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.

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.

Visitors may think they know this venerable theater from TV’s Showtime at the Apollo. But as the saying goes, the small screen adds ten pounds: The city’s home of R&B and soul is actually quite cozy. 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. 

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.

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

After losing the lease on his Soho space in 2010, after nearly three decades there, Robert Lyons moved to the landmarked Archive building in teh West Village. The new space, home to the summer Ice Factory Festival and much more, remains an indispensable theatrical crucible.

The intimate space, once a cinema, is a fine setting for dance. Of the 472 seats at the Joyce, there’s not a single bad one. Companies and choreographers who present work here, including Ballet Hispanico, David Parsons and Doug Varone, tend to be more conventional than experimental. The Joyce also hosts out-of-town crowd-pleasers like Pilobolus Dance Theatre. During the summer, when many theaters are dark, the Joyce continues its programming. At the Joyce Soho, emerging companies present work nearly every weekend. • Other location: Joyce Soho, 155 Mercer St between W Houston and Prince Sts (212-431-9233). Subway: B, D, F, M to Broadway–Lafayette St; N, R to Prince St; 6 to Bleecker St. $15–$20. Cash only.

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 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.

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.

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.

This midtown cultural institute's 400-seat theater is home to a number of Gallic-themed screenings for kids and adults alike. For which we must say a hearty "merci!"

In 2015, the Fifth Floor Theater of the NYU/Tisch School of the Arts building was renamed in honor of Jack Crystal, a jazz impresario and the father of comedian Billy Crystal. The Second Avenue Dance Company—featuring students from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts—performs at this 200-seat, Art Deco–styled venue.

More than 300 important contemporary plays have premiered here, among them dramas such as Driving Miss Daisy and The Heidi Chronicles and musicals such as Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins and Sunday in the Park with George. Recent seasons have included works by Craig Lucas and an acclaimed musical version of the cult film Grey Gardens.

This dance center offers classes in ballet, modern dance, contemporary, jazz, theater, hip-hop, house, tap, salsa, flamenco, African, tai chi, sword fighting and yoga.

Home to the megamusical Wicked, the Gershwin is one of those large barns (more than 1,800 seats) built in the 1970s. The lobby is in the Art Deco style. The space was rechristened after the great composer George Gershwin in 1983. It shares the buidling with Circle in the Square Theatre.

The Black Nexxus complex offers acting classes as well as a performance space—the Susan Batson Studio Theater, named for the group's artistic director—for shows with African-American themes.

Camp is still in session at Abrons. However, there are COVID safety protocols. Masks must be worn at all times and everyone age 12 and older must show proof of vaccination. Campers will enjoy weekly water activities, weekly field trips, and will receive daily instruction in dance, music, theater, and visual arts.

Founded in 1996, this cozy, well-appointed black-box venue has presented avant-garde experimentation and politically provocative satires. After 20 years on White Street, the Flea relocated in 2017 to a new complex a few block south in Tribeca. Artistic director Niegel Smith and producing director Carol Ostrow oversee three new playing spaces: the Sam, mamed for theater agent Sam Cohn, which seats 120; the Peter, named for the late playwright A.R. Gurney, which seats 72; and the Siggy, named for actor and Flea cofounder Sigourney Weaver, which seats 44. The company is also home to the Bats, a youthful training company that performs in many of its productions. 

Located at the College of Staten Island, the Williamson Theatre has 442 seats and often hosts plays and musicals for families.

Since 1927, this 1,445-seater was known as the Alvin. It was renamed in 1983 to honor America’s most prolific playwright, Neil Simon, following the successful run of Brighton Beach Memoirs. From 2002-09, Hairspray played there, its longest resident to date.

Broadway's smallest house was named after the beloved leading lady Helen Hayes in 1983 (after her namesake venue was demolished, along with the Morosco and Bijou, to construct the New York Marriott Marquis). The 597-seat space is perfect for chamber musicals or straight drama, and with a house this cozy, you can be assured of excellent sightlines. The nonprofit company Second Stage Theater recently assumed control of the venue; after extensive renovations, overseen by designer David Rockwell, the venue reopened in 2018.

The iconic, hedonistic nightclub from the 1970s and '80s is now run by the Roundabout Theatre Company, where it has presented a variety of musical and play revivals. Although the sex, drugs and rock & roll vibe is gone, you can still have a good time at this chic, somewhat unconventional space, which has two long full-service bars and good sight lines from either the orchestra or balcony. The Roundabout has presented several revivals of Stephen Sondheim musicals at the 1,004-seat space.

Formerly located in a funky Williamsburg garabge, this laboratory for rule-breaking live performance moved to the West Village in 2016 and then moved a few buildings over in 2018. The space is shared by a collective of groups including Mallory Catlett, Annie Dorsen, Jim Findlay, Findlay//Sandsmark, Daniel Fish, Immediate Medium, Aaron Landsman, Okwui Okpokwasili and Radiohole.