What was the first Broadway show?

Answer 1

First Broadway ShowNo one knows for sure. According to John Kendrick's History of the Musical Stage 1700-1865 Theatres began to appear on Broadway in the "early 1800's". He also says this,"Every known American theatre company of the post-Revolutionary era presented a wide range of musical works. For example, in 1796, New York City's prestigious American Company staged 91 performances of 46 different musical works --" New York city was a frenzy of Musical theatre productions staged in New York, then shipped all over the country, so in the few years it took Broadway to become THE theatre district, probably well over 1,000 shows were put on.

Therefore, the answer is this: "Your guess is as good as mine".

However, we do know what was quite likely the first musical in New York

"According to the best contemporary scholarship, the first full length musical play performed in America was Flora (or The Hob on the Wall), a Ballad Opera presented in Charleston as early as 1735. New York's first-known professional musical production was a five performance run of John Gay's satirical British ballad opera The Beggar's Opera, offered by Walter Murray and Thomas Kean's traveling theatrical troupe at the Nassau Street Theatre on Dec.3, 1750."