Our Guide to Binge-Watching Broadway

Have you ever binge-watched an entire season of a Netflix show in one sitting? Yeah, you're not alone. While catching up on The Great British Baking Show can be fun, it got us thinking, can you binge-watch Broadway?

If you're only in New York for a few days, you've got to make your time count. For theatre savvy visitors, that means trying to see as many Broadway shows as you can. And even though Broadway shows perform eight times a week, it's possible to see even more!

We sent our crack investigative team to find out how many shows someone could see in seven days. Read the jam-packed itinerary below.


Monday
Most Broadway shows are dark on Monday, but a handful do perform on Mondays, including Chicago, Wicked, School of Rock, and Michael Moore: The Terms of My Surrender. Seeing a show on Monday is a great way to maximize the number of shows you can see in a given week. Be sure to plan ahead, because fewer shows mean fewer available tickets.

Tuesday
Monday and Tuesday are the only days where you can only see one show. Spend your day seeing some of New York’s other sights, and then catch the 7:00 performance of Beautiful. This musical, which details the life and music of Carole King, is filled with dozens of incredible songs from the 1960s and 1970s. After the show, get to bed early: you’ll need to be well-rested, because the next few days are going to be a doozy!

Wednesday
Start this two-show day by enjoying the matinee of Anastasia at 2:00. When the show is done, stroll down Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue) and fuel up for the evening. After dinner, walk up to the Broadway Theatre to see Miss Saigon at 8:00. This two-show day is your passport to travel the globe—from the height of Russian opulence to Paris in the 1920s and the hot, bustling streets of Saigon.

Thursday
Only a couple shows perform a matinee on Thursday, and luckily The Phantom of the Opera is one of them. Spend the afternoon listening to the music of the night, and then head uptown to see Cats at 7:00. These two megahits by Andrew Lloyd Webber are the perfect pair of shows if you want some of that classic Broadway spectacle, and they're both just as fresh as they were in the 1980s.

Friday
Buckle in: for the next three days, you’ll see three shows each day. Start downtown near Astor Place at the technicolor blend of music, theatre, and comedy that is Blue Man Group at 5:00. Grab a quick slice of pizza for dinner, and then take a cab up to New World Stages, where you’ll see The Gazillion Bubble Show at 7:00. Next, prepare to get thematic whiplash as you move from bubbles to a nightmarish dystopian thriller: you’ve got tickets to see 1984 at the new Hudson Theatre at 9:00.

Saturday
Start this three-show day with some huge belly laughs at the 2:00 performance of The Book of Mormon, a show that is as hilarious as it is heartwarming. Next up, walk one block over to see The Imbible at New World Stages at 5:00. The Imbible presents a fun and factual history of drinking, and the best part is, the booze is included! Through the 90-minute show, you’ll get to drink three cocktails. After the show, grab some food on your walk down to 45th Street, where you’ll experience the joy of Come From Away at 8:00. This celebration of humanity’s tenacity will make you want to jump up and dance with the cast—especially after your three cocktails at The Imbible.

Sunday
Round out your last day on Broadway by seeing three infectiously fun shows. Start the day by satisfying your sweet tooth at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This musical has everything you loved about the classic film and Roald Dahl novel, including the dizzying chocolate room and the pint-sized Oompa Loompas. Then, head downtown to see Stomp at 5:30 at its Off-Broadway home in the East Village. When you're done watching that high energy rhythmic explosion, jump into a cab and yell “Step on it!” You've got to head back up to the Lyceum Theatre to see The Play That Goes Wrong at 7:30. This knockout farce will make you laugh until it hurts, which means this is the perfect show to end your week on Broadway.


That's a wrap! If you followed our itinerary, you saw fifteen Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and you’ve definitely earned a break. To book tickets to any of these shows, click on their names to visit each respective show page.