20 Shows to See Off Broadway This September

Catch ambitious new musicals, Lupita Nyong’o in a searing play, the return of a downtown favorite and more

—

Fifteen productions are opening on Broadway this fall. But there are more than twice that many shows starting Off Broadway just this month! There are ambitious new musicals (the irreverent Slam Frank, Todrick Hall’s Midnight, Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen with songs by Duncan Sheik, an adaptation of David Copperfield); timely documentary theatre pieces (The Ford/Hill Project, Kramer/Fauci); Lupita Nyong’o in a profoundly personal play by Marin Ireland; and Basil Twist and Joey Arias reviving their signature spectacle Arias with a Twist.

These are just some of the promising productions that begin performances in September. We couldn’t include everything, so be sure to browse the listings in TDF’s Show Finder to see what else is playing—there’s a lot to choose from!

If you’re a TDF Member, log in to your account daily to see what we’re selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.

Not a TDF Member? See if you’re eligible to join so you can save up to 70% on tickets to shows. Don’t qualify? Some productions are also available at our TKTS Discount Booths.

—

Pre-Existing Condition – begins September 1

Greenwich House Theater, 27 Barrow Street near Seventh Avenue South in the West Village

Previews begin September 1. Opens September 14. Closes December 19.

Two years ago, Marin Ireland’s vulnerable and profoundly personal play about a woman working through her trauma following an incidence of domestic violence premiered at a tiny East Village theatre. Now Pre-Existing Condition is getting a starrier second run at Greenwich House Theater, with a succession of diverse performers, including Lupita Nyong’o (September 1-26), Phillipa Soo (September 28-October 17) and Edie Falco (November 30-December 19), taking on the leading role of A—a stark reminder that any woman can unwittingly end up in an abusive situation. Ireland, best known as a Tony-nominated performer, learned that firsthand. Maria Dizzia directs a cast that also includes Dael Orlandersmith, Sarah Steele and Greg Keller, who all appeared in the original production.

—

Studio Seaview: Garry Starr: Classic Penguins – begins September 3

Studio Seaview, 305 West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin September 3. Opens September 8. Closes October 4.

Australian performance artist Damien Warren-Smith dons a tailcoat, flippers and little else as his alter ego Garry Starr, who strips great works of literature down to their bare bones in Classic Penguins. A smash at multiple Fringe festivals, this hour-long comedy finds the semi-nude clown attempting to reenact a bookshelf full of Penguin classics, with riotously silly results. Warning, audience participation is required! Note that on Sunday and Monday nights when Classic Penguins is off, Tony nominee Ana Gasteyer channels her egotistical Broadway diva alter ago September L. Davis in The Apology Tour, another kooky comedy that uses a high-brow art form for low-brow hilarity.

—

The Ford/Hill Project – begins September 8

BAM Fisher, 321 Ashland Place between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place in Fort Greene

Begins September 8. Closes September 20.

After a celebrated run at Under the Radar earlier this year, The Ford/Hill Project comes to BAM’s Next Wave festival for another too-brief engagement. Cocreated by star Elizabeth Marvel and director Lee Sunday Evans, this potent piece juxtaposes the verbatim Senate testimony of Anita Hill (Tony nominee Gabby Beans) and Christine Blasey Ford (Marvel)—two women who risked everything to speak truth to power 30 years apart. Teagle F. Bougere and Josh Hamilton portray the Supreme Court nominees (now justices) they stood up to.

—

The Holes – begins September 8

Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B in the East Village

Previews begin September 8. Opens September 22. Closes October 18.

We don’t have many details about The Holes, a new play set in a deteriorating upstate bar where a backroom holds lots of secrets, both tantalizing and terrifying. But we do know this world premiere is from playwright Max Wolf Friedlich and director Michael Herwitz, the team behind the juggernaut Job, a twisty two-hander that went from downtown to Broadway in less than a year. The Holes seems to be about our country’s ever-widening political, personal and class divides and stars Broadway vets Bubba Weiler, Grantham Coleman and Tina Benko.

—

Delirium – begins September 8

Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Previews begin September 8. Opens September 24. Closes October 24.

Ukraine-born, Boston-based visionary Igor Golyak has directed some of the most memorable shows I’ve seen since the pandemic—some have wrecked me (the devastating Our Class), others baffled me (his take on The Merchant of Venice was insane, but I’ll never forget it!). Now he brings Delirium, his adaptation of Eugène Ionesco’s rarely performed Frenzy for Two (Délire à deux) to NYC after an acclaimed run in Boston. Andrey Burkovskiy and Chulpan Khamatova play a couple whose nonsensical fight over snails and turtles escalates into a full-on war. An absurdist allegory about how we’ve lost the ability to communicate with one another.

