Dance marathons are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into human endurance contests, or exploitative entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In the present day, dance marathons are commonly used as fundraisers. These modern marathons are usually 12–24 hours, a far cry from the 1,000-hour marathons of the 1930s.

Marathon ‘33 is a play written by June Havoc which opened on December 22, 1963 and closed on February 1, 1964 at Anta Theatre. The play is based on June Havoc’s memoir Early Havoc and is based on her experience with dance marathons. The play is set in 1933 when dance marathon contests were a large part of the American zeitgeist, and was performed at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre. Although critics loved the play and it received high praise including a few Tony nominations, Marathon ‘33 was not a popular success and only ran for 48 performances. In the play, the character June and her partner Patsy join the dance marathons that were widespread during the Depression era. The stage of the play does not have a curtain and some of the cast members begin the play by being a part of the audience, adding to the sense of a real dance marathon. The play is similar to the movie They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, based on a book of the same name by Horace McCoy. Like the movie, the play provides a look into the harsh condition performers at marathons had to endure.