Playhouse Theatre

By decade193 productions across 11 decades

1. 1910s 26
2. 1920s 39
3. 1930s 28
4. 1940s 35
5. 1950s 31
6. 1960s 5
7. 1970s 20
8. 1980s 5
9. 1990s 1
10. 2010s 2
11. 2020s 1

Counted from the productions we hold, which are Broadway and a partial West End. A quiet decade here can mean a dark theatre and can mean a gap in the record.

Longest runs hereby performances

1972	Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope April 19, 1972 · Vinnette Carroll	1,065 perf.
1962	Never Too Late November 27, 1962 · George Abbott	1,007 perf.
1959	The Miracle Worker October 19, 1959 · Arthur Penn	719 perf.
1965	The Impossible Years October 13, 1965 · Arthur Storch	670 perf.
1929	Street Scene January 10, 1929	601 perf.
1924	The Show Off February 5, 1924	571 perf.
1945	The Glass Menagerie March 31, 1945 · Margo Jones	563 perf.
1911	Bought and Paid For September 26, 1911 · Edward Elsner	476 perf.

Ranked among the 179 runs here that carry a performance count. 14 do not, so a longer run may be sitting outside this table with an empty field.

Everything that played here193 productions

1911	Bought and Paid For September 26, 1911 · Original	476 perf.
1911	Sauce for the Goose April 15, 1911 · Original	2 perf.
1913	Little Women March 10, 1913 · Original
1913	School December 16, 1913 · Revival	1 perf.
1914	Just Herself December 23, 1914 · Original	13 perf.
1914	My Lady's Dress October 10, 1914 · Original	57 perf.
1914	Polygamy December 1, 1914 · Original	159 perf.
1914	Sylvia Runs Away August 20, 1914 · Original	12 perf.
1914	The Elder Son September 15, 1914 · Original	23 perf.
1915	Major Barbara December 9, 1915 · Original
1915	Sinners January 7, 1915 · Original	220 perf.
1915	The Liars November 9, 1915 · Revival
1915	The New York Idea September 28, 1915 · Revival
1916	Captain Brassbound's Conversion March 29, 1916 · Revival
1916	The Earth February 15, 1916 · Revival
1916	The Man Who Came Back September 2, 1916 · Original	457 perf.
1917	Billeted December 25, 1917 · Original	79 perf.
1917	Eve's Daughter October 11, 1917 · Original	36 perf.
1917	L'Elevation November 14, 1917 · Original	38 perf.
1918	Peter's Mother October 29, 1918 · Original	15 perf.
1918	The Heritage January 14, 1918 · Original	16 perf.
1918	The Little Teacher February 4, 1918 · Original	128 perf.
1919	A Young Man's Fancy October 15, 1919 · Original	13 perf.
1919	At 9:45 June 28, 1919 · Original	139 perf.
1919	Palmy Days October 27, 1919 · Original	50 perf.
1919	The Phantom Legion December 10, 1919 · Original	5 perf.
1920	Anna Ascends September 22, 1920 · Original
1920	Seeing Things June 17, 1920 · Original	103 perf.
1920	The Ruined Lady January 19, 1920 · Original	33 perf.
1920	The Wonderful Thing February 17, 1920 · Original	120 perf.
1920	Thy Name is Woman November 15, 1920 · Original	120 perf.
1921	Bought and Paid For December 7, 1921 · Revival	30 perf.
1921	Marie Antoinette November 22, 1921 · Revival	16 perf.
1921	Personality August 27, 1921 · Original	9 perf.
1921	Romance February 28, 1921 · Revival	106 perf.
1921	The Elton Case September 10, 1921 · Original	17 perf.
1921	The New Morality January 30, 1921 · Original	5 perf.
1921	The Teaser July 27, 1921 · Original	29 perf.
1921	Wait 'Til We're Married September 26, 1921 · Original
1922	Dreams For Sale September 13, 1922 · Original	13 perf.
1922	Drifting January 2, 1922 · Original	63 perf.
1922	Manhattan August 15, 1922 · Original	86 perf.
1922	On the Stairs September 25, 1922 · Original	80 perf.
1922	Swifty October 16, 1922 · Original	24 perf.
1922	Up She Goes November 6, 1922 · Original	256 perf.
1922	Up the Ladder March 6, 1922 · Original	117 perf.
1923	Chains September 19, 1923 · Revival	125 perf.
1923	The Mad Honeymoon August 7, 1923 · Original	16 perf.
1923	We've Got to Have Money August 20, 1923 · Original	56 perf.
1924	The New Poor January 7, 1924 · Original	32 perf.
1924	The Show Off February 5, 1924 · Original	571 perf.
1925	A Good Bad Woman June 22, 1925 · Revival	64 perf.
1925	Lucky Sam McCarver October 21, 1925 · Original	29 perf.