—

New York Theatre Workshop: In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat – begins September 9

New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village

Previews begin September 9. Opens September 14. Closes October 4.

Another transfer from this year’s Under the Radar fest, In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat is a heartfelt tribute to the iconic artist by Obie winner Roger Guenveur Smith, who’s known for his solo portraits of great men including Huey P. Newton and Frederick Douglass. The two met in LA in the ’80s when Basquiat was an art star and Smith was an aspiring rapper. This hour-long show recounts their friendship and how they influenced each other.

—

Theatre for a New Audience: America, Who Hurt You? – begins September 11

Theatre for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Begins September 11. Closes September 27.

Tony-winning chameleon Sarah Jones adapts her popular America, Who Hurt You? podcast for the stage in this insightfully amusing solo show, in which she channels dozens of disparate characters representing myriad viewpoints throughout our country’s polarized history. Eric Ting directs this politically minded comedy, co-presented by National Black Theatre and Theatre for a New Audience.

—

Midnight – begins September 12

Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in Union Square

Previews begin September 12. Opens September 27. Closes November 8.

A wildly ambitious passion project, Midnight is the first original musical from the multitalented Todrick Hall, who found fame on YouTube and American Idol before starring on Broadway and the West End. A sung-through story set in the American South during the 19th century, it follows the interconnected journeys of 12 characters: six Black, six white. Hall wrote the book and songs, directs and appears in this show, which impressed audiences at its London tryout earlier this year. An exciting milestone in Hall’s multifaceted career.

—

Red Bull Theater: How Shakespeare Saved My Life – begins September 15

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

Previews begin September 15. Opens September 27. Closes October 19.

After a well-received world premiere at Berkeley Rep earlier this year, stage stalwart Jacob Ming-Trent (Merry Wives, Medea Re-Versed, A Midsummer Night’s Dream) brings this semi-autobiographical solo show to NYC. The tale of a homeless Black boy who loves Shakespeare, the play incorporates much of the Bard’s poetry into the journey of an outsider who fights to find belonging in theatre. Tony Taccone, known for helming John Leguizamo’s work, directs. Produced by Red Bull Theater and co-presented by The Public Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Folger Theatre. Note: If you’re feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Tuesday, September 15. Details are on The Public’s site.

—

Lincoln Center Theater: creation stories and all the important importants – begins September 15

Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center, 150 West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square

Previews begin September 15. Opens October 1. Closes November 1.

Celebrated for her ambitious Ufot Cycle Plays, Mfoniso Udofia’s mythic world premiere creation stories and all the important importants is a one-off story of a middle-aged Black woman grappling with her varying responsibilities and identities as a daughter, artist and maybe mother. Directed by Tamilla Woodard for LCT3, this time-hopping exploration of self-creation fuses music, ritual and folktale.

—

Playwrights Horizons: Degenerates – begins September 16

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

Previews begin September 16. Opens September 29. Closes October 16.

The married collaborators behind last season’s coming-of-age epic Initiative, playwright Else Went and director Emma Rosa Went, turn their attention to the manosphere in Degenerates, about a pack of adolescent boys bonding online about how the world is stacked against them. But a surprising connection with a lady sends the community spinning. Women playwrights seem increasingly interested in delving into what makes toxic men tick by centering their disinformed perspective—see Penelope Skinner’s Angry Alan and Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes. We’re curious to see what the Wents uncover.

—

Arias with a Twist – begins September 17

HERE, 145 Sixth Avenue at Dominick Street in Soho

Previews begin September 17. Opens September 23. Closes November 1.

In 2008, puppet master Basil Twist and cabaret star Joey Arias teamed up for this eye-popping fantasia featuring Arias navigating an outrageous odyssey—including alien anal probes, people-eating plants and a detour to Hell—back to his NYC home. The show was a hit, toured a bit and was even remounted three years later at Abrons Arts Center. Since then, the puppets have been sitting in Twist’s studio as he worked on other folks’ projects on Broadway and beyond. But these dynamic artists decided in an age of AI slop, it was time to revive the low-tech wonder of Arias with a Twist in the theatre where it premiered two decades ago. It’s an absolute must-see (or must-see again!).

—

Slam Frank – begins September 17

Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Avenue at 8th Street in the East Village

Previews begin September 17. Opens October 4. Closes November 30.

