musical.

Neil Simon Theatre, showing Hairspray Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Dear Evan Hansen

Bullied Evan Hansen accidentally looks popular and heroic after a high school tragedy, then chooses to go along with the misimpression. The musical took in $270 million during its run from 2016 to 2022, but an unpopular film adaptation and the Covid-19 pandemic meant lights out for the production.

Dear Evan Hansen in Theater District, Midtown Manhattan, NYC Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Premiering in 2014, this Broadway musical took in $270 million from 2014 to 2019 as it told the tale of singer/songwriter Carole King’s early career. King even made some cameo appearances during the Broadway run of the show. Critics seemed to respect, if not exactly adore, this musical biography, but audiences were swayed.

Katie Brayben with Alan Morrissey in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical Opening Night Theatre Tickets Direct, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rent

With a 12-year run, this Broadway production was definitely a long-term rental, taking in $274 million at the box office starting in 1996. Young artists struggle to pay rent in the East Village in this adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera La Bohème. Tragically, the show’s creator, Jonathan Larson, died the night before its first workshopped production in 1993.

Nederlander Theatre during the run of Rent Derek Jensen, CC-BY-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Adapted from the 2001 film directed by Baz Luhrmann, the Broadway production opened in 2019 and has so far taken in $287 million at the box office. A mixture of original songs and popular hits backed a tale of love in Paris’s seedy demimonde, with the production earning numerous awards including a Tony for Best Musical.

Image of the stage at the Piccadilly Theatre, London Mary Gkp, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Producers

In a six-year run, this adaptation of Mel Brooks' 1967 film about the unintended success of the world’s worst musical took in $288 million starting in 2001, winning 12 Tony Awards and running for over 2,500 performances. However, sales weakened when Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane left the show.

The Producers in Theatre Royal Edward, Wikimedia Commons

Mary Poppins

A musical by the Sherman Brothers, it draws on the 1964 Disney film and Mary Poppins children’s books. A great success in the West End, the production floated over the Atlantic in 2006 to open on Broadway, winning a Tony for Best Musical. It closed in 2013 after over 2,600 performances, grossing $294 million along the way.

New Amsterdam Theatre showing Mary Poppins Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kinky Boots

Audiences and critics in 2013 almost gave this musical the boot before it picked up buzz and won audiences over, along with a Tony for Best Musical. Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein turned to a true story of a failing English shoe factory that was saved thanks to support from a drag performer. By its 2019 close, the musical had generated foot traffic worth $319 million.

The Al Hirschfield Theatre adorned for Kinky Boots Blethering Scot, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Miss Saigon

From the creators of the Les Misérables musical, Miss Saigon was a tremendous success in London, and had a nearly decade-long run on Broadway starting in 1991. It transformed Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly to Saigon to tell the tale of a local bargirl and a US Marine. Broadway audiences flocked to the show to the tune of $322 million in ticket sales.

Miss Saigon Broadway Entrance YanCiss, Shutterstock

Beauty And The Beast

The 1991 Disney film looked almost ready made for the stage, and an adaptation ended up on Broadway in 1994 to mixed reviews but enthusiastic audiences. A beast at the box office, it collected $429 million in ticket sales by the end of its 13-year run.

The Beast Logo outside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 2006, in the final years of Beauty and the Beast matanya, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Cats

Broadway audiences lapped up Andrew Lloyd Webber’s tale of singing cats, dishing out $453 million during its original run from 1982 to 2000 and its revival from 2016 to 2017. The lyrics are inspired by TS Eliot’s poems and tell the story of the Jellicles, who meet to decide which of their kind will rise to cat heaven. In 2019, a poorly received film adaptation was released that seemed to prove there’s also a cat hell.

Cats the Musical, UK tour, Manchester Opera House Mikey, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Les Misérables

The box office was anything but miserable, raking in more than half-a-million dollars over its original run from 1987 to 2003—along with revivals in 2006 and 2014 to 2016. Based on a Victor Hugo novel about a peasant jailed for stealing a loaf of bread, the Broadway production ran for 8,167 performances as audiences forked over $514 million to follow this tale of hapless Valjean and a merciless pursuer, Inspector Javert.

Les Misérables (musical) at the Palace Theatre Secretlondon, CC BY-SA 1.0, Wikimedia Commons

Jersey Boys

Based on the real-life band Frankie Vallie And The Four Seasons, this Broadway hit ran from 2005 to 2017, scoring $558 million in ticket sales. Each “season” is told through a different band member’s recollections of the 1960s and 1970s, and features the band’s songs from the time. In 2014, a film adaptation was released.

