The modern facade of the theater is made of polished granite and is part of the office building at 1675 Broadway, completed in 1990.

The modern design of the auditorium dates to a 1986 renovation, when Oliver Smith redecorated the theater in a reddish color scheme.

Over the years, it has hosted many long-running musicals that have transferred from other theaters, as well as other long-lasting shows such as Evita, Les Misérables, and Miss Saigon.

[5][11] The seven-story facade on Broadway, which contains the entrance, was refaced in a similar material, with contemporary and Art Deco-style decorations.

Although Paul Goldberger called the building "exceptionally handsome, even dignified", another critic described the structure as "unpleasantly monolithic".

[20] In the mid-20th century, the theater was repainted in a blue color scheme, which set designer Oliver Smith likened to "a coal mine".

[16][31] In 1923, the Neponsit Building Company acquired the five-story Standard Storage Warehouse[32] and three dwellings at the corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.

[41] In its early years, the Colony screened Universal films such as Friendly Enemies,[42] A Woman's Faith,[43] The Flaming Frontier,[44] and The Cat and the Canary.

[49] Theatrical operator Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. was negotiating to lease the Colony that June,[50] but he initially balked because he considered the $225,000 annual rent to be too expensive.

[61] Moss claimed that the theater would only host shows with "a price scale that is within the reach of every man's pocketbook", but tickets for The New Yorkers cost up to $5.50, which during the Great Depression was unaffordable for many people.

[64] In September 1931, Moss announced that he would simultaneously present musical revues and talking pictures at the Broadway for twelve weeks.

[70] The Broadway hosted The Earl Carroll Vanities,[60] which featured Milton Berle, Helen Broderick, and Harriet Hoctor and ran for 11 weeks.

[70] Lee Shubert and Clifford Fischer took over the Broadway Theatre in December 1939, renovating the theater to accommodate the Folies Bergère revue,[90][91] which only ran until February 1940.

[97] This was followed in 1942 by the Irving Berlin musical This Is The Army;[98][99] a season of productions from the New Opera Company;[100] and a transfer of the comedy My Sister Eileen.

[101] In 1943, the Broadway hosted the musical Lady in the Dark,[102][103] the operetta The Student Prince,[104][105] and performances by the San Carlo Opera Company in repertory.

[93][106] The same year, theatrical operator Michael Todd reneged on a plan to lease the Broadway,[107][108] and the Yaw Theatre Corporation took over the theater.

[109] That December, Billy Rose brought his operetta Carmen Jones to the Broadway Theatre;[111] it ran for 503 performances.

[120][121] Also in 1946, the Broadway hosted transfers of the operetta Song of Norway[122][123] and the play A Flag Is Born;[124] a season of ballet;[125] and Duke Ellington and John La Touche's musical Beggar's Holiday.

[126][127] After Beggar's Holiday closed in March 1947,[128] United Artists leased the Broadway as a movie theater,[129] paying $5,000 a week for one year.

[130][132] The Cradle Will Rock relocated to the Broadway in early 1948,[133] followed the same year by a limited repertory engagement by the Habimah Players,[134][135] a three-week concert series,[136] and a transfer of High Button Shoes.

[159] The venue returned to legitimate use in June 1953,[135] hosting the final performances of the long-running musical South Pacific.

[160][161] Les Ballets de Paris and dancer José Greco performed at the theater in 1954, and the operetta The Saint of Bleecker Street opened there at the end of the year.

[162] The Broadway hosted several live engagements in late 1955, including those by dancer Antonio,[163] the Comédie-Française,[164] the Katherine Dunham Company,[165] and the Azuma Kabuki Troupe.

[205] The project would use a zoning bonus that allowed office-building developers to erect theaters in exchange for additional office space.

[222][229] That September saw the opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Evita,[230] which lasted 1,568 performances over the next four years.

[235] The same year, the city government had enacted a law providing zoning bonuses for large new buildings in West Midtown.

[222] The Shuberts renovated the Broadway's interior for $8 million prior to the April 1986 opening of the musical Big Deal,[21] which flopped after 70 performances.

[244][245] Elvis Costello hosted a rock concert that October,[246][247] and the popular musical Les Misérables opened at the Broadway in March 1987.

[261] The opera La Bohème opened the same year and ran for 228 performances,[262][263] followed in 2003 by John Leguizamo's one-man show Sexaholix.

[278][279] Subsequently, the theater hosted Douglas Carter Beane's version of Cinderella, which opened in 2013 and ran for 770 performances over the next two years.