1925	Oh Mama August 19, 1925 · Original	70 perf.
1925	Twelve Miles Out November 16, 1925 · Original	188 perf.
1926	Daisy Mayme October 25, 1926 · Original	112 perf.
1926	Kitty's Kisses May 6, 1926 · Original	170 perf.
1926	The Good Fellow October 5, 1926 · Original	7 perf.
1927	The Road to Rome January 31, 1927 · Original	392 perf.
1928	A Free Soul January 12, 1928 · Original	100 perf.
1928	Elmer Gantry August 7, 1928 · Original	48 perf.
1928	The Grey Fox October 22, 1928 · Original	88 perf.
1928	The Queen's Husband January 25, 1928 · Original	125 perf.
1929	Street Scene January 10, 1929 · Original	601 perf.
1929	The First Mrs. Fraser December 28, 1929 · Original	352 perf.
1930	The Vinegar Tree November 19, 1930 · Original	229 perf.
1931	A Church Mouse October 12, 1931 · Original	164 perf.
1931	Little Women December 7, 1931 · Revival	17 perf.
1932	A Night of Barrie March 7, 1932 · Revival	32 perf.
1932	Bulls, Bears and Asses May 6, 1932 · Original	2 perf.
1932	Domino August 16, 1932 · Original	7 perf.
1932	Mademoiselle October 18, 1932 · Original	103 perf.
1933	A Party August 23, 1933 · Original	45 perf.
1933	A Saturday Night February 28, 1933 · Original	40 perf.
1933	Bad Manners January 30, 1933 · Original	8 perf.
1933	Doctor Monica November 6, 1933 · Original	16 perf.
1933	Her Tin Soldier April 6, 1933 · Original	2 perf.
1933	Little Ol' Boy April 24, 1933 · Original	12 perf.
1933	Move On, Sister October 24, 1933 · Original	7 perf.
1933	Strange Orchestra November 28, 1933 · Original	1 perf.
1934	Fools Rush In December 25, 1934 · Original	14 perf.
1934	Mackerel Skies January 23, 1934 · Original	23 perf.
1934	Moor Born April 3, 1934 · Original	63 perf.
1934	Oliver Oliver January 5, 1934 · Original	11 perf.
1934	Order Please October 9, 1934 · Original	23 perf.
1934	The Night Remembers November 27, 1934 · Original	23 perf.
1934	Too Many Boats September 11, 1934 · Original	7 perf.
1934	While Parents Sleep June 4, 1934 · Original	16 perf.
1935	Little Shot January 17, 1935 · Original	4 perf.
1937	Merely Murder December 3, 1937 · Original	3 perf.
1937	Yes, My Darling Daughter February 9, 1937 · Original	405 perf.
1938	Outward Bound December 22, 1938 · Revival	255 perf.
1939	Billy Draws a Horse December 21, 1939 · Original	13 perf.
1940	Kind Lady September 3, 1940 · Revival	107 perf.
1940	Romantic Mr. Dickens December 2, 1940 · Original	8 perf.
1940	Suspect April 9, 1940 · Original	31 perf.
1940	The Flying Gerardos December 29, 1940 · Original	24 perf.
1941	Five Alarm Waltz March 13, 1941 · Original	4 perf.
1941	Pie in the Sky December 22, 1941 · Original	6 perf.
1941	Popsy February 10, 1941 · Original	4 perf.
1941	Ring Around Elizabeth November 17, 1941 · Original	10 perf.
1942	The Damask Cheek October 22, 1942 · Original	93 perf.
1943	Pillar to Post December 10, 1943 · Original	31 perf.
1943	The Barber Had Two Sons February 1, 1943 · Original	24 perf.
1944	Bright Boy March 2, 1944 · Original	16 perf.
1944	Good Morning Corporal August 8, 1944 · Original	13 perf.
1944	Hand in Glove December 4, 1944 · Original	40 perf.
1944	Sheppey April 18, 1944 · Original	23 perf.
1944	Sleep My Pretty One November 2, 1944 · Original	12 perf.
1944	Sophie December 25, 1944 · Revival	9 perf.
1944	That Old Devil June 5, 1944 · Original	16 perf.
1944	The Duke in Darkness January 24, 1944 · Original	24 perf.
1945	A Goose for the Gander January 23, 1945 · Original	15 perf.
1945	It's a Gift March 12, 1945 · Original	47 perf.
1945	Many Happy Returns January 5, 1945 · Original	3 perf.
1945	The Glass Menagerie March 31, 1945 · Original	563 perf.
1945	The Stranger February 12, 1945 · Original	16 perf.
1946	A Family Affair November 27, 1946 · Original	6 perf.
1946	Hear That Trumpet October 7, 1946 · Original	8 perf.
1946	Land's End December 11, 1946 · Original	5 perf.
1946	Temper the Wind December 27, 1946 · Original	35 perf.
1946	The Haven November 13, 1946 · Original	5 perf.
1947	Craig's Wife February 12, 1947 · Revival	69 perf.
1947	Edith Piaf October 30, 1947 · Original	49 perf.
