Best Off-Broadway Shows in New York City

Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" runs at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. A radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages around the world. Staged as a spectacularly immersive competition by Zhailon Levingston (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way), with all-new Ballroom and club beats, runway-ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover that moves the action from junkyard to catwalk.  Come one, come all, and celebrate the joyous transformation of self at the heart of Cats and Ballroom culture itself. The New York Times called it “a joyful reincarnation…reincarnating itself in fabulousness.”

Currently running through August 11, 2024.

Empire: The Musical, with book, music, and lyrics by Caroline Sherman and Robert Hull and direction from Cady Huffman, plays at New World Stages. Experience the soaring heights of EMPIRE, the elevated new musical that celebrates the world’s most iconic building: the Empire State Building. Told through the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976, this original story shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will and desire. With a desperate city pinning its hopes on this seemingly impossible project, only skyscraper-high levels of grit and determination can keep it climbing. Discover the dramatic tales of derring-do through spectacular choreography, foot-tapping music, and colorful, timeless characters. Take the thrilling ride to the sky with the brave Mohawk Skywalkers, industrialist visionaries, and can-do immigrants, all of whom had the guts to go up when everyone else was down. Witness the extraordinary resilience and optimism that built a landmark that still inspires today.

Currently running through September 22, 2024.

Is there a discount? $42 rush tickets are available on Rush.Telecharge for same-day performances and BroadwayBox offers a discount up to $30 by using code EMBBX30.

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.

Currently running through January 12, 2025.

Is there a discount? 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.

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? Try your luck at the digital ticket lottery for a chance to get discount tickets.

The Journals of Adam and Eve, written by Ed. Weinberger and directed by Amy Anders Corcoran, runs at the Sheen Center starring Hal Linden and Marilu Henner. The Journals of Adam and Eve will, for the first time in their own words, tell the true story of the legendary couple—the world’s first love story. It chronicles from Eden toExile…from their first date to their twilight years, and from bachelor and bachelorette to being the world’s first parents.

Currently running through July 28, 2024.

Pre-Existing Condition, written by Marin Ireland and directed by Maria Dizzia, plays at the Connelly Theatre. Anne Kauffman was a creative consultant. Pre-Existing Condition explores the challenges, shared community and everyday indignities of learning to move forward after a life-altering, harmful relationship. Tatiana Maslany, Julia Chan, Deirdre O’Connell, Tavi Gevinson, and Maria Dizzia alternate as “A” throughout the run. Other cast includes Greg Keller, Dael Orlandersmith, and Sarah Steele.

Currently running through August 3, 2024.

N/A, written by Mario Correa and directed by Diane Paulus, runs at Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater and stars Holland Taylor and Ana Villafañe. N/A is a whip-smart battle of wills — and wits — between N, the first woman Speaker of the House, and A, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Inspired by real people and events, this riveting two-hander illuminates the person whom many consider the most powerful woman in American history… and the once-in-a-generation political talent who defied her.

Currently running through August 4, 2024.

On Beckett is conceived and performed by Bill Irwin and plays at the Irish Rep. Bill Irwin still can’t escape Samuel Beckett. The MacArthur Fellow has spent a lifetime captivated by the Irish writer’s language. In this intimate 90-minute evening, Irwin will explore a performer’s relationship with Beckett, mining the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, and every side of Beckett’s work—including Waiting for Godot, Texts for Nothing, and more—will allow audiences to experience the language in compelling new ways. Whether you’re encountering the Nobel Prize winner’s writing for the first time or building on a body of Beckett knowledge, this dynamic showcase is not to be missed.

Currently running through August 4, 2024.

Is there a discount? Sign up to the Young Patron discount program to access $25 tickets if you’re under 40. Seniors over 65 can get a $10 discount on tickets with a valid ID, rush tickets are sold at half price one hour before showtime at the box office, and military and first responders can get up to 4 free tickets with a valid ID at the box office, all subject to availability.

Clowns Like Me, written and directed by Jason Cannon and starring Scott Ehrenpreis, plays at The DR2 Theatre. In his deeply personal and universally resonant one-man show, seasoned actor and master storyteller Scott Ehrenpreis tells his humorous yet profound story of living with mental illness. Like, lots of mental illness. Clowns Like Me fearlessly confronts the challenges of living with autism spectrum disorder, OCD, bipolar disorder, social anxiety, and depression, weaving a tale that is as heartbreaking as it is inspiring. Through his journey, Scott uncovers a remarkable truth: the stage becomes his sanctuary, a place where, if only for a few hours, he can emerge from the shadows of his struggles into the spotlight of empowerment and self-expression.

Currently running through August 18, 2024.

Someone Spectacular, written by Doménica Feraud and directed by Tatiana Pandiani, plays at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at Signature Center. Once a week, six recently bereaved strangers gather for group therapy. It’s a stable routine — until one day, their grief counselor is inexplicably MIA. The group’s typical session quickly goes off the rails, offering an open-ended meditation on loss, with revelations that are at once beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking. Doménica Feraud’s newest play, Someone Spectacular, examines the complicated emotions that accompany grief, while exploring universal and personal truths that are sure to stay with you for a lifetime.

Currently running through August 31, 2024.

Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern plays at Stage 42 and celebrates the 50^th anniversary of this iconic roleplaying game with a theatrical event you won’t want to miss. Go on your own adventure, solve puzzles, and roll for initiative. Become the hero you were born to be. And bring your phone – you can directly impact the story by using an app.

Currently running through November 10, 2024.

Is there a discount? $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. Hilarity and mayhem ensues while the four sober actors try and keep the script on track. Every show is different depending on who is drinking... and what they're drinking! Drinks are served throughout, and audience members must be at least 21 to enter.

The Play That Goes Wrong runs off-Broadway at New World Stages after its successful Broadway run.  Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), see what The Daily Beast calls, “A Riotous Explosion of Comedy!”

The Play That Goes Wrong has general discount rush tickets available at the box office on the day of the performance.

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. 

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! 

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 move freely through the story at their own pace, following actors through the many floors of the McKittrick, and you can grab a drink before and after at the Manderley Bar at the hotel’s entrance. 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. You can also reserve dinner reservations on the roof if you want to continue the night in a speakeasy-like atmosphere.

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.

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.”