Sparse applause echoed intermittently within the theater. The space, which could accommodate two hundred people, was less than a third full, and some audience members were already getting up to leave with indifferent expressions.
However, on stage, the actors still dutifully completed their curtain call—
Left side. Right side. Center.
Bowing, curtsying, expressing gratitude.
This kind of scene was completely commonplace in New York's Off-Off-Broadway theaters.
Broadway actually refers specifically to a street in Manhattan, Broadway Avenue, flanked by countless theaters on either side. This street represents the pinnacle of theater across North America.
But not just any production can grace the stages of these theaters, so around the Broadway theater district emerged a cluster of new theaters, offering a platform for independent plays, experimental productions, and low-budget artistic performances.
Later, this cluster of theaters came to be known as Off-Broadway.