1947	Miracle in the Mountains April 25, 1947 · Original	3 perf.
1948	Hope's the Thing May 11, 1948 · Original	7 perf.
1948	The Survivors January 19, 1948 · Original	8 perf.
1949	How Long Till Summer December 27, 1949 · Original	7 perf.
1950	A Story for a Sunday Evening November 17, 1950 · Original	11 perf.
1950	The Innocents February 1, 1950 · Original	141 perf.
1950	The Live Wire August 17, 1950 · Original	28 perf.
1951	The King of Friday's Men February 21, 1951 · Original	4 perf.
1952	Bernardine October 16, 1952 · Original	157 perf.
1952	The Chase April 15, 1952 · Original	31 perf.
1953	A Pin to See the Peepshow September 17, 1953 · Original	1 perf.
1953	Gently Does It October 28, 1953 · Original	37 perf.
1953	In the Summer House December 29, 1953 · Original	55 perf.
1953	Room Service April 6, 1953 · Revival	16 perf.
1953	The Pink Elephant April 22, 1953 · Original	5 perf.
1954	Black-Eyed Susan December 23, 1954 · Original	4 perf.
1954	The Traveling Lady October 27, 1954 · Original	30 perf.
1954	The Winner February 17, 1954 · Original	30 perf.
1955	A Roomful of Roses October 17, 1955 · Original	88 perf.
1955	All in One April 19, 1955 · Original	47 perf.
1955	Escudero February 7, 1955 · Original
1956	A Very Special Baby November 14, 1956 · Original	5 perf.
1956	Fallen Angels January 17, 1956 · Revival	239 perf.
1956	Harbor Lights October 4, 1956 · Original	4 perf.
1956	Night of the Auk December 3, 1956 · Original	8 perf.
1956	Pictures in the Hallway September 16, 1956 · Original	19 perf.
1956	Ruth Draper December 25, 1956 · Revival	7 perf.
1957	Jose Greco May 21, 1957 · Revival
1957	Simply Heavenly August 20, 1957 · Original	62 perf.
1957	The Hidden River January 23, 1957 · Original	61 perf.
1958	Blue Denim February 27, 1958 · Original	166 perf.
1958	Make a Million October 23, 1958 · Original	308 perf.
1958	Maybe Tuesday January 29, 1958 · Original	5 perf.
1959	The Miracle Worker October 19, 1959 · Original	719 perf.
1959	Triple Play April 15, 1959 · Original	37 perf.
1961	A Cook for Mr. General October 19, 1961 · Original	28 perf.
1962	Never Too Late November 27, 1962 · Original	1,007 perf.
1962	The Aspern Papers February 7, 1962 · Original	93 perf.
1962	The Captains and the Kings January 2, 1962 · Original	7 perf.
1965	The Impossible Years October 13, 1965 · Original	670 perf.
1970	Gandhi October 20, 1970 · Original	1 perf.
1971	A Doll's House January 13, 1971 · Revival	111 perf.
1971	Hedda Gabler February 17, 1971 · Revival	56 perf.
1971	Murderous Angels December 20, 1971 · Original	24 perf.
1972	Dear Oscar November 16, 1972 · Original	5 perf.
1972	Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope April 19, 1972 · Original	1,065 perf.
1973	45 Seconds From Broadway March 11, 1973 · Original	1 perf.
1973	Look Away January 7, 1973 · Original	1 perf.
1976	A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton January 26, 1976 · Revival	63 perf.
1976	Boy Meets Girl April 13, 1976 · Revival	10 perf.
1976	Don't Step on My Olive Branch November 1, 1976 · Original	16 perf.
1976	Secret Service April 12, 1976 · Revival	13 perf.
1976	They Knew What They Wanted January 27, 1976 · Revival	23 perf.
1977	Piaf...A Remembrance February 14, 1977 · Original	21 perf.
1978	St. Mark's Gospel October 24, 1978 · Original	18 perf.
1978	The Playboy of the Weekend World November 16, 1978 · Original	29 perf.
1979	G. R. Point April 16, 1979 · Original	32 perf.
1979	King of Schnorrers November 28, 1979 · Original	63 perf.
1979	The Price June 19, 1979 · Revival	144 perf.
1979	Trick February 4, 1979 · Original	9 perf.
1980	A Lesson From Aloes November 17, 1980 · Original	96 perf.
1981	St. Mark's Gospel May 13, 1981 · Return-Engagement	22 perf.
1982	Cleavage June 23, 1982 · Original	1 perf.
1982	The Hothouse May 6, 1982 · Original	29 perf.
1983	Slab Boys March 7, 1983 · Original	48 perf.
1999	Do I Hear A Waltz? July 15, 2001 · Transfer
2015	Xanadu June 8, 2016 · Transfer
2018	The Rink Opening date unknown · Transfer
2022	Anyone Can Whistle Opening date unknown · Transfer

