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Top theatre to see in New York this summer

See the new Broadway and Off-Broadway shows you can catch this summer.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

Summer is coming, and that means it's time for summer vacation! If you're planning to travel to New York this summer, your trip wouldn't be complete without a show — Broadway is a top NYC landmark to check off your list. It gets pretty hot in the city at summer's peak, so why not cool off inside a theatre or two — and get a great ticket deal to do so?

Summer is a slower season for Broadway show openings as compared to the fall and especially the spring, since most of the major theatre awards, like the Tonys, have just taken place. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty New York shows to choose from! During New York Theatre Guide's summer Cyber sale, get Cyber Monday-caliber deals on dozens of New York shows. Amid steady, long-running classics like The Lion King that are perfect for any season, there are new Broadway and Off-Broadway shows starting up in the summer.

Here's your preview of the Off-Broadway and Broadway shows you can get summer ticket deals to, including starry plays, fun musicals, comedy, and thrillers.

Get summer Cyber deals on tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

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Tony-nominated shows to see this summer

The summer heat has nothing on the hottest Broadway shows of the season! The Tony Awards are on June 11, when some of these Tony nominees will be crowned winners, so grab your seats now before they become even hotter tickets!

Shucked

In the mood for some fun, corny humor? You'll find a shuck-ton of it at this nine-time Tony-nominated musical comedy about a farmgirl's quest to save her small town's dying corn crop, finding courage and love along the way. In addition to Best Musical, the show's nominations include Best Book (by Tony winner Robert Horn) and Best Original Score (by Grammy-winning country songwriters Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark).

Get Shucked tickets now.

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Parade

Tony winner Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond are both nominated for their searing performances in the first revival of this Tony-winning drama. Based on real events, the Parade musical tells the story of how Jewish American factory worker Leo Frank was unjustly convicted of murder, and his wife's efforts to save his life. The production is nominated for Best Revival of a Musical.

Get Parade tickets now.

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Kimberly Akimbo

Time is on your side to see Kimberly Akimbo this summer! The Best Musical nominee follows a New Jersey teenager with a condition that makes her age four times faster than usual, which encourages her to seek happiness and love while she can. This bittersweet, family-friendly story is adapted from Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire's same-named play and features a score by Tony winner Jeanine Tesori.

Get Kimberly Akimbo tickets now.

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& Juliet

See the Best Musical nominee that's making everybody roar. This fun, pop-fueled show sees Juliet, from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, go on a trip to find new life and love instead of dying young. Her adventure is set to more than 30 pop hits like "...Baby One More Time," "Teenage Dream," and "I Want It That Way" that you'll want to sing and dance to.

Get & Juliet tickets now.

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The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

See Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan on stage together through July 2 only. In this rarely revived, ahead-of-its-time Lorraine Hansberry drama, they play a married couple whose romance might be the final sacrifice to Sidney's ambitious, but unattainable, political ideals.

Get The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window tickets now.

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Summer, 1976

Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht share the stage in this intimate drama about friendship. In this play by Pulitzer winner David Auburn, they play two mothers, first brought together by their children, who develop a life-changing friendship over the course of one summer in Ohio.

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Fat Ham

Summer's the perfect time for a cookout, so join the one going on at Fat Ham this season. James Ijames's Pulitzer-winning Hamlet spoof is now a Best Play Tony nominee, and it sets Shakespeare's story of revenge in the modern-day South. Juicy, the Hamlet stand-in, is tasked with murdering his uncle, but unlike his Shakespearean predecessor, he's not exactly down with murder. Comedy and karaoke ensue.

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Life of Pi

The spellbinding stagecraft of this book-to-stage adaptation must be seen to be believed. Life of Pi brings the wilderness to thrilling life in this adventure story, in which the title teenager is shipwrecked on the open sea with only a Bengal tiger for company. Can they both survive?

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A Doll's House

Jessica Chastain is on Broadway in Ibsen's classic drama through June 10 only. See her play the iconic role of Nora Helmer, a housewife who feels stifled by her marriage and seeks a way out. The production is nominated for Best Play Revival, with Chastain and Succession star Arian Moayed nominated for their performances.

