The Theater District is better known as Broadway, the dream factory that in the 1920s began producing popular plays and musicals, reaching its peak in the 1940s with the arrival of great dramatists such as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller, and the creation of the prestigious Tony Awards.
However, the splendor of Broadway, and of Times Square, began to wear off in the 1970s, when the recession led to the appearance of drug dealers, prostitutes and criminals, as well as dens of iniquity, porn theaters and strip clubs. It was thanks to Mayor Giuliani that, with the dawn of the New Millennium, the area regained, and indeed enhanced, its former splendor.
There are many shows staged in the theaters all around the square, but the most famous show of all takes place right here in the open, before a cheering crowd. I’m talking about the New Year Party, featuring performances by well-known singers, leading up to the momentous countdown, when a huge, glittering crystal ball drops from the roof of One Times Square building.
