Cheap theater: Where to enjoy affordable shows in NYC

The adventurous theatergoer’s alternative to BAM, St. Ann’s Warehouse offers an eclectic lineup of theater and music; recent shows have included high-level work by the Wooster Group and National Theatre of Scotland. In 2015 it moved to the impressive Tobacco Warehouse, built in the 1870s as an inspection center for tobacco and newly renovated for theatrical use.

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.

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.

RECOMMENDED: 50 best New York attractions 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 younger artists such as the Roots and Lykke Li. 

Built in 1924 to be a deluxe movie theater, this is one of the roomier venues on the Great White Way, with 1,761 seats. It's also one of only five playhouses that faces Broadway. A favorite locale for big, fat musicals (The Color Purple, Shrek), the Broadway features some of the most prominent signage around. The Ed Sullivan Theater—where David Letterman tapes his show—is located just down the street. The original façade (like the interior) was built in the Italian Renaissance style.

Known as the Theatre de Lys until 1981, this historic 299-seater has hosted many landmark premieres in its day, including the legendary 1954 production of Brecht and Weill’s The Threepenny Opera. The Lortel is now the home of MCC Theater most of the year, with family-friendly productions mounted each summer by TheatreworksUSA.

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

Called the New York Improv when it opened in 1963, this 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. 

Master architect Herbert J. Krapp designed the Jacobs (formerly the Royale) in the “modern Spanish style.” The theatre's interior features a groin-vaulted ceiling supported on either side by archways decorated with two murals titled "Lovers of Spain," by Willy Pogany. The interior color scheme is cardinal red, orange and gold. It seats 1,078 and opened in 1927. Show highlights include The Entertainer (1958), Night of the Iguana (1961), Lend Me a Tenor (1989), Art (1998) and Copenhagen (2000).

At this retro storefront theater, kids sit cross-legged on mats in front of the stage while grown-ups hunker down on bleachers behind them. All the productions, which are largely adaptations of well-known fairy and folk tales, are written by the theater’s artistic director, Nicolas Coppola.

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.

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.

After a recent refurbishment, this downtown stalwart is now one of the most comfortable experimental spaces, what with its cozy lobby café (1 Dominick) and relatively impressive multimedia capacity. The upstairs space—long, wide and low—has played host to recent smashes like Taylor Mac’s epic The Lily’s Revenge, while the downstairs 70-seat black box sees new works by everyone from Karinne Keithley to Tina Satter. HERE’s strength lies in its come-one-come-all attitude, its absurdly generous grant and commissioning programs, and a genuine warmth that is largely thanks to the venue’s doyenne and founder, Kristin Marting, and the community of artists who call HERE a second home.

This theater looks like what it once was: a 19th-century school auditorium. Painted a lovely Russian blue and still echoing slightly with teenagers past, the 99-seat Connelly has a pretty proscenium and pressed-tin ceiling—a surprising jewel box well off the beaten track. Productions that have made a stir there include Anne Washburn’s ghost-infested Apparition and Lucy Thurber’s Monstrosity, which made full use of the balcony and the seemingly limitless space.

This eco-conscious 90-seat rental and production space is a standout, with its stunning wood-and-concrete construction (oozing with green technologies), sweet art gallery and even—when do you rhapsodize about this downtown?—a wonderful bathroom. Since openig in 2007, it has hosted several notable works, including Samuel D. Hunter's A Bright New Boise and the musical 33 to Nothing.

The perfect size for a playhouse (with 804 seats), the John Golden was home to the naughty puppet musical Avenue Q for several years. Generally, though, it's a good place to see serious drama, such as Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? and John Logan's Mark Rothko bioplay, Red. In 1956, Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot had its American premiere at the Golden.

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.

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.

This 30-year-old community arts center, deep in the heart of the East Village, is known for its long history of raucous poetry slams, jam sessions and anything-goes open mikes.

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.

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.

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.

Built in 1923 by the Shuberts, the Imperial seats 1,443 and has been the venue for many a historic musical, including Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver! and Pippin. The Imperial’s recessed ceiling and wall panels feature floral and geometric motifs. It is currently home to the Russian-themed Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.

Most Broadway houses originate from the 1920s or ’30s, but the Minskoff opened its doors in 1973 with a lavish revival of the 1919 musical Irene, starring Debbie Reynolds. Today, it’s home to The Lion King. The Minskoff is distinguished by altitude: It’s located on the third floor of One Astor Plaza, a 55-story office tower. With 1,654 seats, it's the third largest house on Broadway. The lobby features hand-painted, gold-leaf-covered sculpted tableaus that adorn interior walls and showcase its panoramic views of Broadway.

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.