12 Summer Theatre Festivals in NYC
Catch new plays, queer celebrations and avant-garde experiments at low ticket prices
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During the summer, NYC’s Off-Off Broadway scene explodes with innovative and inexpensive theatre festivals. Catch LGBTQ+ shows at Queerly, PrideFest and the Criminal Queerness Festival; Scotland-bound offerings at 59E59’s East to Edinburgh and female-forward works at SheNYC Arts and LimeFest. At these events, ambitions are high but prices are low. In fact, TDF Members can snag tickets as cheap as $11 to some shows, so you can afford to take a chance. Not a TDF Member? Consider joining our Go Off-Off and Beyond program, which gives you access to discount tickets to indie theatre for a one-time fee of five bucks.
These are just a dozen of the festivals around town this season. You can find even more in TDF’s Show Finder.
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Criminal Queerness Festival – begins June 10
HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue at Dominick Street in Soho
Runs June 10-27.
Founded in 2019, National Queer Theater’s Obie-winning Criminal Queerness Festival presents a trio of works by artists from countries where being LGBTQ+ can get you jailed or killed. LOUR’s musical Area D (June 10-13) centers on a Palestinian pop group grappling with the politics of competing at Eurovision. In Bazeed’s faggy faafi Cairo boy (June 17-20), a man who’s out in NYC returns to the closet and his Egyptian hometown to reconnect with his ailing dad. Syrian stand-up E. Zaalan’s Syrian Soap (June 24-27) is a surreal solo romp through a postmortem intergalactic bathhouse.
See the full Criminal Queerness Festival lineup.
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Queerly Festival – begins June 11
Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A in the East Village
Runs June 11-July 3. At press time, several Queerly shows were available to TDF Members. Log in and search for Queerly.
Put on your lavender-colored glasses for FRIGID New York’s 12th annual Queerly Festival, a grab bag of LGBTQ+ culture. This year’s theme is “Then, Now and Always” and there are more than two dozen offerings. Highlights include the comedy L’Chaim 2 Dykes (June 11 and 20) set at a dysfunctional family seder; the not-for-children Pixie’s Pride Puppet Slam (June 17 and 23); the drag two-hander Judy Garland is Fat at Carnegie Hall (June 21); Trauma Mia, a trans parody of the popular musical (June 25 and July 1); and the cheeky double bill Achilles in Drag and An Enby’s Guide to Clowning Around (June 26). Tickets are sliding scale and many performances are also being live-streamed to at-home audiences.
See the full Queerly Festival lineup.
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Pan Asian Repertory Theatre: NuWorks Festival – begins June 13
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Runs June 13-21.
One of NYC’s leading Asian-American theatre companies, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, presents this annual showcase of experimental works by AAPI artists. There are four programs featuring two shows each, including Miguel Sutedjo’s solo musical Happy to Be Here about his time in Taiwan (June 13 and 18); ALLIES (June 16 and 20) featuring three BIPOC performers exploring the challenges of allyship; and Isabel Beatriz Tongson’s solo MET Cute (June 17 and 23) about two folks reconnecting at the famous museum.
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PrideFest – begins June 19
The Tank, 312 West 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs June 19-30.
Indie theatre hub The Tank presents its annual PrideFest, an eclectic and queer lineup of genre-defying performances. There are 26 shows packed into 10 days, including João d’Orey’s T-BOY ON GRINDR (June 19 and 21); Sara Malinowski’s Girlfriends: A Not So Straight Play (June 21 and 24) about two strangers connecting on a road trip; the queer rom-com Bi Visibility Day (June 24); Amelia Earhart Was a Lesbian (June 27) exploring a romance between the aviator and Eleanor Roosevelt; and drag diva Lena Horné’s 3 Bucks! 2 Bags! 1 Drag Queen featuring show tunes and gaiety.
See the full PrideFest lineup.
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Rogue Theater Festival – begins July 6
The Flea, 20 Thomas Street between Broadway and Church Street in Tribeca
Runs July 6-12.
