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    Most plays are limited runs: buy early, sit close

    Broadway plays usually run for weeks, not years, and often hinge on a star. How that changes when to buy and which seats are worth it.

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    Abstract theater curtain illustration representing 860
    Broadway

    860

    Billy Crystal's 860 at the Imperial Theatre: what the solo show is about, how long it runs, who it suits and where to sit in a large house.

    New York, NY
    Broadway

    A Few Good Men

    The Broadway revival of A Few Good Men at the Vivian Beaumont: the limited dates, the cast, how long it runs and how to choose a seat.

    New York, NY
    Abstract theater curtain illustration representing Becky Shaw
    Show

    Becky Shaw

    The record of Becky Shaw on Broadway: Gina Gionfriddo's dark comedy, its Second Stage revival at the Hayes Theater, the cast and the Tony it won.

    New York, NY (closed)
    Abstract theater curtain illustration representing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
    Broadway

    Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

    Where to sit for Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre, how long the one-part version runs, who it suits and how the tour works.

    New York, NY
    City

    New York City

    Where New York's teams play, which rooms book the big concerts and comedy shows, and how to reach every venue by subway or rail.

    New York, NY
    Abstract theater curtain illustration representing Oh, Mary!
    Broadway

    Oh, Mary!

    Cole Escola's Tony-winning farce about Mary Todd Lincoln, a short, fast comedy at the 922-seat Lyceum Theatre with a rotating lead.

    New York, NY
    By the Good Seats editorial teamUpdated How we research

    A Different Clock From Musicals

    A Broadway play is a non-musical production in one of the 41 Broadway theaters, and most plays run as limited engagements: a fixed window of weeks or a few months, announced before opening, often built around one or two well-known actors. That is the main thing to understand before buying. With a musical you can usually wait; with a play, the run may be over before word of mouth reaches you.

    Plays are not a niche. The Broadway League reported that of the 43 productions that opened in the 2024–2025 season, 21 were plays (16 new and 5 revivals), exactly matching the number of musicals. Plays simply cycle faster, so the list of what is on changes every few months.

    Why Star Casting Drives the Calendar

    Film and television actors can commit to a stage role for a few months, not for years, and a play's run is often shaped around that availability. The result is short, intense demand.

    • Good Night, and Good Luck, with George Clooney in his Broadway debut, opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 3, 2025 and closed on June 8. It became the first Broadway play to gross more than four million in a single week, and its June 7 performance was the first Broadway production broadcast live on television, on CNN.
    • Becky Shaw, Gina Gionfriddo's comedy and a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist, was revived by Second Stage Theater at the 597-seat Hayes Theater, beginning previews on March 18, 2026 and closing on June 14, 2026. Alden Ehrenreich won the 2026 Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
    • A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin's courtroom drama, returns in a Lincoln Center Theater revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater directed by Michael Arden, with Bradley Whitford and Tom Blyth. Previews begin October 8, 2026, opening night is October 29, and the run is scheduled through January 10, 2027. The original production opened at the Music Box Theatre in 1989 and ran 497 performances.
    • 860 is Billy Crystal's solo show about losing his Pacific Palisades home of 46 years in the 2025 California wildfires. Directed by Scott Ellis, it begins at the Imperial Theatre on October 1, 2026 and is scheduled through January 2, 2027, running 1 hour 40 minutes with no intermission.

    For buyers, the pattern is consistent: the first weeks after the cast announcement and the final weeks of the run see the strongest demand, and a star's scheduled absences matter more than they would in an ensemble musical.

    The Long-Running Exceptions

    Two current plays behave more like musicals, with extended or open-ended runs.

    • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened at the Lyric Theatre on April 22, 2018, won six Tonys including Best Play, and is reported as the highest-grossing play in Broadway history. It was trimmed from two parts to one in November 2021 and now runs about 2 hours 55 minutes with an intermission. Recommended for ages 8 and up, it is the closest thing Broadway has to a family-friendly play. As of fall 2026, Tom Felton plays Draco through January 3, 2027.
    • Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola's 80-minute comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on July 11, 2024 as a limited run and has been extended repeatedly; as of October 2026 the official site lists performances through July 10, 2027. Escola won the Tony for Best Actor in a Play. The title role has passed through a series of replacement stars, and Bowen Yang plays Mary through January 17, 2027.

    Both shows have also toured or announced tours, so buyers outside New York may get a chance without traveling.

    The Theaters Plays Use

    Plays favor Broadway's smaller houses, where an actor's voice and face carry without amplification doing all the work.

    • Hayes Theater, about 597 seats, the smallest Broadway house.
    • Lyceum Theatre, 922 seats across an orchestra and two balconies. Opened in 1903, it is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theater in New York City, and its cantilevered balconies have no support columns.
    • Vivian Beaumont Theater, about 1,080 seats at Lincoln Center on West 65th Street, the only Broadway theater outside the Times Square district. Its stage can extend as a thrust with seats on three sides.
    • Lyric Theatre, about 1,622 seats after a renovation for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, unusually large for a play.

    A play in a large musical house, such as 860 at the 1,457-seat Imperial Theatre, rewards sitting closer than you would for a musical in the same room.

    Where to Sit for a Play

    The rule for plays is the reverse of the rule for big musicals: proximity beats perspective. There is rarely choreography that needs to be seen from above, and the drama lives in faces and timing.

    • Orchestra rows C through M in a mid-size house put you close enough to read expressions without craning up at a raised stage.
    • Front mezzanine or first balcony in a small house such as the Lyceum or the Hayes is a strong value. These rooms are compact enough that the first raised rows still feel close.
    • Thrust staging at the Beaumont. Side sections get moments when actors face away, which is part of the format. Center sections see the most.
    • Solo shows. For a one-person show like 860, a center seat matters more than usual, because the performer often plays to the middle of the house.
    • Seats to question. Rear balcony rows in a large house, and extreme side seats in the first rows where a set wall can block part of the stage.

    How Play Tickets Behave

    • Buy early for star vehicles. A limited run with a famous lead often sees its strongest primary sales right after the announcement, and resale is the main route once the box office sells through.
    • Previews are real performances. Preview weeks, before the official opening night, run the full show while the creative team makes adjustments, and they can be easier to buy than the weeks right after strong reviews.
    • Watch casting dates. When a run lists specific dates for a star, as Oh, Mary! and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child do, demand concentrates on those weeks.
    • Lottery and rush. Some plays offer them; Oh, Mary! runs a digital lottery and in-person rush. See the Broadway guide for how they work.
    • Closing weeks. Final performances of a celebrated revival sell at a premium on the resale market, so buying earlier in the run is usually the better strategy.

    Current listings are on the Broadway League's Broadway shows page.

    Frequently asked questions

    Why do Broadway plays have such short runs?

    Most plays are scheduled as limited engagements, often around the availability of film or television actors. A run of a few months is normal, and long open-ended runs are the exception.

    What is the longest-running play on Broadway now?

    Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has played the Lyric Theatre since April 2018 and is reported as the highest-grossing play in Broadway history.

    When is A Few Good Men on Broadway?

    Lincoln Center Theater's revival at the Vivian Beaumont Theater begins previews October 8, 2026, opens October 29, and is scheduled through January 10, 2027.

    What is 860 about?

    860 is Billy Crystal's solo show about losing his Pacific Palisades home in the 2025 California wildfires. It plays the Imperial Theatre from October 1, 2026 through January 2, 2027 and runs 1 hour 40 minutes with no intermission.

    Are orchestra seats worth it for a play?

    Usually, yes. Plays depend on faces and voices, so a closer orchestra seat or the front of a small theater's first balcony beats a distant center seat.

    Sources

    Card and header photos come from Wikimedia Commons contributors under Creative Commons or public-domain terms. Artist and license for each one are listed on the photo credits page.