This course explores how Broadway became the focal point of American commercial theatre beginning with the city's expansion north of Wall Street in the 17th century to the tumultuous 19th century when immigration, economic upheaval, social divisions, industrial growth, and aesthetic changes led to Broadway becoming the heart of the professional theatre world. We will also trace how theatre became entertainment for the masses, and how industry sought to channel this success as both a means of social influence and political control, sowing the seeds for a new theatrical aesthetic, as well as commercial exploitation and audience manipulation, that would find a new home in the newest form of entertainment technology--film--leading inevitably to the decline of live stage in the mid-20th century.