Best Off-Broadway Shows in New York City

Drag: The Musical, with book, music, and lyrics by Tomas Costanza, Justin Andrew Honard, and Ashley Gordon, plays at New World Stages. Two feuding queens – Alexis Gillmore and Miss Kitty – open rival clubs. Which will succeed, which will fail, and which drag superstar will be YOUR favorite? The cast includes Alaska, Lagoona Bloo, Jujubee, Jan Sport, Luxx Noir London, J. Elaine Marcos, Jan Sport, and more. And check out the fab-aret seating options, which include tables and stage-side stools to get you up close to the action!

Currently running through March 30, 2025.

Is there a discount for Drag: The Musical? $44 rush and lottery tickets are available on Rush Telecharge.

Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale retells the story of the Oscar-winning film Titanic using the music of Celine Dion. Written by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli, and Tye Blue, this musical begins when Celine Dion hijacks a Titanic Museum tour and enchants the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalog. It’s become an off-Broadway sensation, and The Wrap called it, “a hilarious jukebox musical for those who detest them…it’s really funny.”

Is there a discount for Titanique? If you book more than 6 weeks in advance, you can get 30% off Telecharge purchases! Use code EARLYBIRD for 30% off standard tickets, EARLYPRF for 30% off Preferred tickets, and EARLYPRM for 30% off Premium Tickets. A limited number of $49 rush tickets are available at the box office on the day of the performance. Limit of two tickets per person.

Little Shop of Horrors has been enjoying a sold-out run at the Westside Theatre. This musical won the 2020 Drama League Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revival, and is delighting new and old fans alike. The show follows Seymour, a meek, nerdy shopkeeper with a crush on his co-worker Audrey, who is dating a sadistic dentist. Add in a ravenous, man-eating plant who helps Seymour change his fortunes, and you’ve got a recipe for a bloody good time. The New Yorker said, “The show succeeds beautifully, and everyone watching it and performing in it seems to be having a blast.” 

Is there a discount for Little Shop of Horrors? Try your luck at the digital ticket lottery for a chance to get $45 discount tickets.

Cymbeline, written by William Shakespeare, is presented by the National Asian Maerican Theatre Company with Play On Shakespeare and runs at Classic Stage Company’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater directed by Stephen Brown-Fried. Following Princess Imogen after her father, King Cymbeline, banishes her lover. Accused of adultery, Imogen runs away, disguises her identity, and discovers a long-lost family.  

Currently running through February 15, 2025.

Is there a discount for Cymbeline? $25 tickets are available for students with a valid ID. $35 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

A Knock on the Roof, written by and starring Khawla Ibraheem and directed by Oliver Butler, plays at the New York Theatre Workshop in a co-production with piece by piece productions as part of the Under the Radar Festival. The play follows a mother in Gaza during a summer vacation preparing and prepping for the unexpected. TheaterMania called it, “exceptional…the impact of the play springs from its quiet empathy with what it’s like to live every day under the threat of death.”

Currently running through February 16, 2025.

300 Paintings, written by and starring Sam Kissajukian, plays at the Vineyard Theatre. After hit runs in Edinburgh and Australia, Sam brings his show to New York, explaining how he painted 300 paintings during a manic bipolar episode that lasted five months. Come for the show, stay for the art, which is exhibited in the lobby and available to see before and after the performance. British Theatre Guide said, “It’s a glorious dive into the madcap weirdness of the human mind and an expression of the beauty that comes from uniqueness.”

Currently running through February 23, 2025.

Is there a discount for 300 Paintings? $32 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App. Check out the Vineyard’s Good Neighbor Program for information about community supported tickets, affinity nights, 40 Under 40, and student matinees.

The Antiquities, written by Jordan Harrison and directed by David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan, runs at Playwrights Horizons. Set in the distant future in a museum studying ancient human civilization, the staff focuses on bringing the past to life while managing their own present day problems and relationships.

Currently running through March 2, 2025.

Is there a discount for The Antiquities? Playwrights Horizons offers $30 tickets to people aged 35 and under through their Young Membership program, and $20 tickets through their Student Membership program.

Beckett Briefs includes three short plays by Samuel Beckett: Not I, Play, and Krapp’s Last Tape. Ciarán O’Reilly directs the plays at the Irish Repertory Theatre, and the cast includes F. Murray Abraham, Roger Dominic Casey, Kate Forbes, and Sarah Street. The plays cover everything from birth to death.

Currently running through March 9, 2024.

Is there a discount to Beckett Briefs? People aged 40 and under can access $25 tickets through the theater’s free GreenSeats program.

Grangeville, written by Samuel D. Hunter and directed by Jack Serio, plays at the Signature Theatre. The play follows two half-brothers who come together to take care of their sick mother. Old wounds and strained relationships come to the surface as remember their shared past.

Currently running through March 16, 2025.

Is there a discount for Grangeville? Students can access $20 tickets through Signature’s free Student Membership Program.