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Broadway shows to see this summer

Summer vacation is the best time to catch a long-running Broadway show you haven't gotten to see yet. Take your family, your partner, or your friends to these feel-good hit shows — and one new show — playing on Broadway all summer long. There's even more where these came from, though, so check out all the Broadway shows in New York right now.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Believe in magic at the acclaimed stage sequel to J. K. Rowling's beloved books and films. Harry Potter and his friends join Harry's son and the next generation of wizards to right past wrongs and save the Wizarding World once more. Incredible special effects bring the magic to life before your eyes.

Get Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tickets now.

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Hadestown

Summer's hot, but hell is hotter. Take the road to hell and see this eight-time Tony-winning musical that puts a fresh spin on Greek mythology. Folk and jazz music tell the story of how the musician Orpheus takes a dangerous journey to rescue his lover, Eurydice, from underworld god Hades's subterranean sweatshop.

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Once Upon a One More Time

It's Britney, Broadway! The pop hits of Britney Spears take the stage in Once Upon a One More Time, a new fairytale musical. When Cinderella, Rapunzel, and other princesses get bored of reading the same fairytale book over and over in their book club, a Fairy Godmother hands them The Feminine Mystique. Suddenly, they're stronger than yesterday, and happily-ever-after will never look the same.

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Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Journey to Neverland with the family this summer! The creators of The Play That Goes Wrong are back on Broadway with their latest comedy extravaganza. An amateur theatre troupe attempts to stage Peter Pan, but encounters mishaps every step of the way. Things going wrong have never looked so right!

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The Book of Mormon

Go along with the Mormons on their trip to Uganda in The Book of Mormon, and get lots of laughs along the way. This musical comedy from the creators of South Park (which should give you an idea of its irreverent style of humor) centers on a mismatched pair of Mormon elders sent to convert the locals of a Ugandan village. It's not an easy task, and it takes a lot more than faith for them to succeed. You can have faith, though, that you'll have a fun time at The Book of Mormon on Broadway, which has won nine Tonys including Best Musical and has been making New York audiences laugh since 2011.

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Bad Cinderella

Catch Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical before the clock strikes midnight on June 4. In Bad Cinderella, the title princess is a loudmouthed maid who rails against her town's high beauty standards — until she gets a makeover of her own and learns that true beauty is on the inside. The original story is by Oscar winner Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) and set to Webber and David Zippel's pop-rock tunes.

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The Thanksgiving Play

Give thanks for the first play by a Native American woman ever to hit Broadway. In this blistering satire starring The Good Place's D'Arcy Carden, three amateur actors and one well-meaning professional attempt to stage a Native American-centric Thanksgiving pageant for elementary schoolers. But none of them are Native, and hilarity ensues.

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The Shark Is Broken

See the original summer blockbuster like you never have before. The Shark Is Broken takes audiences behind the scenes of the hit movie Jaws, when the three lead actors were at their wits' end as filming stretched on past schedule and the mechanical sharks kept malfunctioning. Ian Shaw plays his father, Robert Shaw, in this sharp-toothed comedy.

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Alex Edelman: Just For Us

If you missed Alex Edelman's Just For Us during its Off-Broadway runs last year, you've got another chance to catch him this summer on Broadway. In his solo stand-up comedy show, Edelman shares his experience sneaking into a white supremacist meeting after receiving anti-Semitic hate from its attendees online, to try and figure them out. The five-star review of Just For Us on New York Theatre Guide calls Edelman "top-notch" and "a captivating storyteller," and though the subject matter seems grim, you'll be laughing the whole way through the show.

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Here Lies Love

Ten years after its world premiere off Broadway, Here Lies Love is bringing the disco party to Broadway this summer. Music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim tells the story of Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines, and her rise and fall from power amid the People Power Revolution. As a nod to her real-life love of disco, the Broadway Theatre becomes a club, where audiences are immersed in the story and get to dance along.

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Chicago

Fill your summer with the lively sounds of all that jazz. This long-running musical — the second longest-running Broadway show in history — has made headlines for more than 25 years for its music, dance, and sensational story. Chicago is a satirical crime drama, centering on two vaudeveille-performers-turned-murderesses in Chicago's prison. The women compete for the attention of a slick, skilled lawyer who shows them that getting off scot-free is just a matter of razzle-dazzling the press.

