“Great Bright Way” (Great White Way + bright) was proposed in 2020 as a new nickname for the Broadway theater district in New York City. “White” is potentially perceived by some to be racially divisive, but the “Great White Way” nickname originated after a snowstorm in 1902, and later referred to Broadway’s lights.
     
Whoopi Goldberg, a Tony Award-winner performer and a co-host of the television talk show The View, passed along a suggestion on the show of June 24, 2020, to rename Broadway as the “Great Bright Way.” The suggestion had a mostly favorable response on Twitter.
 
“Great White Way” is not the formal name of the street—“Broadway” is— so this suggestion involved usage and not any formal street renaming.
 
Other nicknames for Broadway and its bright lights include “Bulb Belt,” “Incandescent District,” “Lane of Lights and Laughter,” “Mazda Lane,” “Street of the Midnight Sun,” “Tungsten Territory” and “White Light Belt.”
     
   
Wikipedia: Broadway (Manhattan)
Broadway (/ˈbrɔːdweɪ/) is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for 13 mi (21 km) through the borough of Manhattan and 2 mi (3.2 km) through the Bronx, exiting north from the city to run an additional 18 mi (29 km) through the municipalities of Yonkers, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, and Tarrytown, and terminating north of Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County.
(...)
Broadway in Manhattan is known widely as the heart of the American commercial theatrical industry, and is used as a metonym for it, as well as in the names of alternative theatrical ventures such as Off-Broadway and Off-off-Broadway.
       
YouTube
Whoopi Goldberg Suggests Name Change for “Great White Way” Section of Broadway | The View
Jun 24, 2020
The View
 
Broadway World
VIDEO: Whoopi Goldberg Proposes ‘The Great White Way’ Name Update
by BWW News Desk Jun. 24, 2020      
On today’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg suggested an adjustment to the longtime Broadway nickname, “The Great White Way.”
 
According to Whoopi, a friend came up with the idea to make a slight adjustment to the moniker, changing it to “The Great Bright Way.”
 
The term “The Great White Way” was popularized in the 1920s, inspired by all the electric white lights on the theatre marquees and billboard signs that illuminate the Times Square/Theatre District area.
   
Twitter
Jocelyn Dee
@jocelyn528
I love “The Great Bright Way”. It totally works. 
#TheView
11:07 AM · Jun 24, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Dr. David Gordon
@MrDavidGordon
.@WhoopiGoldberg has just suggested retitling “The Great White Way” as “The Great Bright Way.” I’m down. Your move, rest of Broadway.
11:07 AM · Jun 24, 2020·Twitter Web App
     
Twitter 
peter donovan #MAGA
@gpnavonod
@TheView Whoopi thinks the “GREAT WHITE WAY” should be the “GREAT BRIGHT WAY”. MAYBE LIKE “IM DREAMING OF A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS” TOO.
HOW MANY PPL. EVEN KNEW BROADWAY’S NICKNAME?
SHE IS A “RACE OBSESSED” IDIOT OF THE LEFT.
@WhoopiGoldberg
11:15 AM · Jun 24, 2020·Twitter for Android
         
Broadway.com
We Endorse! Whoopi Goldberg Has A New Nickname for Broadway: ‘The Great Bright Way’
by Lindsey Sullivan • Jun 25, 2020
The nation is engaged in challenging conversations about racism, which have reached the lights of Broadway. “The Great White Way” has been a longtime nickname for the New York City theater district, first coined in the early 1900s to pay homage to the dazzling lights of the marquees. But in 2020, the original meaning is lost, with the phrase no longer reflecting the diversity audiences demand on Broadway. So what now? EGOT-er Whoopi Goldberg has a fix!
 
On the June 24 episode of The View, the morning talk show she co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg shared a simple update that a friend suggested to her. “We talk about Broadway from time to time [on The View], and I have a pitch,” she offered. “Maybe we can stop calling [Broadway] ‘The Great White Way’ and replace it with ‘The Great Bright Way,’” she said. “It’s not just the words. It’s the way we think about it.” Well said, Whoopi! Not only is this change super simple and more inclusive—it’s catchy!
       
Twitter
broadway.com
@broadwaycom
We love The Great BRIGHT Way! Thanks, @WhoopiGoldberg
https://broadway.com/buzz/199523/we-endorse-whoopi-goldberg-has-a-new-nickname-for-broadway-the-great-bright-way/
4:27 PM · Jun 25, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
New York Theater
@NewYorkTheater
A great idea from @WhoopiGoldberg—replacing “Great White Way” with “Great Bright Way.” (thus eliminating the unintentional connotation) as synonym for Broadway.
Since @BroadwayLeague agrees, is there some way of making this official?
Quote Tweet
The Broadway League
@BroadwayLeague
· Jun 26
Thank you @WhoopiGoldberg! We love this idea of calling #Broadway the #GreatBrightWay. We agree! @TheView https://youtu.be/zn__8Vc24Zo
4:34 PM · Jun 26, 2020·TweetDeck
 
Twitter       
Pegasus
@susanmalone1964
Replying to @jamesmiglehart and @WhoopiGoldberg
The Great Bright Way… I LIKE it!! It works on so many levels!
8:47 AM · Jun 30, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Audience Rewards
@audiencerewards
Though intermission continues, The Great Bright Way will be back again, better than ever before. In the meantime, be sure to keep visiting http://audiencerewards.com for performance updates, virtual theater content, Broadway trivia and more. #BroadwayWillBeBack #TheGreatBrightWay
12:16 PM · Jun 30, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Kristine
@MuellerKristine
I love that there was one suggestion of Great Bright Way and now that’s just what everyone is using for Broadway. If only all change could be that simple.
7:01 PM · Jul 1, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
james
@whosjameswalsh
Replying to @JNotes317
There is a push to call it The Great Bright Way, which is in reference to the lights which allegedly why it’s white in the first place.
9:27 PM · Jul 4, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
 
Twitter
Nicole Comtois
@nicolecomtois
The Great Bright Way and beyond will be back again. I can’t wait for that day, but until then, be safe everyone. #BroadwayWillBeBack
On Broadway: Keeping the lights on
The Great Bright Way and beyond will be back again. #BroadwayWillBeBack
sot.ag
4:46 PM · Jul 27, 2020·Twitter Web App
   
Twitter
Sergei Ardzinba
@Sergei_Ardzinba
Whoopi Goldberg had a suggestion: Stop calling Broadway “The Great White Way,” she proposed on “The View” in June, and nickname it “The Great Bright Way” instead.Merely #Figures #Revolutionize #Theater #World http://en.apsnynews.com/2020/09/12/20-theater-figures-on-how-to-revolutionize-their-world/
6:45 AM · Sep 12, 2020·Blog2Social APP
 
Twitter
Zan Hall
@LovesPlays
@WhoopiGoldberg Great White Way has nothing to do with race but has been made a racial issue by you.  In naming it “Great Bright Way” we now wipe out the original meaning.
We’re creating 2 histories:  “before” & “after.”  Thanks for the unnecessary confusion.
11:45 AM · Sep 13, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
FoxCitiesPAC
@FoxCitiesPAC
Broadway has been dark for 6 months but there’s still daily news, performances and fun coming from the Great Bright Way. Here are some of the top things to know from this month:https://foxcitiespac.com/news/september-2020/broadway-fast-5-september
2:55 PM · Sep 30, 2020·Twitter Web App