Every Broadway production follows the same arc: previews, an opening night, a run, and eventually a final performance. Where a show is on that arc changes what you get for your ticket, how easy seats are to find, and how much time you have left to see it. Here is what each stage means.
Previews
Previews are the first public performances, before the official opening. They are full shows in front of a paying audience, but the creative team is still working. Between performances, songs can be cut or added, scenes rewritten, and staging changed. The running time often shrinks as the show tightens up.
Previews last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Tickets cost the same as after opening for many productions, though some price early previews a little lower, and seats are often easier to get before the reviews are out. Seeing a show in previews is a small gamble that many theatergoers enjoy: you see it before anyone has told you what to think, and sometimes you see a version that never comes back.
Opening night
Opening night is the official start of the run. The show is now "frozen": the version on stage is the version that will play from now on, give or take cast changes. Critics usually see the show at press performances in the days just before, and their reviews appear on opening night. That is why opening dates matter beyond the party: the reviews are what tell the box office whether the run will be long or short.
Opening-night tickets themselves are hard to get; much of the house goes to the company, investors and guests. The weeks after a strong opening are often the hardest time of all to find a cheap seat.
Limited and open-ended runs
A limited run announces its end date from the start, often because a star has a fixed schedule or the theater is booked for the next show. Limited runs are frequently extended if they sell well, so the first end date is not always the last.
An open-ended run has no announced end date. It plays for as long as it sells, which for a handful of shows has meant decades. Every show page on Office Broadway says which kind of run it is, and our longest-running list shows how long the luckiest ones have lasted.
Closing notices
When producers decide to end a run, they announce a final performance date. How much warning you get varies. A few weeks is common, but a show that is struggling can post a closing date only a week or two out. Limited runs give you their end date up front, though extensions can move it.
Two patterns are worth knowing. First, closing announcements tend to boost sales, so the last weeks of a beloved show can sell out quickly, and its lottery gets much harder to win. Second, Broadway has a rhythm: many shows close in early January after the holiday weeks, and many new ones open in the spring ahead of awards season. If something you care about is on a shaky run, the new year is the time to worry.
How to keep track
- The closing calendar lists every announced final performance, soonest first, with the days left for each.
- The opening calendar lists first previews and opening nights for the shows on the way.
- Both have a calendar file (closings, openings) you can add to your phone or computer calendar.
- Every show page shows a countdown when a closing date is announced.
What our status badges mean
Running means the show has opened and has no announced end. Closing with a date means a final performance is announced. In previews means public performances have started but the show has not officially opened. Opens with a date means the show is on the way. Closed means the run has ended; we keep the page so the facts stay findable.