Think of the days when Neil Simon comedies like Barefoot in the Park or The Odd Couple could settle into their Broadway houses for years, or thrillers like Sleuth and Deathtrap kept audiences gasping and guessing night after night. Plays used to aim for open-ended runs, hoping to join the rarefied air of the longest-running shows. But in recent seasons, a new trend has emerged: plays aren’t sticking around forever anymore. Instead, limited engagements—where a show announces its closing date before it even opens—have become the Broadway standard for plays.
At first glance, this might seem disappointing. If a play is great, shouldn’t it be able to run indefinitely like Wicked or The Lion King? But there’s a method to the madness. First, there’s the star factor. Big-name actors—think Sarah Paulson in Appropriate or Jessica Chastain in A Doll’s House—often commit to Broadway for a set number of weeks because they have other projects lined up.
Several upcoming productions exemplify this trend. Sadie Sink, celebrated for her role in Stranger Things, is set to lead the upcoming play John Proctor Is the Villain in a strictly limited engagement. The revival of Glengarry Glen Ross boasts a star-studded cast, including Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, and Bill Burr, all committed to a limited run. Similarly, the finite run of Othello will feature the powerhouse duo of Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, while Good Night and Good Luck, an adaptation of the 2005 film, marks George Clooney’s Broadway debut for a matter of weeks. These productions, with their all-star lineups, are designed as limited engagements, ensuring that performances remain exclusive events.
Limited runs also create urgency. When a play only has 16 weeks to dazzle audiences, people are more likely to snap up tickets fast, leading to a sold-out, buzzy hit rather than a slow-burn success.
Meanwhile, Oh, Mary!, a surprise downtown-sensation-moved-uptown, has bucked the trend by extending multiple times, something that’s become increasingly rare for plays. Originally slated for a short Off-Broadway run, Cole Escola’s darkly hilarious take on Mary Todd Lincoln’s life has proven so popular that it’s made the jump to Broadway with a string of extensions already in place, breaking box office records almost week to week. But this is the exception, not the rule. While extensions are more common for musicals, it’s a rare feat for a play to keep building momentum like this. Most plays, no matter how well-reviewed, close when they originally say they will.
And then there are the outliers—plays that still opt for the old-school open-ended model, usually because they have a built-in audience or added appeal. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is set to join the very short list of non-musicals launching an open-ended Broadway run, following in the footsteps of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Apparently, if you want to go for the long haul, it helps to have a massive pop-culture franchise behind you. The recent revival of To Kill a Mockingbird and last season’s new play Grey House were among the few other recent examples of plays to open without a closing date set.
For Broadway fans, this shift means that plays have become more of an event—something you need to catch while you can. If a show is a limited run, you know it’s now or never. And while some plays do extend, most close exactly when they say they will, making each production feel a little more special. It’s a different model from the past, but in a world where theatergoers have more entertainment options than ever, Broadway has found a way to make plays must-see experiences again.