At the Rogue Theater Festival, you’ll find a hodgepodge of shorts, staged readings and streaming performances, along with four full-fledged productions, each presented for one night. While this is the eighth annual edition, this is the third year the fest is partnering with the award-winning Abingdon Theatre Company.
See the full Rogue Theater Festival lineup.
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HOT! Festival – begins July 6
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street between Rivington and Delancey Streets on the Lower East Side
Runs July 6-July 25.
June may be Pride Month, but the celebration continues in July at Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival, one of the oldest queer culture fests in NYC (since 1992!). Theatre, dance, music, readings, puppetry and comedy are usually on tap as dozens of LGBTQ+ artists take over the venue’s two stages. This year’s edition is still being finalized, but you’ll find the lineup here in late June.
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East to Edinburgh – begins July 8
59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenues in Midtown East
Runs July 7-26.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest performance festival in the world, takes place in August. But the month before, 59E59 Theaters’ East to Edinburgh series gives NYC audiences a sneak peek at some of the homegrown shows heading to Scotland. This year’s edition consists of 15 intriguing offerings, including The Problem (July 7, 11 and 19) about a trio of workers facing an existential challenge by Fringe favorite Brian Parks; Fringe First winner Brian Dykstra’s A Play On Words (July 8, 12 and 16), a punny mash-up of Abbott and Costello and Waiting for Godot; New Yorker contributor Kristina Libby’s solo I Almost Died for This? (July 15, 18 and 23) about a romance gone extremely wrong; and Christie Spessard’s Dear Michelle Kwan (July 21, 24 and 25) about four teen figure skaters.
See the full East to Edinburgh lineup.
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SheNYC Arts Summer Theater Festival 2025 – begins July 14
Lynn F. Angelson Theatre, 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village
Runs July 14-26.
Despite its binary title, SheNYC has expanded its mission to showcase work by all gender-marginalized creators, essentially anyone who doesn’t identify as a cisgender man. This edition features eight new productions, including Confirmed (July 16-18), a Catholic coming-of-age comedy; Wong Side of Time (July 16-18), a time-hopping musical about a modern-day Asian artist switching bodies with Anna May Wong; Florencia Iriondo’s heartfelt solo musical South (July 22-23) tracing her immigration journey from Argentina to NYC; and Sam Melton’s musical comedy Bury Your Gays (July 25) about a teenage lesbian investigating “unnatural” phenomena.
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Broadway Bound Theatre Festival – begins July 20
AMT Theater, 354 West 45th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs July 20-August 16.
Founded in 2017, this aspirational fest (so far, none of its alums have made it to Broadway) features a dozen new plays and musicals. The lineup include Daniel Takács’ Be a Mensch (July 23-26) about a young Jewish man forced to choose between his family and his dreams; Funeral of God (July 30-August 2) by Brian Brijbag about a theatre company trying to bury a deity; Zach Adam’s musical Homebound (August 5-9) centering on a gay man trapped with his estranged father during the pandemic lockdown; and Stephen H. Garnder’s musical Once in a Lifetime, Again (August 5-9) focused on a widower who takes up songwriting and dating as a senior.
See the full Broadway Bound lineup.
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The Tank: LimeFest – begins August 7
The Tank, 312 West 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Runs August 7-23.
The Tank’s annual fest showcases new works by gender-marginalized artists, i.e. non-cis-dudes. The theatre’s innovative artistic director, Meghan Finn, curates. Once the schedule is finalized, you’ll find it here.
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International Puppet Fringe Festival – August 12
Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street between Rivington and Delancey Streets
Runs August 12-16.
After a three-year hiatus, this puppet fest returns with a range of offerings, some aimed at adults only. Catch performances by Great Small Works, Boxcutter Collective, Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre and Teatro SEA along with a Puppet Slam. Once the schedule is finalized, you’ll find it here.
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Dream Up Festival – begins August 24
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets in the East Village
Runs August 23-September 13.
Founded by indie performance mecca Theater for the New City in 2010, this annual fest showcases work by artists from across the country. Two dozen or so productions will be performed on the venue’s multiple stages. A great way to check out the breadth of programming at this downtown landmark, which feels like stepping into the East Village’s funky past. Once the schedule is finalized, you’ll find it here.
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