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Grey House

Do you dare enter the house? This new horror play on Broadway, starring Laurie Metcalf, sees a couple take shelter at a house in the mountains following a car wreck. But maybe it wasn't an accident that they came there — maybe it's been destined for centuries. There's only one way to find out.

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A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical

A good summer never seemed so good! Rock out to all the hits from Grammy Award-winning legend Neil Diamond at this bio-musical celebrating his life. Learn how he went from being a poor Brooklyn kid to an internationally renowned musician, and hear more than 25 songs like "Sweet Caroline," "America," "Song Sung Blue," "I'm a Believer," and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."

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Off-Broadway shows to see this summer

In addition to Broadway theatre that started up in the spring, there are plenty of new and existing Off-Broadway shows this summer. Spend a summer day in a cool, air-conditioned theatre as you enjoy a new musical or play in New York.

Titanique

What happens when you cross the Oscar-winning Titanic film with the repertoire of Celine Dion, whose rendition of "My Heart Will Go On" on the soundtrack is almost as famous as the film itself? You get Titanique, the award-winning musical parody that's been docked off Broadway since last summer. In Titanique, Dion herself (that is, an actress playing her) interrupts a Titanic museum tour to tell the audience what really happened to Rose and Jack once the credits started rolling. Dion hits like "All By Myself" and "To Love You More" all feature in this Off-Broadway musical that's making waves.

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Anthony Rapp's Without You

There's no day but today to see the Rent star live on stage. Hear Rapp sing songs from the iconic musical while reflecting on how being in the original Off-Broadway and Broadway productions changed his life.

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Blue Man Group

This long-running creative spectacle is fun for the whole family. Music, art, science, and theatre all feature in Blue Man Group, where three men from outer space find new and innovative uses for everyday objects, making silly and colorful art.

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King James

See Abbott Elementary's Chris Perfetti and Glenn Davis in a thrilling one-on-one theatrical match. In King James, they play two Cleveland men whose friendship begins, rises, and falls in sync with LeBron James's NBA career, exploring the nuances of friendship and the power of sports to bring people together.

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Cocktail Magique

Raise a glass to this unique variety show in Brooklyn. Company XIV's newest spectacle shakes up mixology, circus, burlesque, and magic into one cocktail of intoxicating fun for the 21+ crowd.

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Seven Sins

Across the street from Cocktail Magique is Seven Sins, another burlesque variety show from Company XIV. Fall from grace as you watch dance, opera, acrobatics, and other performances based on the seven deadly sins. Once you do, you'll be tempted to come back.

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Sorry For Your Loss

Michael Cruz Kayne's solo show blends comedy and tragedy as he cuts through the platitudes surrounding grief and offers a truly heartfelt examination of it. As he does so, he sends up the ridiculous minutae surrounding loss and reaches out to others who have gone through it, too.

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The Comeuppance

Join the reunion at Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's latest play. When old high school friends gather, they learn how much they've all changed, and perhaps meet their fates, in this dark comedy.

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The Great Gatsby: The Immersive Show

You're invited to one of Jay Gatsby's famous parties, old sport! Don your finest 1920s garb and attend this immersive production, where you can drink, dance, and gossip with Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and more characters as F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel comes to life.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This hourlong puppet show is perfect for even the youngest theatregoers to experience live theatre for the first time. See four of Eric Carle's children's books come to life with more than 75 colorful animal puppets and plenty of interactive fun.

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The Play That Goes Wrong

The Play That Goes Wrong is doing something right, as it's been in New York for six years and counting. See the amateur Cornley Drama Society attempt to stage a murder mystery play — if only their props wouldn't go missing and actors' offstage feuds didn't creep on stage. You can try to figure out whodunnit, but you might be too busy laughing at the nonstop antics.

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Rock & Roll Man

You know the term rock and roll, but do you know the man who made it famous? That would be Alan Freed, the trailblazing DJ and producer who made waves by integrating his radio programming and concerts. As his legacy is put on trial in this musical, audiences get to hear the rock and roll classics his radio stations made famous, like Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire," Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti," and more.

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Flex

Score tickets to this new drama about a young women's basketball team fighting for their chance at going pro. In 1997 Arkansas, this group of Black high schoolers dreams of being like their WNBA idols, but interpersonal conflicts on and off the court threaten to get in the way.

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