Cheap theater: Where to enjoy affordable shows in NYC

The civic-minded Oskar Eustis is artistic director of this local institution dedicated to the work of new American playwrights but also known for its Shakespeare productions (Shakespeare in the Park). The building, an Astor Place landmark, has five stages, plays host to the annual Under the Radar festival, nurtures productions in its Lab series and is also home to the Joe’s Pub music venue.

The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is the fair-weather sister of the Public Theater. When not producing Shakespeare in the East Village, the Public offers the best of the Bard outdoors during Shakespeare in the Park (May–August). Free tickets (two per person) are distributed at both theaters at 1pm on the day of the performance. It's usually good to begin waiting around 9am, although the line can start forming as early as 6am when big-name stars are on the bill. You can also enter an online lottery for tickets.

Formerly a tobacco depot, St. Ann’s Warehouse—the adventurous theatergoer’s alternative to BAM—puts on an exciting slate of envelope-pushing theater and music performances. Not long ago, a thrilling production of Oklahoma! made the leap from St. Ann’s to Broadway, so watch this space for more rising stars.

This homey 60-seat black box (up some seriously steep stairs) is a mere block and a half from the subway, and only 15 minutes on the L train from Union Square. The space has become one of the best curated spots in the city; it supports up-and-coming stage talent like William Burke and avant-garde veterans such as Target Margin Theater and Cynthia Hopkins, as well as a variety of performance art and multimedia performances.

Formerly a movie multiplex, this center—one of the last bastions of commercial Off Broadway in New York—impresses with its shiny, space-age interior and five stages, were it presents such campy revues as The Gazillion Bubble Show.

Steps on Broadway offers classes in many styles with some of the finest teachers in New York.

The Tank, an adventurous multimedia performing-arts collaborative and talent incubator, spent years wandering from venue to venue, including a long stint in a small upstairs space on 46th Street. In 2017, it moved into the Midtown digs formerly occupied by Abingdon Theatre Company. Its two main spaces are the 98-seat June Havoc Theater and the 56-seat Dorothy Strelsin Theater. Meghan Finn is the company's longtime artistic director.

Imported to the U.S. from Sweden in 1876, this venue is the coziest in all of NYC. Employing handmade marionettes and beautiful sets, the resident company mounts citified versions of well-known stories.

Best known as an avant-garde theater space, the Kitchen also offers experimental dance by inventive, often provocative artists.

A Greenwich Village landmark, the Cherry Lane is New York’s longest-continuously-operating Off Broadway theater. On occasion, children's theater companies rent its space.

Brian Rogers and Sheila Lewandowski founded this 5,000-square-foot performance venue in Long Island City in 2005, converting a onetime hardware store into two spaces: a low-ceilinged downstairs room and a loftier, brighter upstairs whitebox. The Factory is not for rent: Rogers curates his season, inviting artists (from midcareer playwrights like Mac Wellman to rising directors like Alice Reagan) onboard—and the space pays them. It's a welcoming place (buy your chocolate-chip cookies at the box office), and the spot won an Obie for its programming, which tends toward the highly physical, the interdisciplinary and the avant-garde.

Called the New York Improv when it opened in 1963, this Hell's Kitchen club showcased legends such as Bill Cosby, Andy Kaufman and Robin Williams during its first stint. After being closed for years, former collaborators opened this basement joint a few blocks from the original, and they showcase TV faces and other regulars from the club circuit. Expect to hear from a variety of NYC comics during the regular stand-up showcase, each one performing short sets. Before the show, be prepared that you may have to wait in line on a steep, narrow staircase before you're let in. Also, there's a two-drink minimum.

When Classic Stage Company is not in season, it rents out this 199-seat space to other productions not affiliated with the troupe.

Visitors may think they know this venerable theater from TV’s Showtime at the Apollo. But you've got to see it to truly experience The Apollo. Known for launching the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo, among others at its legendary Amateur Night competition, the Apollo continues to mix veteran talents like Dianne Reeves with more contemporary acts like the Roots and Lykke Li. 

