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Best Broadway shows in New York in August 2026

Here are our top picks of New York plays and musicals to check out in August 2026, including the first new shows to kick off the 2026-27 fall Broadway season.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo

August is the prime time to soak up some last sun rays on the beach or get away with your family before school starts back up again. But it's also a great time to go to the theatre! The new Broadway season kicks off in earnest in the fall, so now is a great time to catch a bucket-list show you've been meaning to see or venture off Broadway to discover something entirely new.

Below, we've rounded up the new Broadway and Off-Broadway shows premiering in August, plus hit shows playing their final performances this month, so get your theatre tickets to these now! August is also a great time to start planning your fall itinerary. Once you've got your August tickets lined up and are ready to look ahead, check out all the Broadway shows this fall and snag your seats now.

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Summary

  • New Broadway and Off-Broadway shows to see in August include Paranormal Activity; the starry tech drama Disruption; and The Winter's Tale at Shakespeare in the Park
  • Last-chance Broadway shows this month include Cats: The Jellicle Ball; Ragtime; Death of a Salesman; and Moulin Rouge! The Musical
1.

Paranormal Activity

2.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

3.

Death of a Salesman

4.

Every Brilliant Thing

5.

Ragtime

6.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

7.

Disruption

8.

The Winter's Tale

9.

The Pass

10.

An American Daughter

11.

Label•less

12.

The Real Ivanov

1.

Paranormal Activity

Broadway
Play
Horror
Screen to stage

You're in for a frighteningly good time at Paranormal Activity, the new stage play set in the world of the hit horror films. When a couple moves from Chicago to London to escape their past, they find that their past has come along to haunt them. The show has some seriously sinister stagecraft, so be prepared to be scared.

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Paranormal Activity

2.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Broadway
Musical
Classic
Award winner
Dance

Be sure to sashay over to Cats: The Jellicle Ball before it closes August 8. This three-time Tony-winning revival is a fierce and fabulous remix of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, turning the musical into a celebration of dance, fashion, and the LGBTQ+ community.

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Cats: The Jellicle Ball

3.

Death of a Salesman

Broadway
Play
Stars on stage
Classic
Award winner

Attention must be paid to Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf in Death of a Salesman before it closes August 9. Winner of six Tony Awards including Best Revival, director Joe Mantello's revelatory production showcases Arthur Miller's classic tragedy at its best. Consider us sold.

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Death of a Salesman

4.

Every Brilliant Thing

Broadway
Play
Drama
Interactive

The only non-brilliant thing about Tracee Ellis Ross's Broadway debut is that it ends August 9. As the nameless narrator of the Tony-nominated Every Brilliant Thing, Ross makes a list of little joys that comes to define her life, and audience members get to play additional roles in the character's world. Ross's Broadway debut could be yours, too!

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Every Brilliant Thing

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09:00

Breakfast at Liberty Bagels

Regularly named one of the city’s best bagel shops, the unassuming Liberty Bagels is the perfect spot to get a classic NYC breakfast sandwich.

10:00

Macy’s Herald Square

One of the world’s largest stores, Macy’s is a sight to behold, especially when it’s decked out for the holidays.

5.

Ragtime

Broadway
Musical
Drama
Award winner

Lincoln Center Theater's Ragtime is exquisite and unmissable — especially after it won four Tonys including Best Musical Revival. Tony winners Joshua Henry and Caissie Levy, and nominee Brandon Uranowitz, lead a cast full of gorgeous voices in this American epic through August 16 only. Make them hear you, indeed.

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Ragtime

6.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical

Broadway
Musical
Romance
Screen to stage
Award winner

It's your last chance to get your kicks at Moulin Rouge! The Musical — the 10-time Tony-winning musical ends its seven-year run at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on August 30. The story of star-crossed lovers Christian and Satine, who pursue truth, beauty, freedom, and love at the title Paris nightclub, is set to dozens of pop hits spanning 70 years. If you can-can go, don't miss it.

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Moulin Rouge! The Musical

7.

Disruption

Off-Broadway
Play
Drama
Stars on stage

Can technology really know us better than we know ourselves? Should it? That's the question at the heart of Andrew Stein's Disruption, in which a former Silcon Valley bigwig pitches his latest idea to his friends: an algorithm to steer them through their biggest life decisions. Golden Globe nominee John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman, The Piano Lesson), Tony Award nominee Conrad Ricamora (Oh, Mary!), Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill), and more star.

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Disruption

8.

The Winter's Tale

Off-Broadway
Shakespeare
Drama

See one of Shakespeare's lesser-produced classics under the stars at Shakespeare in the Park this summer. Lily Rabe, Raúl Esparza, Steven Skybell, and more lead The Winter's Tale, about an estranged Sicilian princess that doesn't know that she, and the shepherd boy she falls for, are actually royalty. More famous than the story, though, is one of the show's stage directions: "Exit, pursued by a bear."

Free tickets are available at in-person distribution centers in all five boroughs, or through a digital lottery on the TodayTix app. Learn more.

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The Winter's Tale

9.

The Pass

Off-Broadway
Drama

Fast-rising soccer stars Jason and Ade are living the dream — but on the eve of their first-team debut, there's as much at stake off the pitch as on it. Taking place in three hotel rooms over the course of 13 years, John Donnelly's play about masculinity, sexuality, and secrets in the sports world is perfect for fans of shows like Heated Rivalry.

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The Pass

10.

An American Daughter

Off-Broadway
Drama

Wendy Wasserstein is a trailblazer as only one of four women to ever win the Best Play Tony Award — but it's a rare treat to see one of her works in New York today. A revival of her 1997 play An American Daughter offers that opportunity with a story about a woman who undergoes intense media scrutiny after a single blunder, exposing the double standard put on her and all successful women.

Read our interview with the cast and creative team to learn more.

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An American Daughter

11.

Label•less

Off-Broadway
Musical

Married creators Drew Lachey (of 98 Degrees) and Lea Lachey present a passionate show about the power of music, resilience, and being your truest self through August 29. The score features an original pop, rock, and R&B score alongside a few beloved hits including “Born This Way” and “Rise Up.” Read our interview with the Lacheys to learn more.

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Label•less

12.

The Real Ivanov

Misunderstanding each other can be horrific and hilarious. So it goes in this 100-minute adaptation of Chekhov's Ivanov, in which everyone has an opinion on why the title character has suddenly gone from charming to despairing. Ivanov has an opinion, too: that all his friends are totally wrong.

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The Real Ivanov