New musical theatre to see off Broadway this spring

Many new musicals that debut off Broadway go on to become Broadway hits.

Musicals are not just a Broadway thing. In fact, if you want to get on the ground floor of the hottest new musicals, go off Broadway. This is where the newest, weirdest, most adventurous shows come from. Hamilton, Hadestown, Rent, and Spring Awakening are just some beloved musicals that had buzzy runs off Broadway before debuting to a wider audience on Broadway. So if you want to be the first one to see the musical that everyone will be talking about a year from now, see an Off-Broadway show.

From a one-man show by Rent star Anthony Rapp to a world-premiere show by Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, here are the Off-Broadway musicals debuting this year that you will want to be first in line for.

Get tickets to Off-Broadway musicals on New York Theatre Guide.

Without You

Anthony Rapp's new one-man musical will move and delight Rent fans everywhere. Rapp, who starred in the original Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, talks about that show's early days, how landing the gig changed his life, and how Larson's sudden death rocked the company. Rapp performs songs from Rent alongside original songs in Without You.

Get Without You tickets now.

White Girl in Danger

Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical A Strange Loop closed in January, but luckily, another Jackson musical is hot on its heels. Second Stage Theater and Vineyard Theatre present White Girl in Danger, set in a fictional soap opera town where the white characters get compelling dramatic arcs and the Black characters are resigned to the background. One of those characters, Keesha, decides to become a main character — but can she handle the stakes and attention? And with a killer on the loose, does she want to?

Get White Girl in Danger tickets now.

The Harder They Come

Take a trip to Jamaica with The Harder They Come, a new musical celebrating the 50th anniversary of the same-named film it's based on. The show centers on Ivan, a wannabe Jamaican music star who thrives at first. When he gets to know the dark side of the industry, however, he rebels against it and threatens not just the music business, but Jamaican society. Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks adapts the screenplay for the stage, and The Harder They Come is set to the music of Grammy Award winner Jimmy Cliff.

Get The Harder They Come tickets now.

Days of Wine and Roses

Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara and Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James star in a poignant new musical beginning in May. For their first collaboration since the acclaimed The Light in the Piazza, Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel adapt the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses for the stage, telling the story of a Manhattan couple whose sparkling romance is undone by alcoholism.

Check back for information on Days of Wine and Roses tickets on New York Theatre Guide.