20 Shows to See Off Broadway This October

Catch Lauren Ambrose, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Joaquina Kalukango and other stage stars in new plays and musicals this month

It’s another busy month beyond Broadway. In October, you can see Six Feet Under‘s Lauren Ambrose in the missing child drama The Unbelievers, Tony winner Joaquina Kalukango in the new musical The Heart, a revival of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakthrough show In the Heights starring Tony winner Natalie Venetia Belcon and Ato Blankson-Wood as a real-life Black drag queen who ran for POTUS in Ms. Blakk For President.

These are just some of the promising productions that begin performances this month. We couldn’t include everything, so be sure to browse the listings in TDF’s Show Finder to see what else is playing, including a two-week engagement of the searing solo show Sea Wall starring Andrew Scott. (We didn’t include it below because it’s pricey and close to sold out.) And remember, most of our picks for September are still running!

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The Mint Theater: PHYL – begins October 3

Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 3. Opens October 22. Closes November 7. If you’re a TDF Member, log in to purchase discount tickets.

The Mint Theater Company, which specializes in resurrecting forgotten gems, presents the New York premiere of PHYL, a 100-plus-year-old play once banned at Oxford that was written by groundbreaking British performer, playwright and suffragist Cecily Hamilton. A feminist comedy, it focuses on the title character, a governess who gets fed up with her job and gender and class constraints. While speaking truth to power costs her the gig, it also opens up new possibilities.

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The Ask – begins October 6

Theater 555, 555 West 42nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 6. Opens October 15. Closes November 22.

In 2024, the world premiere of Matthew Freeman’s The Ask, about generational, class and political divides, earned rave reviews. Now this two-hander about listening across ideological lines returns with Marilu Henner as Greta, a sixty-something woman and former ACLU donor, who’s visited by Tanner (Shannon Purser), a young nonbinary rep for the org who wants to know why she stopped giving. These two smart, passionate people have a lot in common, but because the left is so polarized, they struggle to connect. I loved watching them try when I reviewed the show downtown and I’m excited to see this new cast. Jessi D. Hill once again directs.

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Little Engine Theater: Machine Learning – begins October 6

Manhattan Neighborhood Network, 509 West 38th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 6. Opens October 20. Closes October 30. If you’re a TDF Member, log in to purchase discount tickets.

Considering the headlines, it’s no wonder there’s so much analog art about AI these days. Up-and-coming company Little Engine Theater, whose The Wasp made The New Yorker‘s best theatre list last year, is hopping on that trend with the world premiere of Kate Vozella’s Machine Learning, about two couples tasked with teaching robot companions how to be better at their job. But the gig comes with unexpected and unpleasant revelations for the humans involved. Colm Summers directs a cast that includes TV regulars Douglas Smith (Big Love) and Michele Selene Ang (13 Reasons Why).

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Signature Theatre Company: King of the Yees – begins October 6

The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 6. Opens October 19. Closes November 15. If you’re a TDF Member, log in to purchase discount tickets.

You could say playwright Lauren Yee has prepping for King of the Yees her entire life—after all, it’s inspired by her upbringing in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Almost a decade after its debut in California, Signature Theatre Company gives this profoundly personal and disarmingly funny play its New York premiere. Tony winner Francis Jue portrays Yee’s father, a bigwig in their immigrant community, while Star Wars alum Kelly Marie Tran embodies the playwright’s onstage alter ego in this amusing meditation on Chinese-American identity and family relationships.

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Cherry Lane Theatre: School Pictures – begins October 7

Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street between Bedford and Hudson Streets in the West Village

Previews begin October 7. Opens October 18. Closes November 8.

In fall 2023, playwright-performer-musician Milo Cramer scored a big hit at Playwrights Horizons with School Pictures, a portrait of 10 adolescents vying for admission to NYC’s elite public high schools. Now this solo song cycle, inspired by Cramer’s experiences as a tutor, returns Off Broadway with its wit, wisdom and criticism of our depressingly flawed and inequitable school system intact. Morgan Green once again directs.

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Cherry Lane Theatre: Two Girls – begins October 7

Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street between Bedford and Hudson Streets in the West Village

Previews begin October 7. Opens October 18. Closes November 8.