Before Slam Frank even had a workshop, there was a Change.org petition circulating to stop this musical about a fictional theatre company reimagining Anne Frank as a pansexual Latina named Anita Franco. But all that controversy worked in the creators’ favor: the show got a run at Asylum last year that quickly sold out and now it’s poised to debut Off Broadway. Writer Joel Sinensky was inspired to create this satire after reading a real-life Twitter thread about whether Anne Frank owned her white privilege. Yet Slam Frank is much smarter than a straightforward send-up of wokeness gone wild. He and his songwriter Andrew Fox’s skills are no joke, and the cast is hilariously committed. In addition to brilliantly parodying a super-popular hip-hop musical, the show poses intriguing questions about who can claim to be marginalized in today’s political climate.

—

The Public Theater: Good Time Charlie – begins September 24

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

Previews begin September 24. Opens October 9. Closes October 18.

Playwright-performer Ryan J. Haddad’s often autobiographical work finds humor and heart in exploring the intersection of queerness and disability. But Good Time Charlie may be his most personal play yet. Charlie (Jonathan Raviv), a gay dentist who loves theatre, raises his nephew Ryan (Haddad) to love theatre, too—so much so he aspires to a life on the stage, a dream his uncle abandoned. Spanning more than three decades, it’s a multigenerational story of gay men in love with the arts. Note: If you’re feeling lucky, try entering the digital lottery to win free tickets to the first preview on Thursday, September 24. Details are on The Public’s site.

—

MCC Theater: ANON: a tempest at our kitchen table – begins September 25

The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, 511 West 52nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin September 25. Opens October 13. Closes November 1.

The endlessly inventive Anne Washburn (Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play; 10 Out of 12; The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire) penned ANON, about neighbors in Texas who spiral out of control because of one household’s Pride flag and the other’s outspoken reactions on TikTok. The subtitle “a tempest at our kitchen table” seems to refer to the overwhelming presence of screens, and especially social media, in our lives. Anne Kauffman directs an ensemble cast including Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos in this world premiere.

—

Irish Repertory Theatre: The Hairy Ape – begins September 25

Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Chelsea

Previews begin September 25. Opens October 4. Closes November 15.

Irish Rep revives Eugene O’Neill’s expressionist 1922 masterpiece The Hairy Ape about a ferocious ocean liner laborer (Jon Beavers) whose encounter with the daughter of the ship’s owner (Elizabeth Teeter) sends him on a long day’s journey into the nighttime of the soul as he searches for acceptance from the ruling class. Ciarán O’Reilly directs this classic, last seen at the theatre 20 years ago.

—

Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen – begins September 25

The Culture Club, 530 West 27th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Chelsea

Previews September 25. Opens October 15. Closes January 3, 2027.

Sophia Anne Caruso (Beetlejuice) headlines this musicalization of the mature Japanese manga Memoirs of Amorous Gentlemen about a young sex worker in an early 20th-century Parisian brothel who finds empowerment when asked to write her own story. The songs are by Spring Awakening Tony winner Duncan Sheik, the book was adapted by award-winning playwright Leah Nanako Winkler and Broadway director-choreographer Rob Ashford oversees the lusty and lavish production, which is staged in the round in the former Sleep No More space.

—

St. Ann’s Warehouse: Kramer/Fauci – begins September 27

St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water Street near New Dock Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn

Begins September 27. Closes October 24.

After its lauded world premiere at NYU Skirball earlier this year, this work of documentary theatre transfers to St. Ann’s Warehouse. Dark Oklahoma! director Daniel Fish presents a theatrical recreation of the 1993 televised dustup between Dr. Anthony Fauci (Stereophonic Tony winner Will Brill), the Director of the Office of AIDS Research, and artist and AIDS activist Larry Kramer (Thomas Jay Ryan), who was never in the mood to make nice. Their confrontation was a pivotal moment in the battle for care and recognition as well as the start of a very unlikely friendship.

—

Copperfield! The New Musical – begins September 29

The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Midtown West

Previews begin September 29. Opens October 19. Closes December 6.

Playwright-songwriter Jeffrey Scharf (Reunions) is behind this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical novel David Copperfield, a rags-to-riches saga about a poor abused young man who rises above his lot to become a literary icon. Broadway favorite Bobby Conte (The Who’s Tommy, A Bronx Tale The Musical) plays the title character.

—

Audible Theater: A Ghost in Your Ear – begins September 29

Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street in the West Village

Begins September 29. Closes November 15.

Paranormal Activity isn’t the only show delivering jump scares this fall. Writer-director Jamie Armitage serves up chills with A Ghost in Your Ear, a haunting tale experienced through headphones at Audible Theater. The setup is simple: an actor is recording a scary audiobook in a studio, but as he narrates, the terrors begin to bleed over into real life. A hit in London, the show leans heavily on the ingenuity of sound designers Ben and Max Ringham, who really put a bugaboo in your ear.

—

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.