August Wilson Theatre (formerly Virginia Theatre), showing Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mamma Mia!

“Mamma Mia!” is an appropriate reaction for this romp through ABBA’s back catalogue. The hit Broadway production, including the song “Money, Money, Money,” brought in $624 million in ticket sales from 2001 to 2015. The musical’s title comes from the Swedish group’s 1975 hit single, with the band’s songwriters, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, involved in the musical’s development from the start. A film adaptation came out in 2008.

Mamma Mia! made its North American debut at the Royal Alexandra Theatre Dhodges, Wikimedia Commons

Aladdin

Here’s a stage adaptation of another Disney film, Aladdin (1992), telling the tale of a genie in a lamp who grants three wishes. It flew to Broadway in 2014, with critics inclined to lean positive. Still running, the musical has put on over 3,800 performances and amassed nearly $680 million in ticket sales. Truly magical!

Aladdin (musical) at the New Amsterdam Theater Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Chicago

A choreographed tale of Chicago criminals and associates, this Broadway musical lasted two years under the direction of the renowned Bob Fosse. The 1996 revival is still going strong, with the longest run for a current production. Total box office for both original and revival is $794 million. There’s also an Oscar-winning 2002 film adaptation you can watch.

Screenshot of the movie Chicago Miramax, Chicago (2002)

The Book Of Mormon

Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone combined their writing and comedic skills to produce an irreverent look at Mormon missionaries in Africa. It debuted on Broadway in 2011 and has so far gone through over 5,000 performances, selling tickets worth $818 million.

The Eugene O'Neill Theatre with The Book of Mormon Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Hamilton

Created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton: An American Musical opened on Broadway in 2015, and it keeps getting fans’ votes. The musical raps and sings its way through the political life of US President Alexander Hamilton, generating over a billion dollars’ worth of ticket sales along the way, and that’s just on Broadway.

Hamilton at the Private Bank Theater Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Phantom Of The Opera

An astonishing run from 1988 to 2023 generated $1.3 billion in ticket sales and a record 13,981 performances. One of the high notes of his career, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical tells the story of a musician who dares not show his face in public, and hides in a labyrinth while obsessing about a soprano.

The Phantom of the Opera At the Majestic Theatre ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Wicked

Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch of the West, Galinda will become Glinda the Good, and Wicked will become the second-biggest Broadway musical ever. Adapted from a Gregory Maguire novel, this revisionist tribute to L Frank Baum’s Oz was written by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, grossing $1.6 million over nearly 8,200 Broadway performances, starting in 2003.

George Gershwin Theatre, showing the musical Wicked Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Lion King

And taking the crown is The Lion King, which has devoured a record $2 billion in Broadway ticket sales. Audiences have flocked to see puppets and performers in animal costumes, turning the colorful spectacle into the third longest-running show on Broadway. Debuting in 1997, the show’s 10,700 performances feature music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, springing from Disney’s hit 1994 movie.

The Lion King on Broadway showing originally at the New Amsterdam Theater Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rock Of Ages

With ticket prices ever more expensive, older productions with impressive runs can get lost in the mix. For 2,328 performances, this “jukebox musical” resurrected the glammest of glam rock hits from the 1980s, though sadly not once from 2009 and 2015 did it showcase Def Leppard’s song by the same name.

Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Theatre Prioryman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Annie

Inspired by a comic strip, this musical tale of Orphan Annie’s search for her parents debuted on Broadway in 1977, winning Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Book. The production recorded an impressive 2,377 performances, despite being bounced from one theater to the next for its last year or so.

Publicity photo of Andrea McArdle as Annie, Reid Shelton as Daddy Warbucks and Sandy from the Broadway musical Annie Photographer-Martha Swope, Wikimedia Commons

Cabaret (1998 revival)

While the original run from 1966 to 1969 saw 1,166 shows, inspired the 1972 movie, and helped make Joel Grey a star for his mesmerizing performance as the Emcee, the 1998 revival of Cabaret put on 2,377 shows (tying with Annie) to become Broadway’s third longest-running revival. Alan Cumming and later Neil Patrick Harris took to the stage in the pivotal role of Emcee before it was lights out early in 2004.

