10 Great Shows to See for $40 or Less This April
Catch a new musical by Tony-winning Urinetown co-creator Greg Kotis, dozens of shows at New York City Fringe and more Off-Off Broadway picks
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Adventurous audiences know that some of New York City’s biggest theatrical thrills—and lowest ticket prices—are found on the smallest stages. But with dozens of shows running Off-Off Broadway every day, it’s tough to figure out what’s worth your time and money. That’s why we’ve rounded up 10 promising indie theatre productions opening in April, all offering tickets starting at $40 or less. Even better, TDF Members can see some of these shows for as little as $11! Not a TDF Member? Consider joining our Go Off-Off and Beyond program, which gives you access to discount tickets to Off-Off Broadway shows for a one-time fee of five bucks.
If you’re a TDF Member, log in to your account daily to see what we’re selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.
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FRIGID New York: New York City Fringe – begins April 1
Various locations
Begins April 1. Closes April 19. Several New York City Fringe offerings are available to TDF Members. Log in and search for NYC Fringe.
FRIGID New York presents its annual New York City Fringe featuring more than 70 eclectic shows over three weeks at four venues: Under St. Marks and Wild Project in the East Village, the Chain Theatre in Midtown West and The Rat NYC in Dumbo. There’s drag, comedy, solo shows, reinventions of classics and plenty of uncategorizable performances. Intriguing titles include Apoloholics: Based On True Stories of People Who Apologize Too Much (April 11 and 13); Panic in the Bathroom, a new musical about the challenges of parenthood (April 12 and 19); LIPSTICK, Edu Díaz’s fabulous search for self (April 16 and 19); the outrageous romp Four Stupid Terrorists (April 13-19); Thoughts & Prayers, a meditation on mass shootings inspired by Antigone (April 13 and 18); the solo Slut Liturgy about religious mania (April 11-19); and Revenge of the Soy Boy, fusing Star Wars and social commentary (April 12, 13 and 19). If you can’t attend in person, many shows are also live-streaming to at-home audiences. Be sure to browse the jam-packed schedule to see what piques your interest.
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Soho Playhouse: Nicole Travolta is Doing Alright – begins April 1
Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street between Sixth Avenue and Varick Street in Soho
Previews begin April 1. Opens April 5. Closes May 10. Tickets start at $39 but if you’re a TDF Member, log in to your account to purchase $19.50 tickets.
In the 2010s, John Travolta’s niece Nicole was an up-and-comer with promising guest spots on sitcoms. But she started living like a star before she became one, and soon she was in tremendous debt. This autobiographical solo romp chronicles how she found a way forward through spray-tanning, sketch comedy and spot-on celebrity impressions.
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Off the Record: Acts of Restorative Justice – begins April 5
HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue at Dominick Street in Soho
Begins April 5. Closes April 19. Tickets are $31.50.
Cutting-edge theatre artist and Guggenheim Fellow James Scruggs teams up with criminal justice advocate Thomas Giovanni for this illuminating crash course on how our law enforcement system functions. Radically interactive, the show teaches audiences what they can do to help change this oppressive and antiquated system that penalizes rather than rehabilitates. Come prepared to participate!
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Theater of the Apes: I Am Nobody – begins April 6
Magnet Theater, 254 West 29th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins April 6. Closes May 11. Tickets are $25.
In March 2020, Tony-winning Urinetown co-creator Greg Kotis debuted his apocalyptic tuner I Am Nobody. Less than a week later, the pandemic shut down theatres for 18 months. He’s finally resurrecting that aborted premiere, a dark chamber musical that’s equal parts road trip rom-com and a quest to quash an impending worldwide digital meltdown. Kotis plays guitar and costars alongside his frequent collaborator and wife, Ayun Halliday.
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Irondale: Hamlet/The Furies – begins April 10
Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Previews begin April 10. Opens April 15. Closes May 16. Tickets start at $15.
Brooklyn’s lauded Irondale Ensemble combines two classic plays into one epic evening. Act I centers on Hamlet, a grief-stricken son seeking to avenge his father’s murder. In Act II, the goddesses of vengeance are tasked with meting out justice for all of society. Irondale co-founder Jim Niesen conceived of and directs this thought-provoking evening.
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CUMULO – begins April 15
MITU580, 580 Sackett Street between Nevins Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Previews begin April 15. Opens April 17. Closes May 3. Tickets are $33.85 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $15 tickets.
Emily Batsford is behind this nonverbal puppet play chronicling the fantastical journey of Plum, who’s falling through the sky and desperately trying to find something to ground them. An eye-popping puppet allegory for grown-ups!
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The Cell: Beauty Freak – begins April 24
The Cell, 338 West 23rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea
Previews begin April 24. Opens April 30. Closes May 17. Tickets are $37.
Although German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl is typically called controversial, there’s no debating that during the Third Reich, she was an unabashed Hitler propagandist. James Clements’ new play zooms in on her skewed documentary Olympia, which profiled the 1936 Berlin Olympics through a Nazi lens. As she publicizes the innovative film in the US, the horrors of Kristallnacht unfold, forcing her to face the true nature of her collaborators.
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La MaMa: The Door Slams, A Glass Trembles – begins April 24
La MaMa’s The Downstairs, 66 East 4th Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Previews begin April 24. Opens April 29. Closes May 10. Tickets are $40.
The three Obie-winning founders of the venerable experimental theatre troupe Talking Band—spouses Paul Zimet and Ellen Maddow, along with Tina Shepard—have been making genre-defying shows for more than a half century. Loosely inspired by Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, their world premiere The Door Slams, A Glass Trembles centers on a couple who trade the city for the country and end up in a time loop that lands them in a sanatorium in the Alps. Like all works by Talking Band, this play with music is better experienced than described!
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The Bushwick Starr: Have You Ever Thought About – begins April 29
The Bushwick Starr, 419 Eldert Street between Covert and Halsey Streets in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Previews begin April 29. Opens May 2. Closes May 16. Tickets start at $27.85.
The Bushwick Starr is having quite the season. Two productions that debuted at the innovative Brooklyn theatre last year are getting encore runs in Manhattan: Rheology at Playwrights Horizons and A Woman Among Women at Lincoln Center Theater. Plus another, Animal Wisdom, is being revived at Signature Theatre. So we’re always excited by the theatre’s programming. Its latest world premiere is comedian Michael Oluokun’s interactive solo experiment Have You Ever Thought About, a series of jokes, games and exercises that encourage viewers to engage with the world—and each other—in new ways. Come prepared to participate!
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Theater for the New City: Bike Shop, The Musical – begins April 30
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets in the East Village
Begins April 30. Closes May 17. Tickets are $23 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase $11 tickets.
Writer-star Elizabeth Barkan has assembled an impressive team for Bike Shop, the Musical, which is loosely inspired by her time as a bike shop owner. After a life-derailing accident, former bike messenger Bobby can’t get back on her wheels. Instead, she fixes rides for others while she stands still. The show features Amy Stiller (Ben’s sis) and Urinetown standout Jeff McCarthy, and is directed by Gretchen Cryer of I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road fame.
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