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Catch Jill Sobule's musical memoir, Seth Gilliam from The Walking Dead, Ace Young from American Idol, a disco musical and more
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Adventurous audiences know that some of the biggest theatrical thrills are found on NYC's smallest stages. These shows are also great for theatregoers on a budget. In fact, TDF members can see dozens of Off-Off Broadway productions for as little as $11! Not a TDF member? Consider joining our Go Off-Off and Beyond program, which gives you access to discount tickets to indie theatre, music and dance performances for a one-time fee of five bucks.
In terms of COVID-19 safety protocols, rules vary by venue. While we are trying to keep this article up to date, be sure to double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
If you're a TDF member, be sure to log in to your account to see what we're selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.
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Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street between Lafayette Street and Bowery in Noho
Begins September 29. Closes October 15. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $12 tickets.
Note: Masks are optional.
TV favorite Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead, The Wire) stars in this new play by Emmy Award-winning writer, artist and cartoonist Dean Haspiel (Bored to Death). An ambitious demon recruits a motley crew of New Yorkers to help abduct Satan so they can pressure God into merging Heaven and Hell. But these disparate bounty hunters are hell-bent on infighting. A black comedy that truly indulges the dark side.
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La MaMa's The Downstairs, 66 East 4th Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Begins September 29. Closes October 16. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $16 tickets.
Note: Masks are required.
After 50 years and more than 100 original shows, pioneering avant-garde theatre-maker Ping Chong is about to retire. But first he's mounting a new version of his very first show at La MaMa. Lazarus 1972-2022 is a multimedia meditation on the resurrected man set in modern-day NYC. Featuring performers, projections and puppets, the piece examines alienation and belonging, the passage of time and the evolution of Chong's work. A landmark production from a groundbreaking artist.
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59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenues in Midtown East
Previews begin September 29. Opens October 5. Closes October 16.
Note: Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
A new play exploring depression and mental illness in the Black community, Erin E. Adams' Ink'dWell is set in Martha's Vineyard's historic African-American enclave The Inkwell where a grieving woman searches for answers about her brother's mysterious passing. As she tries to uncover the truth about her sibling's death and life, she finds herself haunted by a childhood ghost story and family secrets.
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New Ohio Theatre, 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in the West Village
Begins September 30. Closes October 15. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $15 tickets.
Note: Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
Inspired by the #MeToo movement, Diane Davis' thought-provoking drama explores how we all unwittingly perpetuate a sexist and misogynistic society. When a Hollywood actress goes public about systemic abuse in the industry, she discovers the ambitious ladies around her are also part of the problem. Can women hold other women accountable?
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HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue at Dominick Street in Soho
Begins October 1. Closes October 29.
Note: Masks are required.
A world premiere from the always-provocative Colt Coeur theatre company (Eureka Day, Hatef**k), Kareem Fahmy's Dodi & Diana finds a Wall Street banker and his Hollywood starlet wife locked in a Parisian hotel room 25 years after the People's Princess and her lover died in a fiery car crash. The anniversary of that infamous event sparks a no-holds-barred conversation about sex, fame and their many buried secrets. Adrienne Campbell-Holt directs Peter Mark Kendall (The Americans) and Rosaline Elbay in this steamy two-hander.
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Axis Theatre Company, 1 Sheridan Square at Washington Place in the West Village
Begins October 5. Closes October 29. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $15 tickets.
Note: Masks are optional.
Henry James' 1880 novel Washington Square has been seen on stage many times, usually under the title The Heiress. But this new adaptation written and directed by Randy Sharp strips away the New York Gilded Age setting to spotlight the emotional journey of a wealthy young woman, raised by a cold father, who considers taking a last chance on love. This one's a real heartbreaker about a woman coming into her own in a cruel and sexist world.
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Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street between Rivington and Delancey Streets on the Lower East Side
Begins October 6. Closes October 21.
Note: Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
Nora Burns, well known for her work with the comedy groups Unitard and the Nellie Olesons, is behind this rollicking NC-17 romp, loosely inspired by Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Packed with sex and Donna Summer songs, this disco musical is set in 1979 NYC, as a hustler living on Christopher Street brings home a naïve college student whose jaw drops at all the kooky characters parading in and out of the bedroom. A life-affirming and tuneful evening of fantasy, fashion and fun.