Neil Patrick Harris at the San Diego Comic Con vagueonthehow, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Avenue Q

Three human actors chat with puppets in this provocative parody of Sesame Street that’s set somewhere in an “outer-outer” borough of New York City. Among its chipper songs are “School for Monsters” and “What Do You Do With A BA in English?” Having grossed $121 million over 2,534 performances from 2003 to 2009, the show then went Off-Broadway for nearly a decade.

The cast of Avenue Q performs Michael Schamis, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

My Fair Lady

Through 2,717 performances from 1956 to 1962, Henry Higgins tried to turn a Cockney flower girl into an impeccable example of linguistic refinement. Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews were a hit, though Andrews was dropped for the 1964 film.

Cover of Playbill magazine for the Broadway show My Fair Lady Playbill magazine, Wikimedia Commons

Hello, Dolly!

Carol Channing played a boisterous matchmaker seeking a bride for a “half-a-millionaire” in this Broadway production directed and choreographed by Gower Champion. Hitting Broadway in 1964, the Jerry Herman musical soon made a star of Channing, though by 1970 and throughout 2,844 performances, Ethel Merman and others took their turns as Dolly too.

Publicity photo of Carol Channing and David Burns in Broadway play, Hello Dolly King c/o Sabinson, Wikimedia Commons

Tobacco Road

Not a musical, but this stage play about Depression-era Georgia farmers sits at #33 on the list of longest-running Broadway productions, running from 1933 to 1941. Critics weren’t sure if the play was a comedy or tragedy, but audiences loved it through 3,182 Broadway performances.

Stage view of Tobacco Road, Paramount Theater National Archives and Records Administration, Wikimedia Commons

Life With Father

Another non-musical, this play ran from 1939 to 1947 and featured a lovable Wall Street broker who despairs that his standards can never be met. Broadway audiences enjoyed its 3,224 performances, with the play reaching the silver screen in 1947.

Postcard showing cast of Life with Father Tichnor Brothers, Wikimedia Commons

Fiddler On The Roof

A critical and commercial success, this musical about Jewish life in a Russian village was the longest-running Broadway musical until Grease surpassed its record a decade later. From 1964 to 1972, the production put on 3,242 performances—and saw five revivals on Broadway, plus a 1971 film adaptation.

Zero Mostel as Tevye in the original Broadway production Graphic House, Wikimedia Commons

Grease

Set in a Chicago high school in 1959, Grease saw 3,388 Broadway performances from 1972 to 1980 and spawned a 1978 film along with two revivals on Broadway. It held the record for longest run until A Chorus Line dethroned it in 1983.

Screenshot of the movie Grease Paramount, Grease (1978)

42nd Street

Famed producer David Merrick took a risk transferring a 1933 film to live theater, but this behind-the-scenes tale of Broadway rehearsals was a hit. In a tragic twist, Merrick took to the stage on opening night to announce the show’s director and choreographer, Gower Champion, had died that very day. But the show lived on for 3,486 performances from 1980 to 1989.

Promotional photograph for the film 42nd Street Warner Bros., Wikimedia Commons

Oh! Calcutta! (1976 Revival)

Considered risqué when it debuted Off-Broadway in 1969, this clothing-optional revue managed a decent 1,314 performances before closing in 1972. But it had even greater staying power in a revival lasting from 1976 to 1989. Its 5,959 performances make it the longest Broadway revue ever, and second longest-running revival (behind Chicago).

Oh! Calcutta! Press Conference Fred Ohert, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

A Chorus Line

To the tune of Marvin Hamlisch’s music, a choreographer auditions dancers for his chorus line. The show’s 6,137 performances from 1975 to 1990 made for a Broadway record until Cats leaped over it in 1997. The production won nine awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a rare accolade for a musical—with “I Hope I Get It” described as “one of the most exciting openings in all musical theatre” by one critic.

Agency publicity photo of Marvin Hamlisch wearing black shirt Michael Childers, Wikimedia Commons

Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark

With over a thousand performances from 2011 to 2014, this musical took in an impressive box office of $212 million, but was caught in a web of costly stunts, accidents, and rewrites. U2’s Bono and the Edge wrote the music and lyrics, but star power couldn’t prevent investors from getting bitten badly.

The Edge and Bono Irish rock band U2 performing at Mediolanum Forum U2start, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Encore

Broadway history is filled with hits and flops, and you usually can’t tell ahead of time. But its greatest successes are a reminder that sometimes dreams really can come true—for audiences and performers alike.