In the literature8 passages

• First New York performance: 19 April 1955, Playhouse Theatre, cast incl. Alice Ghostley (Dinah), John Tyers (Sam), Constance Bingham, John Taliafero, James Tushar (Trio), David Brooks (dir.), Joseph D. Lewis and Urey Krasnopolsky (pfs), Max Rich (drums), Leonard Gaskin (bass)Leonard Bernstein Letters, The - Leonard Bernstein
• The musical was based on Elmer Rice’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play, which opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre on January 10, 1929, for 601 performances. Both the drama and the musical took place on the stoop and front sidewalk of a New York City tenement during a twenty-four-hour period on a hot day and night in June. The story dep…Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz
• New York [Off-Broadway]: 85th Street Playhouse, 21 May 1957 [44 performances]; transferred to Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre, 20 August 1957 [62 performances]; transferred to Off-Broadway at the Renata Theatre, 8 November 1957 [63 performances]. Total of 169 performances.West End Broadway_ The Golden Age of the American Musical in London - Adrian Wright
• The Glass Menagerie. Produced by Eddie Dowling and Playhouse Theatre, New York, by Eddie Dowling and Margo Jones; setting and lighting by Jo Mielziner; incidental music by Paul Bowles. Part I, scene vii. Laura Wingfield, Julie Hayden. LouisA Treasury of the Theatre, v. 2
• A day or two later, Noel wrote in The Times: ‘We first worked together as child actors in the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool; since then, whether we have been acting together or not, we have been integrally part of each other’s livesGertrude Lawrence - Sheridan Morley

What this page does not know

• What played here before Broadway record-keeping starts, and what played here outside it: concerts, benefits, film runs, anything that was not a listed production.
• How long 14 of these runs lasted. We don't have a performance count.
• When 77 of these runs ended. They carry an opening date and no closing date, and they are old enough that they certainly closed. Nobody wrote down the date.
• Who built it.