The grandest of the Lincoln Center buildings, the Met is a spectacular place to experience opera and ballet. The space hosts the Metropolitan Opera from September to May, with major visiting companies appearing in summer. The majestic theater also showcases works from a range of international dance companies, from the Paris Opéra Ballet to the Kirov Ballet. In spring, the Met is home to American Ballet Theatre, which presents full-length classic story ballets, works by contemporary choreographers and special performances and workshops for children. RECOMMENDED: 101 best things do in NYC

Nearly 30 years after it started hosting experimental performances in a loft on the Bowery, this plucky organization has opened its gorgeous new space a few blocks away on the Lower East Side. A lounge, mainstage theater and studio all support the work of emerging artists, including the annual Hot! festival of work with LGBT themes.

Opened in 1924 as the 46th Street Theatre, the space was renamed in 1990 to honor the legendary composer Richard Rodgers (Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Sound of Music). This Nederlander-owned theater (1,319 seats) has hosted several beloved musicals including Anything Goes, Damn Yankees, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Movin' Out. Extra fun for little Broadway buffs: Check out the Richard Rodgers Gallery, featuring memorabilia from the composer’s career.

Founded in 2012, this arts center is led by artistic director Alec Duffy (Three Pianos, Shadows). The space's mission is to serve as a cultural hub in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, presenting cutting-edge theater, music and dance performances, expanding access to the arts, bridging audiences and educating youth. 

This chic, state-of-the-art venue, which comprises an Off Broadway space and two smaller theaters, is home to a lot of worthy programming, such as the annual Brits Off Broadway festival, which imports some of the U.K.’s best work for brief summer runs. The venue boasts three separate playing spaces. Theater A, on the ground floor, seats 196 people; upstairs are the 98-seat Theater B and a 70-seat black-box space, Theater C.

At 640 seats, this space, owned and operated by Pace University, is the largest venue in downtown Manhattan. From the Tribeca Film Festival to presidential debates, the Schimmel Center makes the most of its flexability and modernity. Visiting acts may rent out the space, like London’s Globe Theatre did in 2009, but they’ll have to vie for space with Inside the Actor’s Studio. James Lipton’s popular interview series has been filming here since 2005.

The ghost of late, great producer David Belasco supposedly haunts this 1,016-seat house, built in 1907. We've never seen the specter—no doubt clad in priestly garb, as Belasco was wont to do—but we'll take theater folks' word for it. In 1935, the elegant playhouse was home to Clifford Odets's breakthrough drama Awake and Sing! It served as an NBC radio playhouse from 1949 to '53 but then returned to live fare. Over the decades, it has housed the scandalous sex-themed hit Oh! Calcutta!, a sterling revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone in 2009, which President Obama attended with the First Lady, and the recent Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Built on the site of the Capitol Theatre movie palace as part of the new Uris Building (also home to the Gershwin Theatre), this venue served as the third home of the Circle in the Square theater company. It's a rare example of theater (almost) in the round in the Theater District, which makes it highly desirable for unconventional stagings. The seating also provides kids with unobstructed views of the stage, from virtually any seat.

Originally built in the mid-1800s as the annex for the former Union Square Savings Bank (now the Daryl Roth Theatre), this venue was gutted and rebuilt as a theater in 2002. A smaller outpost of the Daryl Roth, the DR2 hosts small plays and other performances in its intimate 99-seat space.

Located on the second floor of a Methodist church, this community theater is home for several resident companies, including David Parker and the Bang Group and Frog & Peach Theatre Company.  

This smaller, classier extension of Madison Square Garden has better sound than the arena. The theater has hosted world-music celebrations, mainstream hip-hop shows, R&B extravaganzas and medium-size rock shows with Radiohead, Melissa Etheridge and Van Morrison.