This is a selected list of the longest-running

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

productions in history divided into two sections. The first section lists all Broadway and West End productions of musicals that have exceeded 2,500 performances, in order of greatest number of performances in either market. The second section lists, in alphabetical order, musicals that have broken historical long run records for musical theatre on Broadway, in the West End or

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, since 1866, in alphabetical order. :Legend: ::m = music, l = lyrics, b = book ::(Noteworthy trivia appear in parentheses) ::(5,678) = number of performances (in original Broadway production if not specified) ::> denotes shows that are still in production. The number of Broadway performances is updated per Playbill.com as of October 2024. The number of West End performances is updated per officiallondontheatre.com as of October 2023, and sporadically as information becomes available. ::"

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner" denotes winner of Tony for Best Musical ::" Olivier Award winner" denotes winner of award for Best New Musical

Longest-running musicals on Broadway and the West End

The following is a list of

productions that have exceeded 2,500 performances in a single run in a Broadway or West End theatre.

Other historic long runs

The following is an annotated alphabetical list of other musicals that set records for long runs. *'' Annie Get Your Gun'', 1946 Broadway, 1947 London, ml

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

, b Herbert and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...

(1,147: 1,304 in London) (Berlin wrote the songs when

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

died suddenly) *'' The Belle of New York'' 1898, m Gustave Kerker, lb Hugh Morton (697 in London) (After New York run, transferred to London in 1898, where it ran for an almost unprecedented 697 performances and became the first American musical to run for over a year in London. *'' The Black Crook'', 1866, m George Bickwell and others, l by Theodore Kennick and others, and b by Charles M. Barras (474). This piece is often cited as the first long-running "musical", in that an original book was combined with songs and dancing. Its 474 performances were a record for the day. *'' The Boy Friend'', 1953 London, 1954 Broadway, mlb

Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...

(2,078 in London; briefly the third longest-running musical in history, after ''Chu Chin Chow'' and ''Oklahoma!'', until demoted by ''Salad Days'') (

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

' American debut) *''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

'', 1945 Broadway, 1950 London, m

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

, b

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

(899) (the authors' favorite of their musicals) (one of the longest-running Broadway shows up to that time) *'' The Chimes of Normandy'' (adapted from the French ''Les Cloches de Corneville''), 1878, m

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length o ...

, lb H. B. Farnie and R. Reece (705) (the longest-running piece of musical theatre in history until '' Dorothy'' broke its record in 1886) *'' A Chinese Honeymoon'', 1901, m Howard Talbot and Ivan Caryll, l Harry Greenbank, and lb George Dance (1,075) (The first musical to run for more than 1,000 performances) *'' Chu Chin Chow'', 1916, m Frederic Norton, b Oscar Asche (2,238 in London) (longest-running musical in history from 1916 until '' Salad Days'' in 1954, and one of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

smash hits that defined the music of the era. See also ''

The Maid of the Mountains ''The Maid of the Mountains'', called in its original score a musical play, is an operetta or "Edwardian" musical comedy in three acts. The music was by Harold Fraser-Simson, with additional music by James W. Tate, lyrics by Harry Graham a ...

''). *'' Dorothy'', 1886, m

Alfred Cellier Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor. In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...

, lb B. C. Stephenson (931) (one of the first "modern" musicals, and the longest-running piece of musical theatre in history until '' A Chinese Honeymoon'' in 1901. *''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two ne ...

'', 1960, m

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

, l Tom Jones (17,162) Longest-running musical in history. *''

Florodora ''Florodora'' is an Edwardian musical comedy. After its long run in London, it became one of the first successful Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the mus ...

'', 1899, m Leslie Stuart and Paul Rubens, l Edward Boyd-Jones and Rubens, b Owen Hall (552) (second longest-running Broadway musical (after ''A Trip to Chinatown'') until ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

'' in 1919 pushed it down to third; it was first very successful in London (455 performances) and achieved international success in Europe and elsewhere, including Broadway in 1900. It was the first instance of a British production achieving such a long initial Broadway run.) *'' Forbidden Broadway'', 1982, m arranged in part and written in part by Gerard Alessandrini, lb Gerard Alessandrini (2,332) (briefly the third longest-running off-broadway production; this spoof of current musicals ran almost continuously from 1982 to 2010 in various versions) *'' The Geisha'', 1896, m Sidney Jones and Lionel Monckton, l Harry Greenbank, b Owen Hall (760 in London) (The second longest-running piece of musical theatre (after '' Dorothy'') until it was edged out by '' San Toy'' in 1899. It was one of a series of highly successful musicals at

Daly's Theatre Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937. The theatre was built for and named after the American impresa ...

in London.) *'' Hellzapoppin'' (revue), 1938, ml

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

and Charles Tobias, b John "Ole" Olsen and Harold "Chic" Johnson (1,404, the longest-running Broadway musical, until beaten by ''Oklahoma!'' Its opening scene was

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

speaking in a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

accent, and it included audience participation.) *'' H.M.S. Pinafore'', 1878, m

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

, lb

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

(571 in London) (first G&S smash hit and second longest-running piece of musical theatre in history until it was edged out by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

's ''

Patience or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...

