They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright
I saw Hamilton in Columbus on Friday. In honor of that, here's a list of the shows I've seen on Broadway, or, more precisely, since at least one of these was Off-Broadway, in New York City.
1998
1. Chicago - 12/23 - Shubert Theatre
2. The Lion King - 12/24 - New Amsterdam Theatre
3. Miss Saigon - 12/25 - Broadway Theatre
4. Ragtime - 12/26 (Matinee) - Ford Center
5. Rent - 12/26 - Nederlander Theatre (third time)
2001
6. Cabaret - 1/06 - Studio 54
7. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - 1/08 - Westside Theatre (off-Broadway)
8. Rent - 1/09 - Nederlander Theatre (sixth time)
9. Contact - 1/10 (Matinee) - Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center
10. The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe - 1/10 - Booth Theatre (Lily Tomlin's revival of her solo show)
2002
11. Dance of the Vampires - 12/16 - Minskoff Theatre (with Michael Crawford, one of just 56 total performances!)
12. Aida - 12/17 - The Palace Theatre
13. The Producers - 12/18 (Matinee) - St. James Theatre
14. Proof - 12/12 - Walter Kerr Theatre (play, with Anne Heche)
2005
15. Avenue Q - 12/21 - The John Golden Theatre
16. Monty Python's Spamalot - 12/23 (Matinee) - Shubert Theatre (with Hank Azaria)
17. Doubt - 12/23 - Walter Kerr Theatre (play, with Cherry Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne)
18. The Light in the Piazza - 12/24 - Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center (with Chris Sarandon)
2012
19. Once - 12/13 - Jacobs Theatre
2015
20. Something Rotten! - 11/24 - St. James Theatre
I make it three plays and seventeen musicals, with one of the musicals being off-Broadway. I suppose that someone who was sufficiently obsessive could make a list of all the theaters and figure out ways to cross off the remainder, but unlike baseball, where you can be assured that the game is going to more or less enjoyable no matter where you are, the quality of any given show varies wildly, so I can't imagine bothering.
All of these were with at least my sister and typically with my parents as well. As you can tell, our periodic trips to New York City have become shorter, fewer in number and less theater focused over the years. On the plus side, as I live in Cleveland near a theater complex that bills itself as the "largest outside New York", most things come through as touring productions. I used to go much more frequently, and think I may build the list of those major touring shows that I've seen. If you have access to touring shows and do go to New York and don't have specific shows you want to see, I strongly recommend picking out shows you don't think will tour, which usually means theater or one person shows. Getting the cheap tickets in Times Square can lead to some interesting choices as well. I no longer recall which of these were from that booth, but many were, including the "it'll never tour, it's so bad it's still pretty bad" Dance of the Vampires.
1998
1. Chicago - 12/23 - Shubert Theatre
2. The Lion King - 12/24 - New Amsterdam Theatre
3. Miss Saigon - 12/25 - Broadway Theatre
4. Ragtime - 12/26 (Matinee) - Ford Center
5. Rent - 12/26 - Nederlander Theatre (third time)
2001
6. Cabaret - 1/06 - Studio 54
7. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change - 1/08 - Westside Theatre (off-Broadway)
8. Rent - 1/09 - Nederlander Theatre (sixth time)
9. Contact - 1/10 (Matinee) - Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center
10. The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe - 1/10 - Booth Theatre (Lily Tomlin's revival of her solo show)
2002
11. Dance of the Vampires - 12/16 - Minskoff Theatre (with Michael Crawford, one of just 56 total performances!)
12. Aida - 12/17 - The Palace Theatre
13. The Producers - 12/18 (Matinee) - St. James Theatre
14. Proof - 12/12 - Walter Kerr Theatre (play, with Anne Heche)
2005
15. Avenue Q - 12/21 - The John Golden Theatre
16. Monty Python's Spamalot - 12/23 (Matinee) - Shubert Theatre (with Hank Azaria)
17. Doubt - 12/23 - Walter Kerr Theatre (play, with Cherry Jones and Brian F. O'Byrne)
18. The Light in the Piazza - 12/24 - Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center (with Chris Sarandon)
2012
19. Once - 12/13 - Jacobs Theatre
2015
20. Something Rotten! - 11/24 - St. James Theatre
I make it three plays and seventeen musicals, with one of the musicals being off-Broadway. I suppose that someone who was sufficiently obsessive could make a list of all the theaters and figure out ways to cross off the remainder, but unlike baseball, where you can be assured that the game is going to more or less enjoyable no matter where you are, the quality of any given show varies wildly, so I can't imagine bothering.
All of these were with at least my sister and typically with my parents as well. As you can tell, our periodic trips to New York City have become shorter, fewer in number and less theater focused over the years. On the plus side, as I live in Cleveland near a theater complex that bills itself as the "largest outside New York", most things come through as touring productions. I used to go much more frequently, and think I may build the list of those major touring shows that I've seen. If you have access to touring shows and do go to New York and don't have specific shows you want to see, I strongly recommend picking out shows you don't think will tour, which usually means theater or one person shows. Getting the cheap tickets in Times Square can lead to some interesting choices as well. I no longer recall which of these were from that booth, but many were, including the "it'll never tour, it's so bad it's still pretty bad" Dance of the Vampires.