Is there a time set for a Broadway show?

Question

Say a movie is generally about or less then 2 hours. What about a Broadway show? Sould it be no less then 30 minutes ? should it be more then 45 min?

Answer 1

A running time of about 2.5 hours (including intermission) is about the longest you will find for a Broadway or professional touring show. This is due in part to the amount of time that the (union) cast, crew, and orchestra members can work before extra payroll costs occur. It is also part of the reason that these shows do NOT hold the curtain for late-arriving patrons. Ideally, producers want everything - pre-show prep, performance, and post-show clean-up - to be contained within a 4-hour period.

You may recall that in 2000, the Broadway production of "Les Miserables" had its running time cut by 14 minutes, so to save millions on employee overtime costs. It currently runs approximately 3 hours, allowing pre- and post-show maintenance plus the performance to happen within the maximum allowable period of 5 hours.

Any Broadway show should be AT LEAST an hour long, preferably not less than two, especially with the prices as high as they are - so people feel like they have gotten their money's worth!

Answer 2

There is no set time for a Broadway show. There is in actuality no set time for a movie.

Most movies run between 90 minutes and 120 minutes with a target of around 100 minutes.

Most Broadway shows tend to run a bit longer, but there is generally a pause between acts with a typical play running in three acts. If the acts run about 30 to 45 minutes in length and the breaks between acts run about 15 minutes then an evening at the theatre will run about 2 and a half hours.

Answer 3

Varies from show to show. I would say that most Broadway shows seem to be an hour and a half to two and a half hours. Most work out to two.

Answer 4

Generally you want to have an intermission, so it's like 2 hours or maybe two 45 minute acts.