Every night after School Pictures, in Cherry Lane’s 9 p.m. slot, is this world premiere interrogating the infamous, X-rated 2 Girls 1 Cup viral video (Google at your own risk!! Or better yet, don’t) that inspired riffs and outrage in the late aughts. Playwright Eliya Smith, whose unsettling Dad Don’t Read This was a smash over the summer, uses verbatim text pulled from the internet to explore why this clip spawned such an obsession.

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The Public Theater: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – begins October 8

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place in the East Village

Previews begin October 8. Opens October 21. Closes December 6.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s poignant tale of a man aging backward is reset in a Cornish fishing village in Jethro Compton and Darren Clark’s folk-rock musical adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was a smash across the pond. A cast of actor-musicians, led by Dead Outlaw Tony nominee Andrew Durand as the title character, conjures this fantastical, touching tale of love and loss. Note: If you’re feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Thursday, October 8. Details are on The Public’s site.

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Roundabout Theatre Company: The Heart – begins October 8

Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 8. Opens October 29. Closes December 6.

After a well-received world premiere at California’s La Jolla Playhouse last year, The Heart comes to NYC courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company. An adaptation of a French novel chronicling the harrowing 24 hours when an organ donation changes two families forever, the musical has an impressive cast, including Tony winner Joaquina Kalukango alongside Broadway favorites Drew Gehling, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jason Tam; songs by spouses Anne and Ian Eisendrath with additional lyrics by book writer Kait Kerrigan (The Great Gatsby); and staging by Roundabout’s incoming artistic director Christopher Ashley.

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The New Group: Rope – begins October 13

Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 13. Opens November 3. Closes December 6.

The New Group presents a fresh take on Rope, Patrick Hamilton’s century-old psychological thriller that inspired the classic Hitchcock film. Gordon Greenberg adapted the play, based on the chilling Leopold and Loeb scandal, about a pair of privileged, pompous and incredibly close Princeton graduate students who try to get away with murder, just to prove they can. The company’s artistic director, Scott Elliott, helms this biting, sexually charged production.

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Manhattan Theatre Club: The Unbelievers – begins October 13

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 13. Opens November 5. Closes November 29.

Stage and screen favorite Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under, My Fair Lady) stars in The Unbelievers, a time-hopping drama from Constellations playwright Nick Payne about a mother grappling with her grief after her teenage son goes missing. As others move on, including her husband and other children, what does that mean for her? The show’s world premiere last year in London was well-received. Tony nominee Knud Adams (English) directs this new mounting for Manhattan Theatre Club.

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Classic Stage Company: Waiting for Lefty – begins October 15

Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village

Previews begin October 15. Opens November 4. Closes November 22.

Broadway favorite Steven Pasquale makes his directorial debut with a revival of Clifford Odets’ landmark play Waiting for Lefty, depicting a tense, Depression-era meeting of NYC cabbies as they argue about whether to strike. A searing call to action in its time that continues to resonate today, this production integrates historical union songs into the performance, giving it a rousing verisimilitude.

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Atlantic Theater Company: I Became We – begins October 16

Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea

Previews begin October 16. Opens October 27. Closes November 15. If you’re a TDF Member, log in to purchase discount tickets.

Mona Pirnot is a master at transforming her real-life experiences into unconventional performances. In I Love You So Much I Could Die, she let a text-to-speech tool deliver searing monologues about her harrowing pandemic journey. In I Became We, a 16-person classical choir gives voice to her contemplations about whether to start a family. Jack D. Coen cowrote the songs and Obie winner Sarah Benson directs this singular world premiere for Atlantic Theater Company.

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Aftermath – begins October 19

A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 19. Opens October 24. Closes November 8.

Previously produced regionally under the title The Room Where I Was Held, Aftermath is the first play by veteran journalist David Zax, who’s reported for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and This American Life. The drama centers on a young freelance journalist named Josh Goldman, who has recently returned home after being held in captivity by the Taliban in Afghanistan. As he works to recover and reconnect with his family, questions of morality, privilege and personal sacrifice for the global good are explored. Colton Pometta directs a cast that includes Danny Kornfeld as Josh and Tony nominee Steven Skybell as his father.

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2:22 – A Ghost Story – begins October 20

Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street between Bleecker and Hudson Streets in the West Village

Previews begin October 20. Opens November 5. Closes January 17, 2027.

