Top theatre to see in New York in September

Check out our picks for must-see theatre on and off Broadway in September 2023, when the fall Broadway and Off-Broadway seasons ramp up after the summer.

September is when three things begin in earnest: fall, school, and theatre. New shows opened during the summer, but September is when the Broadway season gets into full swing, with lots of new Broadway shows playing their first performances. The stars are out on Broadway this month, too, with multiple shows featuring celebrity cast members.

Many Off-Broadway theatre companies begin their seasons in September, too, so take a chance on a new play, musical, or comedy show this month, and see it in an intimate space. Learn more about all the major new theatre shows opening in September, and get your tickets right here on New York Theatre Guide.

Broadway shows to see in September

Lots of musicals and plays start performances on Broadway this month, including exciting revivals and new shows by award-winning artists. Be sure to check out these widely celebrated shows, many with celebrities in the cast.

Get Broadway tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Merrily We Roll Along

Merrily this Sondheim show rolls onto Broadway for the first time since its 1981 premiere. Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez star as a trio of showbiz friends whose bond disintegrates over 20 years as money, ego, and greed set in. If you missed their critically acclaimed performances when Maria Friedman's production premiered off Broadway last winter, don't let a day go by without getting tickets this time around.

Get Merrily We Roll Along tickets now.

Jaja's African Hair Braiding

The beauty salon has appointments — that is, tickets — open just for you this fall. Join the ladies of the title Harlem hairstyling shop on a hot summer day as they talk about love, hope, and ambition alongside graver issues — namely, being pushed to the outskirts of their own neighborhood. This comedy is by Drama Desk Award-winning playwright Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Obie Award winner Whitney White.

Get Jaja's African Hair Braiding tickets now.

Gutenberg! The Musical

Wish you could have seen Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad as the original stars of The Book of Mormon? This fall offers you the next best thing: their first onstage reunion since performing in that show in 2011. In Gutenberg! The Musical, the comedy kings play a pair of composers trying to pitch a new Broadway musical about Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press. Only problem is, their show is riddled with inaccuracies that not even a modern computer's spell check can fix.

Get Gutenberg! The Musical! tickets now.

Melissa Etheridge: My Window

You don't have to wait by the light of the moon much longer — she'll be home (on Broadway) soon. After premiering her concert residency off Broadway last fall, Grammy Award winner Melissa Etheridge brings it to Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre. Get to know the singer like never before as she resurfaces deep-cut songs, shares touching personal stories, and revisits her soulful folk-rock hits.

Get Melissa Etheridge: My Window tickets now.

Purlie Victorious

Leslie Odom, Jr. and his title character both make big returns in Ossie Davis's play. Odom takes the Broadway stage for the first time since his Tony-winning run as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. And Purlie, a preacher, returns to his Georgia hometown to reclaim his inheritance and liberate his people. Titled in full Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, this sharp satire makes a return of its own, too: This production is its first Broadway revival since its 1961 premiere.

Get Purlie Victorious tickets now.

Off-Broadway shows to see in September

Off-Broadway theatres have it all this month: innovative new plays, comedy shows, and more. Whatever your taste in theatre, you'll find it off Broadway, so check out these shows starting New York performances this month and find one that's best for you.

Get Off-Broadway tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Death, Let Me Do My Show

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom makes her Off-Broadway debut with her latest one-woman comedy show. It's a totally escapist party of a show, and not at all a wryly funny exploration of the effects of the pandemic on her personal life and the collective human experience. Wink wink.

Get Death, Let Me Do My Show tickets now.

The Refuge Plays

Nathan Alan Davis's epic new work reimagines what the American drama can be by following multiple generations of one Black family. The action begins when a woman named Gail meets a ghost, who tells her she will die within 24 hours. That one warning sets off a chain of events that shape her family's future for the next 70 years.

Get The Refuge Plays tickets now.

Swing State

Veteran Off-Broadway playwright Rebecca Gilman's latest work swings through New York after a critically acclaimed premiere in Chicago. In a rural Wisconsin town with a familiar and rigid way of life, widowed Peg finds solace in her friend Ryan. But when a mysterious crime takes place, the town becomes bitterly divided, as many instantly suspect Ryan due to his troubled past.

Get Swing State tickets now.

Mary Gets Hers

You may have heard of American history or Tudor-era English history getting a modern makeover, but what about 10th-century German history? That's the gist of Emma Horwitz's Mary Gets Hers, inspired by Abraham, or the Rise and Repentance of Mary, a dramedy by pioneering German authoress Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim. The title character is an adoptee whose guardians vow to protect her purity at all costs. Mary, however, has other ideas.

Check back for information on Mary Gets Hers tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez in Merrily We Roll Along off Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)