Broadway in the 1940's

Broadway in the 1940s

During the 1940s, Broadway began to lose its originality and drive. New dramatists were less numerous, and Broadway began to face competition from television and movies. Some theaters were pulled down, and now theater no longer dominated Broadway.

Beginning in the thirties, and in the forties 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, the street most associated with Times Square, began to look less and less like a theater district. The theater business was declining all over the city to the point where there were not enough productions to support the available playhouses. In comparison to the 264 productions in 1927-1928, the number dropped to 187 in 1930-1931, and only 72 in 1940-1941. Times Square had degenerated into a kind of carnival and sex bazaar. The Republic Theater, which was built by Oscar Hammerstein in 1900, became Billy Minskys burlesque house. Theaters all over the area were being torn down or turned into slums.

Most theaters on Broadway were now film houses. Movies were beginning to take over the entertainment business, and theater as an industry had become obsolete, for now the increasing real-estate values made theater buildings uneconomical. In the beginning of the century, theaters were both a good investment and a symbol of vivacity and mirth. After World War II, however, theater buildings became unprofitable, and were sometimes considered dangerous after a fire in Chicago in 1902. Also by the 1940s television was becoming a worthy competitor for Broadway theater, providing the public with free entertainment. The result of all these pressures on Broadway theater was a shocking 80% unemployment rate for Broadway actors in 1948, and for the first time in its history, Broadway had to call a general emergency meeting for all the unions and theater people.

At this point Broadway had become less of an industry and more of a loose array of individuals, which by 1950 actually had certain positive aspects. This time period in America was one of increasing intolerance and political persecution, but Broadway was not afraid to express unorthodox opinions, and did not fear the government. Although Broadway theater had lost some of its scope, it still retained its liveliness and joyfulness in an increasingly corporate environment. In a country that now required conformity, Broadway preserved a sense of freedom of speech and action, ideals on which the nation was founded.