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The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B in the East Village
Previews begin October 14. Opens October 21. Closes November 19.
Note: Masks are required.
A musical memoir from the pop star who wrote "I Kissed a Girl"—no, not Katy Perry! Back in 1995, Jill Sobule, a queer and quirky singer-songwriter, charted with "Supermodel," which was on the Clueless soundtrack. But after a brief flirtation with fame and the original "I Kissed a Girl" single, she returned to her eccentric, indie roots. F*CK7THGRADE traces her journey with humor and heart, as Sobule, playing herself, realizes that life feels like never-ending middle school.
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La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Begins October 14. Closes October 30. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $15 tickets.
Note: Masks are required.
Lesbian-feminist theatre icons Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver from Split Britches reimagine their virtual pandemic play as the (mostly) in-person piece Last Gasp: A Recalibration. A series of playful and poignant vignettes about how we're living, creating and caring for each other today, the duo fuses spoken word, movement and Zoom technology to respond to our remade reality.
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the cell, 38 West 23rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea
Begins October 19. Closes November 19.
Note: Masks are optional.
Considering the Supreme Court's recent ruling about reproductive rights, it's no surprise that women theatre-makers see abortion as a fertile subject. Abbe Tanenbaum's new play centers on the desperate real-life stories of women seeking to end their pregnancies in a pre-Roe v. Wade world. The backstory is fascinating: Aspiring performer Tanenbaum was working a day job as a personal organizer when she and a client unearthed 20 letters written to the landmark Women's Health & Abortion Project in Chelsea by women seeking abortions between 1968 and 1972. That experience inspired this piece, which gives a glimpse into our depressing past and our terrifying present. Virginia Wall Gruenert and Tanenbaum costar in this two-hander.
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The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Under St. Marks Theater, 94 St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A in the East Village
Begins October 20. Closes November 1. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account and search for Days of the Dead Festival to purchase $12 tickets to select performances.
Note: Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos at Frigid New York's inaugural Days of the Dead festival featuring spine-tingling performances at two East Village theatres. Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, ghost stories, creepy cabarets and deadly drag divas are just some of the fearsome fun in store. Can't make it in person? Most shows are also available to live-stream.
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Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker Street between Mott and Elizabeth Streets in Noho
Begins October 20. Closes November 6. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $15 tickets.
Note: Masks are required.
The busiest man in theatre, Austin Pendleton, is currently acting in an Off-Broadway show and prepping to direct another production on Broadway. Somehow, he's also found the time to helm the NYC premiere of The How and the Why, a two-hander by Sarah Treem (When We Were Young and Unafraid, The Affair on Showtime) about two women biologists from different generations debating the female reproductive process. Their scientific discussion ultimately evolves into an examination of age, sex, gender and power, and the perennial challenges of being a woman.
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Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 20. Opens November 15. Closes December 18 .
Note: Masks are required.
Up-and-coming playwright Harrison David Rivers (Broadbend, Arkansas) won the the 2018 Relentless Award for this affecting drama about a dancer who's the victim of a life-changing assault. As he struggles to heal physically, he realizes the only path forward is to mend his broken family relationships. David Mendizábal of The Movement Theatre Company directs this world premiere at Roundabout Theatre Company's most intimate space.
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The Tank, 312 West 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins October 27. Closes November 20.
Note: Masks are required.
Broadway favorite and American Idol alum Ace Young takes on a non-singing leading role in Vatican Falls, Frank J. Avella's searing play exploring the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. The narrative interweaves survivors' real-life stories with the quest of a fictional protagonist to bring the perpetrators to justice. A controversial piece that's already been canceled in four other countries!
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Andrew Block is an Ovation Award-winning director who hails from New Orleans and now works primarily with the vibrant NYC independent theatre community. He also serves as TDF's Manager of Off & Off-Off Broadway Services.
TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.
Top image: TV star Seth Gilliam, who's headlining The War of Woo at the Gene Frankel Theatre through October 15.
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