Best Off Broadway shows: plays and musicals to see

The best play, musicals and revivals on New York's more intimate stages

By David Cote

Although people think Broadway is synonymous with New York theater, truth is there’s a lot of great stuff beyond the bright lights of the Great White Way. Some of the most innovative new plays and musicals are happening on the city’s more intimate Off Broadway stages (technically defined as seating between 100 and 499). From the award-winning Public Theater downtown to the crowd-pleasing attactions at New World stages and the city’s network of great nonprofit companies, Off Broadway offers something for everyone.

The Broadway Beauty Pageant

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Broadway chorus boys strut their stuff in a Miss America–style competition that will include talent and bathing-suit segments (which in some cases may be redundant). Tovah Feldshuh returns as host,

566 LaGuardia Pl, at Washington Sq South, 10012
$25–$50, premium $150
Mon May 20

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Bull

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Helen Shaw. 59E59 (see Off Broadway). By Mike Bartlett. Dir. Clare Lizzimore. With ensemble cast. 55mins. No intermission. Even in Shakespeare’s heyday, the Globe couldn’t outsell

59 E 59th St, between Madison and Park Aves, 10022
$30–$45
Sat May 18 - Sun Jun 2

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Core Values

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Jenna Scherer. Ars Nova (see Off Broadway). By Steven Levenson. Dir. Carolyn Cantor. With Reed Birney, Paul Thureen, Susan Kelechi Watson, Erin Wilhelmi. 1hr 30mins. No

511 W 54th St, between Tenth and Eleventh Aves
$30
Sat May 18

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Here Lies Love

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by David Cote. Public Theater (see Off Broadway). Concept and lyrics by David Byrne. Music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim. Dir. Alex Timbers. With ensemble cast. 1hr 30mins. No

425 Lafayette St, between Astor Pl and E 4th St
$79–$94
Sat May 18 - Sun Jun 30

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I'm a Stranger Here Myself

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Adam Feldman. York Theatre Company (Off Broadway). By Mark Nadler. Music and lyrics by various writers. Dir. David Schweizer. 1hr 45mins. One intermission. Where ivories are

Citigroup Center, 619 Lexington Ave, at 54th St, downstairs
$67.50
Sat May 18 - Sun May 19

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The Last Five Years

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Adam Feldman. Second Stage Theatre (Off Broadway). By Jason Robert Brown. Dir. Brown. With Adam Kantor, Betsy Wolfe. 1hr 25mins. No intermission. Jason Robert Brown’s 2002 musical

305 W 43rd St, at Eighth Ave
$69–$84, premium $150
Sat May 18 - Sun May 19

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Murder Ballad

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

[Note: The following is a review of the 2012 production at Manhattan Theatre Club. Murder Ballad begins a new run at the Union Square Theatre on May 7, with Caissie Levy in the role formerly played

100 E 17th St, between Union Sq East and Irving Pl
$80–$90
Sat May 18 - Sun Jul 7

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My Name Is Asher Lev

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

In Hebrew, the word lev means "heart," and the name Asher means "blessed" or "happy." Those do not go together easily for the title character of Aaron Posner’s starkly moving family drama, adapted

407 W 43rd St, between Ninth and Tenth Aves
$36–$79, premium $110
Sat May 18 - Sun Sep 1

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Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

Rated as: 5/5
Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Adam Feldman. Kazino (Off Broadway). By Dave Malloy. Dir. Rachel Chavkin. With Malloy, Phillipa Soo, Lucas Steele. 2hrs 40mins. One intermission. Revisiting a favorite show, like

W 13th St, at Washington St, 10011
$125 (includes dinner and one drink), premium...
Sat May 18 - Sun Sep 1

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The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

André De Shields, B.D. Wong, Anthony Rapp, Wesley Taylor, Robin De Jesús, Claybourne Elder and Rory O'Malley are among those divvying up the text of David Drake's hit 1993 solo show about gay male

899 Tenth Ave, between 58th and 59th Sts
$40–$175
Mon May 20

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Old-Fashioned Prostitutes (A True Romance)

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by David Cote. Public Theater (see Off Broadway). Written and directed by Richard Foreman. With ensemble cast. 1hr 5mins. No intermission. Settling in at Richard Foreman’s

425 Lafayette St, between Astor Pl and E 4th St
$60–$70
Sat May 18 - Sun Jun 2

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Old Hats

Rated as: 4/5
Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Theater review by Adam Feldman. Pershing Square Signature Center (Off Broadway). By Bill Irwin and David Shiner. Dir. Tina Landau. With Irwin, Shiner, Nellie McKay. 1hr 50mins. One intermission. Old

480 W 42nd St, at Tenth Ave
$75
Mon May 20 - Sun Jun 9

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Peter and the Starcatcher

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Rick Elice's whimsical prequel is an epic, larky picaresque that crams in pirates, aristocrats, orphans, mermaids and a giant crocodile to tell how Peter Pan got his wings. Roger Rees and Alex

340 W 50th St, between Eighth and Ninth Aves
$72.50–$92.50
Sat May 18 - Sun Sep 8

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