There’s more paranormal activity beyond Broadway! After sold-out engagements in London and regionally, Danny Robins’ thriller 2:22 – A Ghost Story arrives to haunt NYC. Hamilton‘s Jasmine Cephas Jones plays Jenny, who’s convinced her new home with husband Sam (Finn Jones) is haunted. When their friends (Anna Camp and Martin Marquez) arrive to toast their new abode, they embark on a long day’s journey into fright with a killer of a twist.

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Playwrights Horizons: the ripple, the wave that carried me home – begins October 21

Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 21. Opens November 18. Closes November 29.

Playwrights Horizons presents the New York premiere of the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Tony nominee Christina Anderson, about a middle-aged Black woman looking back with mixed emotions on her parents’ fight to integrate public swimming pools in 1960s Kansas when she was a kid. Their pursuit of justice fractured the family. Will she speak at a 1992 ceremony honoring her dad and his civil rights work? Tiffany Nichole Greene directs an ensemble cast that includes Tony nominee Crystal Lucas-Perry.

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Second Stage Theater: The Visitors – begins October 21

The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin October 21. Opens November 9. Closes December 6.

The team behind the well-reviewed romp At the Wedding—playwright Bryna Turner and director Jenna Worsham—reunites for The Visitors, about a woman in her mid-thirties considering starting a family when her three high-maintenance siblings unexpectedly invade her NYC apartment. Second Stage Theater presents the world premiere of this dark comedy about reconnecting with the loved ones you don’t always like. Tony winner Celia Keenan-Bolger leads the ensemble cast.

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Vineyard Theatre: Ms. Blakk For President – begins October 22

Vineyard Theatre, 108 East 15th Street between Irving Place and Union Square East in Union Square

Previews begin October 22. Opens November 8. Closes November 22.

Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood stars as Terence Smith, aka Joan Jett Blakk, the real-life drag queen and Chicago-based Queer Nation activist who ran for President of the United States of America using the delicious slogan “Lick Bush in ’92.” Written by Moonlight Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney and Tina Landau and directed by the latter, the show premiered at Steppenwolf Theater Company back in 2019. The Vineyard Theatre presents the New York debut of this fabulous slice of undersung history, equal parts campaign rally, club performance and proclamation as Blakk holds court.

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The Public Theater: We’ll See – begins October 25

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place in the East Village

Previews begin October 25. Opens November 3. Closes November 22.

When Tony-winning playwright-director Richard Nelson began his Rhinebeck Panorama in 2010 with the Apple Family quartet, he couldn’t imagine what the future would bring—and that was part of the point. From 2010 to 2013, he created one hyper-realistic play a year about the title clan as they grappled with national milestones such as the 10th anniversary of September 11, the 2012 reelection of Barack Obama and the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. He revised every installment extensively up until opening night, resulting in an uncanny reflection of the moment. Over the past 16 years, he’s launched similar series about other Rhinebeck residents, the Gabriels and the Michaels, as each white, progressive family faced the same challenges we were all navigating in real time. With We’ll See, he returns to the Apples on midterm election day, November 3, 2026, as they nosh, chat, worry and wonder what will happen. Laila Robins and real-life spouses Maryann Plunkett and Jay O. Sanders, who have all been with the project since the first installment, return alongside Sally Murphy and Yvonne Woods. Note: If you’re feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Sunday, October 25. Details are on The Public’s site.

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Fiasco Theater: The Verge – begins October 27

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place in the East Village

Previews begin October 27. Opens November 5. Closes November 22.

Fiasco Theater, known for revitalizing underappreciated classics, takes on The Verge, a 1921 Expressionist work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Susan Glaspell. Tony winner Miriam Silverman stars as an ambitious botanist whose husband, lover and soulmate all seek refuge in her greenhouse during a blizzard. A feminist farce about the folly of following the rules, this revival is directed by Fiasco cofounder Jessie Austrian. Note: If you’re feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Tuesday, October 27. Details are on The Public’s site.

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New York City Center: In the Heights – begins October 28

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West

Begins October 28. Closes November 15.

For its fall gala presentation, New York City Center revives In the Heights, Lin Manuel-Miranda’s breakthrough musical about a diverse community of Black and Latine strivers in Washington Heights. Buena Vista Social Club Tony winner Natalie Venetia Belcon plays the beloved neighborhood abuela Claudia, and Veronica Vazquez-Jackson (wife of original In the Heights star Christopher Jackson) portrays Camila, the protective mom of struggling Stanford student Nina (Jaci Calderon). David Mendizábal directs the production, which features an ensemble of fresh young faces.

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