Cellino v. Barnes, written by Mike B. Breen and David Rafailedes and directed by Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse, plays at the Asylum Theatre. This dark comedy has a subject matter that should be familiar to anyone in and around New York through the 2010s. Who doesn’t remember the iconic jingle, numerous billboards, and endless tv commercials? Now see how lawyers Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes first got together, how they made it to the top, and what caused their friendship to falter. It’s a truly fun night out. The Wall Street Journal calls it, “gleefully absurd,” and says, “the writing consistently crackles with absurdist humor.”

Currently running through March 30, 2025.

Is there a discount for Cellino v. Barnes? $38 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

Liberation, written by Bess Wohl and directed by Whitney White, runs at Roundabout Theatre’s Laura Pels Theatre. Winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, the play is set in 1970, Ohio when Lizzie and a group of women get together for a private conversation. In present day, Lizzie’s daughter finds herself in the same situation.

Currently running through March 30, 2025.

Is there a discount for Liberation? $30 tickets are available for people aged 18 – 40 as part of the Hiptix program. $40 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

Mindplay, written by Vinny DePonto and Josh Koenigsberg and directed by Andrew Neisler, plays at the Greenwich House Theater. Starring mentalist Vinny DePonto, this play features mind-boggling magic and unexplainable phenomenon as Vinny takes the audience through their own minds and offers insight into his own. TheaterMania said, “it’s one of the best magic shows you may ever see.”

Currently running through April 20, 2025.

Is there a discount for Mindplay? $48 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern plays at Stage 42 and celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, an iconic roleplaying game that lets the crowd choose the direction of the story. Get ready to roll for initiative and live your own adventure. And bring your phone – you can directly impact the story by using an app! The New York Times said that the show’s “improv adds a theatrical dimension to the role-playing game…all four actors threw themselves into the ambient silliness. (Families looking for an outing should note that the show is appropriate for kids ages 8 and up.)”

Currently running through April 29, 2025.

Is there a discount for Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern? $39 digital lottery tickets are available at Rush Telecharge. Lottery opens at 12am the day before the performance, and winners are drawn at 10am and 3pm.  

Drunk Shakespeare started in 2014 and follows 5 professional actors who meet as members of "The Drunk Shakespeare Society". One of them has at least 5 shots of whiskey and then they overconfidently attempt to perform a major role in a Shakespearean play. As the sober actors try to keep the drunk one in line and on script, things start to get out of hand. No two shows are alike, and drinks flow throughout – so keep the kids at home for this one, audience members need to be at least 21 to enjoy the antics! The New York Times says, “It offers considerably more fun than many Shakespeare productions, worth experiencing not to watch an actor get drunk, but to watch a cast juggle so many balls so adroitly.”

Is there a discount for Drunk Shakespeare? Click “buy tickets” below to see discounts on TodayTix. And if you’re in a group of 9 or more, use promo code GROUPDEAL when purchasing tickets to get 15% off.

The Play That Goes Wrong runs off-Broadway at New World Stages after its successful Broadway run. It’s the opening night of the play The Murder at Haversham Manor, but this acting troupe is about to see things go from bad to worse. From unconscious actors, dropped lines, and downright dangerous set mishaps, can they even get to the end of the play? Come see what The Daily Beast calls, “A Riotous Explosion of Comedy!”

Is there a discount for The Play That Goes Wrong? $35 lottery tickets are available on Rush.Telecharge.

Perfect Crime premiered in 1987 and is the longest running play in Broadway and Off-Broadway history. Perfect Crime is a funny and romantic thriller about a psychiatrist who may have killed her husband…until he suddenly turns up alive. This play follows the psychiatrist and the detective who tries to solve the case, and the many twists and turns will have you guessing until the very end. 

Is there a discount for Perfect Crime? Perfect Crime has student rush discount tickets available on each day of the performance on a first-come, first served basis at the box office.

Blue Man Group has been running since 1991 at the Astor Place Theatre on 434 Lafayette Street in New York City. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together you’ll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn. Great for families and kids (though children under 3 won’t be admitted). Blue Man Group plays all over North America on a national tour and also globally, but you can see the show in New Yorkwhere it began! 

Is there a discount for Blue Man Group? Special ticket offers, if any, can be found here.

Gazillion Bubble Show has run since 2007 and is a roughly 1-hour long show filled with magic, spectacular laser and lighting effects, and yes, literally gazillions of bubbles. What’s not to like? Great for kids, children under 2 can sit in a parent or guardian’s lap for a reduced price, and they even have birthday party packages available.

Speakeasy Magick runs at The Overlook Bar, is hosted by Todd Robbins and features a night of close up magic and prestidigitation. This show features a rotation of New York’s best magicians. BroadwayWorld called it, "one of the most original and entertaining nights out in the city."

Chamber Magic: Steve Cohen’s dazzling live show, performed weekly in an elegant salon in the Lotte New York Palace hotel, features conjuring, mind-reading, sleight of hand, and an astonishing trick called Think-A-Drink. A celebrity favorite, Cohen baffles guests with magic up close as he recreates parlor entertainment that characterized Manhattan in the early 20th century. BroadwayWorld said, “find out what over a half million people have already discovered…Cohen performs card tricks you won't see anywhere else. He has mastered the art of the classic sleight of hand, mind reading, and conjuring parlor entertainment.”