Director-performer Daniel Irizarry and playwright Robert Lyons make learning fun—or at least make fun of learning—in a new work studded with academia nuts: a demented professor, his poetry-spouting rival and two grad students with dreams of changing the world. Like any good seminar, this show invites participation, so you might be invited to sample bread, drink rum, mark up the set with chalk and sing along to original music by Rhys Tivey. Bring a book you're prepared to swap with another audience member.
Broadway and Off Broadway productions get most of the attention, but to get a true sense of the range and diversity of New York theater, you need to look to the smaller productions collectively known as Off-Off Broadway. There are more than dozens of Off-Off Broadway spaces in New York, mostly with fewer than 99 seats. Experimental plays thrive in New York's best Off-Off Broadway venues; that's where you'll find many of the city's most challenging and original works. But Off-Off is more than just the weird stuff: It also includes everything from original dramas to revivals of rarely seen classics, and it's a good place to get early looks at rising talents. What's more, it tends to be affordable; while cheap Broadway tickets can be hard to find, most Off-Off Broadway shows are in the $15–$35 range. Here are some of the current shows that hold the most promise.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Off Broadway shows in NYC
