Best Off-Broadway Shows in New York City

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song plays off-Broadway at Theater 555. This newest iteration of the off-Broadway staple sends up all of Broadway theater, including the newest hits like Hell’s Kitchen, The Outsiders, and Stereophonic – no star, producer, or musical is safe in this satirical musical. Created by Gerard Alessandrini, the title gets its name from the recent revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Ben Brantley said in The New York Times, “going to a ‘Forbidden Broadway’ is for me like sitting down and schmoozing with a friend who shares an obsession.”

Currently running through January 5, 2025.

Is there a discount for Forbidden Broadway? $33 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

Teeth, with book and music by Anna K. Jacobs and book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, has choreography by Raja Feather Kelly and direction from Sarah Benson. Based on the movie of the same name with screenplay by Mitchell Lichtenstein, Teeth plays at New World Stages after its hit run off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. The show follows Dawn O’Keefe, an evangelical teenager who finds out that when men try to assault her…her body fights back. TheaterMania called it “brilliant and incendiary…you’ll never forget it.”

Currently running through January 5, 2025.

Is there a discount for Teeth? Digital and In-Person rush tickets are available for $34 each. Buy in person at the box office on the day of the performance or online starting at 11am.

The Big Gay Jamboree, by Marla Mindelle, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, and Philip Drennen and directed and choreographed by Connor Gallagher, plays at the Orpheum Theatre. Brought to you from the creators of the hit show Titanique and the hit movie Barbie, this musical follows Stacey who, after a drunken night out, wakes up in a whole new musical world. Now she has to figure out how to get home while navigating new friends and a new family who keep bursting into song. Alex Moffat stars opposite Marla Mindelle, who originally starred as Céline Dion in Titanique.

Currently running through January 19, 2025.

Is there a discount for The Big Gay Jamboree? $39 rush tickets are available on the TodayTix App.

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.”

Currently running through May 4, 2025.

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.

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 December 15, 2024.

Is there a discount for 300 Paintings? $28 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.

Shit. Meet. Fan., written and directed by Robert O’Hara, plays at MCC Theater and follows a group of friends who get together during an eclipse. They drink, they gossip, and they play a game: their phone are out, their ringers are on, and every message, call, and email must shared aloud. Get ready for some fun. The star-studded cast includes Debra Messing, Constance Wu, Jane Krakowski, and Neil Patrick Harris.

Currently running through December 15, 2024.

Is there a discount for Shit. Meet. Fan.? TodayTix offers $107 cancellation line tickets – check back often as tickets may be released last minute!

Babe, written by Jessica Goldberg and directed by Scott Elliott, plays at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Marisa Tomei stars as Abby, a music producer who has risked it all to make it big. Together with her producing partner Gus, they have some of the biggest records in the business. Now she’ll have to ask herself: was it worth it? And can she stay on top?

Currently running through December 22, 2024.

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

Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! is written by Alina Troyano and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins with direction by Eric Ting. Playing at Soho Rep, the play follows Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as he tries to buy Carmelita Tropicana from the person who created her. Theatermania calls it “a fantastic journey to a bygone New York…[a] joyously imaginative tribute to weird theater and the people who make it.”

Currently running through December 22, 2024.

Is there a discount for Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!? A limited number of $20 rush tickets are available at the box office for most performances starting half an hour before the show. Cash only, up to two tickets per person. First come, first served.

Hold Onto Me Darling, written by Kenneth Lonergan and directed by Neil Pepe, plays at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and stars Adam Driver as Strings McCrane, a country music star whose mother has just died. When he moves back to Tennessee to get out of the spotlight, he finds that he can’t quite outrun his fame, or its effects. The New York Times said of the 2016 production, “you’re likely to find yourself hanging on every one of Strings’s self-contradicting, self-dramatizing words. That’s because he is the creation of Kenneth Lonergan, a writer with one of the best ears around for the language of the morally challenged — a term that I would say applies to most of the human race.”

Currently running through December 22, 2024.

Is there a discount for Hold Onto me Darling? $40 lottery tickets and $159 digital cancellation line tickets will be sold on the TodayTix app. The lottery opens at 12am each Sunday for the next week’s performance and closes at 1pm the day prior to each performance.

The Blood Quilt, written by Katori Hall and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, plays at Lincoln Center Theater’s Newhouse Theater. The play follows four women who come together after the death of their mother. But when their mother’s will includes a surprising piece of information, will they come together or be torn apart? Theatermania called it “bewitching…you need to see it before it is gone.”

Currently running through December 29, 2024.

Is there a discount available for The Blood Quilt? Enter the lottery for a chance at $39 tickets!

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 December 30, 2024.

Is there a discount for Cellino v. Barnes? $38 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.

Sleep No More has been running since 2011 at the McKittrick Hotel in Chelsea. The companies Emursive and Punchdrunk have created a truly unique experience as they present an immersive and site-specific retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (or if you’re superstitious, “The Scottish Play”). Audiences can move around wherever and whenever they wish, following actors through the many floors of the McKittrick as the story unfolds. You can grab a drink before or after the show at the Manderley Bar or head upstairs for dinner at the Gallow Green Restaurant. Time Out New York calls it “bedazzling and uncanny,” and though you can certainly scour the internet for details, this is a show that is especially delightful if you know as little as possible going in.

Speakeasy Magick: also at the McKittrick Hotel, 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.

Stalker, presented by Penn & Teller, is an innovative 90-minute magic show by the Swedish duo Peter Brynolf and Jonas Ljung, directed by Eurovision mastermind Edward af Sillén. Get ready for fast-paced entertainment combining street magic, physical mentalism, and social hacking — with a climactic plot twist that you’ll never see coming. In today’s society, no one is hidden. Everyone is being stalked, and everyone has become a stalker. Follow Brynolf & Ljung. They’re already following you. TheaterMania says, “packed audiences delight in acts that gleefully tiptoe along the border between astounding and creepy.”

Currently running through September 1, 2024.

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.”