Broadway Theatre is one of the best known (if not the best known) theatre districts in North America. Often just called Broadway, it refers to theatrical performances presented in any of the 39 professional theatres (500 seats or more) located in the Theatre District of Manhattan in New York City. Along with the West End theatre in London, Broadway is considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. It is also a key tourist attraction in New York City, selling over one and half billion dollars worth of tickets annually, according to the Broadway League.

Theatre was introduced to New York in about 1750 when a resident theatre company was established by actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean. The first theatre presented Shakespeare plays and common ballad operas. New theatres opened up eventually and by 1826 then-popular Blackface minstrel shows, a uniquely American form of entertainment, were a large attraction for the lower and middle classes.

By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum-owned entertainment complex was operating in lower Manhattan. Niblo's Garden opened in 1829 at Broadway and Prince Street and quickly became one of New York's prime entertainment spots. It was the largest theatre so far (3000 seats) and presented non-musical as well as musical entertainment. Another notable addition to this newly-founded theatre district was created when the Astor Place Theatre opened in 1849. At this time, Victorian society was very much class-segregated and that included entertainment as well. The upper middle and upper classes had exclusive access to opera, middle class had their melodramas and minstrel shows, and variety shows in concert saloons were for the working class.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the theatres in New York began gradually moved from downtown to midtown. Eventually in the early 1900s, they settled in the Times Square area. A new batch of theatres was built in the 20s and 30s, and Broadway District was officially born. The first "long-run" musical was a hit called The Elves, which ran for 50 performances. The next mentionable success was Laura Keene's "musical burletta" Seven Sisters (1860), which shattered previous New York Theatre records with a run of 253 performances.

Along with industrial and socio-economic progress, theatres became more accessible and attractive to its patrons. As a result, plays ran longer and drew larger audiences, which in turn caused more theatres to open up. Broadway had finally hit its stride.

When movies were first created, they were silent and thus presented little threat to the theatre. However, by the end of the 20s motion pictures such as the Jazz Singer introduced sound, and some critics predicted that the stage would lose its appeal. Musicals took centre stage, with each one trying to outdo the other with glitz and glitter. This was the decade of the Ziegfeld Follies and other elaborate productions, which often sacrificed plot for splashy song and dance numbers.

The musical responsible for restoring substance and real drama to Broadway was Show Boat, which premiered on December 27, 1927 at the Ziegfeld Theatre. Show Boat had all the components of "real" theatre; dramatic themes told through music, dialogue, setting and movement and seamless production. Other musicals followed suit like Oklahoma!, which ran for 2212 shows. A parade of hits ensued and "legitimized" Broadway as a prestigious theatre. In 1947 The Tony Awards were established to recognize achievement in American theatre, with an emphasis on Broadway.

Broadway today remains to be a key tourist attraction of New York City and is on the forefront of North America's theatre entertainment. Over 12 million tickets were sold in the 2006-2007 season, equalling London's West End Theatre. Those who prefer a more cutting-edge, intimate performance can go to a smaller theatre, commonly referred to as Off-Broadway, or Off-Off-Broadway. Some of the more successful Off-Broadway productions will go on to have a run on Broadway, and still be able to maintain its audience-challenging, intimate experience.