'' in 1881. One of the most frequently produced pieces of musical theatre in the world) *'' I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'', 1996, m Jimmy Roberts, lb Joe DiPietro (5003) (2nd longest-running

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical in history) *''

'', 1919, m Harry Tierney, l Joseph McCarthy (lyricist), b James Montgomery (670) (longest-running Broadway show up to that time (though London had already had many longer-running show

until ''Hellzapoppin'' in 1938) *'' Little Shop of Horrors (musical), Little Shop of Horrors'', 1982, m

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer and conductor. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken, numerous accolades including winning eight Academy Awards, a Tony Awards, Tony ...

, lb

Howard Ashman Howard Elliott Ashman (May 17, 1950 – March 14, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist and stage director. He is most widely known for his work on feature films for Walt Disney Animation Studios, for which Ashman wrote the lyrics and Alan M ...

(2,209) (the highest-grossing production in off-Broadway history; revived successfully on Broadway) *''

'', 1917, m Harold Fraser-Simson, l Harry Graham, b Frederick Lonsdale ((1,352 in London) (second longest-running musical (see '' Chu Chin Chow'') and one of the

smash hits that defined the music of the era) *''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', 1885, m

, lb

(672 in London) (longest-running G&S piece and second longest-running piece of musical theatre in history until '' Dorothy'' in 1886. Probably the most frequently produced piece of musical theatre in the world) *'' No, No, Nanette'', 1925, m

Vincent Youmans Vincent Millie Youmans (September 27, 1898 – April 5, 1946) was an American Broadway composer and producer. A leading Broadway composer of his day, Youmans collaborated with virtually all the greatest lyricists on Broadway: Ira Gershwin, ...

, l Irving Caesar, lb

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...

, b Frank Mandel (665 London; 321 Broadway, one of the longest-running interwar shows with international success) *'' Nunsense'', 1985, mlb Dan Goggin (3,672) (2nd longest-running

musical until surpassed by ''I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'') *''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'', 1943 Broadway, 1947 London, m

, lb

, (2,212, the longest-running Broadway show in history, until ''My Fair Lady'') *'' Salad Days'', 1954, mlb Julian Slade, l

Dorothy Reynolds Dorothy Reynolds (26 January 1913 – 7 April 1977) was a British writer and actress. She is mainly known for writing a number of musicals in collaboration with Julian Slade. The best known were '' Salad Days'' and '' Free as Air''. Filmograph ...

(2,283 in London, finally breaking the long-held record of ''Chu Chin Chow'' for longest-running musical. It held the record until ''My Fair Lady'') *'' San Toy'', 1899, m Sidney Jones, l Harry Greenbank and

Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific English writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, b Edward Morton (768 in London) (It edged out '' The Geisha'' as the second longest-running piece of musical theatre (after '' Dorothy'') and held that record until it was thrashed by '' A Chinese Honeymoon'' in 1901. It was one of a series of highly successful musicals at

in London.) *''

The Shop Girl ''The Shop Girl'' was an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts (described by the author as a musical farce) written by Henry J. W. Dam, with lyrics by Dam and Adrian Ross and music by Ivan Caryll, and additional numbers by Lionel Monckton and Ro ...

'', 1894, m Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton, l

, lb H. J. W. Dam (546 in London) (one of the first of the innovative

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand, London, Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyc ...

musicals produced by George Edwardes in the 1890s) *''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', 1959 Broadway, 1961 London, m

, l

, b Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (2,385 in London, the second-longest-running musical in West End history at that time, after ''Oliver!''; 1,442 on Broadway) (1960 Tony Award winner) (1965 film became one of the most popular movie musicals) *'' South Pacific'', 1949 Broadway, 1951 London, m

, lb

, b

Joshua Logan Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American theatre and film director, playwright and screenwriter, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing ...

(1,925, the second longest-running Broadway musical up to that time) (1950 Tony Award winner) *''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'', 1954, m

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...

(from the German of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

) (2,707) (longest-running off-Broadway musical until ''The Fantasticks'') *'' A Trip to Chinatown'', 1891, m Percy Gaunt, lb Charles H. Hoyt (657) (first Broadway musical to exceed 500 performances, although London had already had a few longer-running musical theatre pieces. It held the Broadway record until ''

'' in 1919)

Notes

{{reflist

References

Longest-running plays in London and worldwide

Longest Running Shows in the West End – October 2023

List of longest-running Broadway productions from Playbill.com

* ttp://www.musicals101.com/chronology.htm "Musical Stage & Screen Chronologies" at Musicals101.com

External links

*Ganzl, Kurt. ''The Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre'' (3 Volumes). New York: Schirmer Books, 2001.
The Broadway Musical HomeThe Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film
Musical theatre Musical theatre productions Long running M