See these new plays and world premieres on Broadway and off Broadway
Catch all-new shows by veteran theatre writers and new playwrights alike.
New Off-Broadway plays regularly showcase limitless risk-taking, creativity, and excellence, and this year is no different. A couple of all-new plays are premiering directly on Broadway this spring, but there are plenty more at Off-Broadway theatres around the city to explore.
Some of this year's new plays share common themes, including intergenerational struggles, changing friendships, and self-discovery that happens inside a classroom. But with each playwright, and respective casts coming from different backgrounds, each story has its own unique perspective to offer. And what many of these stories have in common is a shared interest in the many different ways people can connect with each other and navigate the world together, whatever that looks like for them. Seeing the world through plenty of different playwrights' and characters' eyes is a great case for seeing more than one of these shows in New York!
Read more about the new plays on Broadway or off Broadway for the very first time — you could be part of the first audiences to see them before they potentially move to Broadway or thrive in productions all over the country. Many have limited runs, so don't miss out. If you're looking for even more new theatre to discover, check out our guide to all the Broadway shows opening soon.
Get tickets to plays on New York Theatre Guide.
New plays on Broadway
Multiple plays that have never been seen in New York are playing on Broadway this season. You can also catch a show that made its Off-Broadway debut long ago, a long-awaited Broadway debut by an established playwright, or a hit London show being seen in New York for the first time.
I Need That
Theresa Rebeck's latest play is a family affair: Danny DeVito stars alongside his daughter Lucy DeVito. Danny DeVito plays Sam, a reclusive hoarder faced with eviction if he doesn't clean up his property. He must decide what's trash and what's treasure — and learns that the line is blurrier than it seems. Roundabout Theatre Comopany presents I Need That in October.
Get I Need That tickets now.
High Noon
Based on the 1952 Oscar-winning film, High Noon will be the first Western on Broadway in 85 years. The show follows Marshal Will Kane, who's caught between skipping town with his wife and escaping his enemies, or facing them head-on once and for all. Like the film, the play takes place over two hours in real time.
Check back for information on High Noon tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
New plays off Broadway
The Off-Broadway world is a haven for new plays. Off-Broadway theatres give new playwrights space to experiment with new work in front of small audiences, and that little show you saw off Broadway might soon become the next Broadway hit. Here are the new Off-Broadway plays premiering this season at theatres across the city.
Manahatta
Mary Kathryn Nagle's play, bearing the Indigenous name of Manhattan, tells the story of a Native American woman who reconnect with her ancestral homeland when she moves to New York for a banking job. But as the 2008 financial crisis arises, she also begins to understand her ancestors' fears of displacement and uncertainty.
Get Manahatta tickets now.
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors
This new horror comedy pumps fresh blood into the story of Bram Stoker's Dracula. He's young, he's queer, he's being hunted, and he's on the hunt for love — and meets his match in scientist Lucy Westfeldt. A cast of five plays all the characters in this batty, spooky romp.
Get Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors tickets now.
All the Devils Are Here
Hadestown Tony Award nominee Patrick Page wrote and stars in this devilishly fascinating solo show about Shakespearean villains. As Page embodies the most famous ones, he explores what they reveal about human nature and their influence on centuries of literary villains to come.
Get All the Devils Are Here tickets now.
Stereophonic
This new play with music features songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire. In a recording studio in the 1970s, an emerging rock band is on the verge of its breakthrough — if the pressure doesn't cause their breakup first.
Check back for information on Stereophonic tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Poor Yella Rednecks
Qui Nguyen follows up his acclaimed play Vietgone with the latest installment in his autobiographical play series. He recounts the story of a family — his family — who traveled from Vietnam to Arkansas, a place as different from Vietnam as you can get.
Get Poor Yella Rednecks tickets now.
Scene Partners
Two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest stars in this new comedy by John J. Casewell, Jr. about a 75-year-old woman who moves from Milwaukee to L.A. with stars in her eyes. But as she fights for movie stardom, will the world ever know who she really is?
Get Scene Partners tickets now.
Sad Boys in Harpy Land and Amusements
Alexandra Tatarsky's solo performance Sad Boys in Harpy Land is part sad clown performance, part exploration of a despairing mind, and part narrative about a young Jewish woman who thinks she is a small German boy who thinks he is a tree. Amusements, another solo performance by Emmy-nominated comedian Ikechukwu Ufomadu, is a genre-defying multimedia show that promises, well, amusement. These two plays are running repertory with each other and the new musical School Pictures at Playwrights Horizons.
Check back for information on Sad Boys in Harpy Land tickets and Amusements tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Spain
The line between truth and propaganda is all in the packaging in this play by Jen Silverman. In 1936, two American filmmakers just finished a Spanish Civil War epic that will drastically change hearts and minds back home. With the power to make such an impact, does it really matter that the film is funded by the KGB?
Get Spain tickets now.
Jonah
Ana, like everyone, has a fantasy, and fellow boarding school student Jonah makes her feel like hers is about to come true. But in this suspenseful play by Rachel Bonds, he's not as he seems, and neither is anything else. Ana slowly finds this out as she goes to great lengths to feel a little less alone.
Get Jonah tickets now.
Here There Are Blueberries
This show, conceived and directed by Tectonic Theatre Project founder Moisés Kaufman, retells the true story of what happened when an album full of Nazi-era photos mysteriously appeared at an archivist's desk, setting off a widespread public debate and revealing shocking insights into our history and our humanity.
Check back for information on Here There Are Blueberries tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy
Office romances, water cooler chat, and mundane contests make days at this St. Petersburg company like any other. Except the company is the Internet Research Agency, whose workers manipulate social media to advance the Russian agenda globally. Everyday office happenings take place amid the lead-up to the 2016 election, meshing political satire with workplace comedy.
Check back for information on Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
The Ally
The personal and political collide in Itamar Moses's play. Asaf is asked to sign a social justice manifesto, which he expects to do readily. Instead, he becomes embroiled in a debate that challenges his identities as a liberal, a husband, an academic, an American, an atheist, and a Jew.
Check back for information on The Ally tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Sally & Tom
Suzan-Lori Parks's play meshes historical and modern scandals. While putting on a play about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson, the romantic relationship between the woman playing Sally and the man playing Tom — who is also the play's director — is tested. History repeats itself, including age-old power imbalances.
Check back for information on Sally & Tom tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Staff Meal
A group of lonely city folk gather at a restaurant to find comfort and community when the outside world is falling apart. At this strange eatery, the food is delicious and everyone is safe, at least until closing time.
Check back for information on Staff Meal tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Jordans
When a new young, Black hire joins the staff at an overwhelmingly white workplace, the company's long-suffering Black receptionist may finally have someone to relate to. Instead, they become each other's greatest competition for status and respect.
Check back for information on Jordans tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
The Welkin
Lucy Kirkwood, a Tony Award nominee for The Children, premieres her latest play about womanhood, democracy, and housework. When a woman sentenced to death claims she's pregnant in the hopes of being spared, 12 women gather to decide whether she's telling the truth.
Check back for information on The Welkin tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
What Became of Us
Shayan Lotfi makes his Off-Broadway debut with this new play about two siblings born in different countries. They struggle to connect with each other's countries, their own countries, and each other.
Check back for information on What Became of Us tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
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