Top Off-Broadway Shows for August 2024
Each month we're rounding up 10 off-Broadway recommendations for audiences not to miss!
By: Sidney Paterra Aug. 01, 2024
What's happening off-Broadway? BroadwayWorld is here to guide you through the top picks for theatre this month. August brings a diverse array of productions to the Off-Broadway scene, including world premiere musicals, one-person shows and more. From a popular game-inspired production, to revivals with a twist, to dramas and more, there is something for every theatre fan to enjoy.
BroadwayWorld selects shows to feature based on a variety of factors such as popularity, critical acclaim, unique concepts, star power, and more. BroadwayWorld's senior editorial team closely follows the Off-Broadway scene to stay informed about upcoming and currently running productions. They consider a range of offerings each month, including musicals, plays, and more to provide a well-rounded selection of recommendations to readers. Their goal is to offer theater enthusiasts a comprehensive guide to the most exciting shows happening Off-Broadway each month.
Take a look at BroadwayWorld's recommendations for the best shows to catch off-Broadway in August.
Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Performances begin on August 30, 2024
Theater555
Created, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini, with musical staging by Gerry McIntyre, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Merrily We Stole a Song skewers the latest deluge of Broadway offerings including Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, The Outsiders, The Great Gatsby, Back to the Future, The Wiz, and of course, Merrily We Roll Along. In addition, there will be sendups of Roger Bart, Patti LuPone, Daniel Radcliffe, Ariana DeBose and Jeremy Jordan, among others. This up-to-the-minute version will also poke fun at the 2024 Tony Awards, and will include some of the most popular numbers from Alessandrini’s recent Forbidden Sondheim.
Ain't Done Bad
Now through September 1, 2024
The Pershing Square Signature Center [Irene Diamond Stage]
"Ain't Done Bad" is the remarkable story of coming out, falling in love, and finding one’s true voice as a queer person in the South, all told without speaking a word. The show features the revelatory music of Orville Peck and stars creator/choreographer Jakob Karr ("So You Think You Can Dance") with ten of the most sought-after professional dancers in the industry. The cast embodies a unique celebration of self-love and acceptance.
Since its critically-acclaimed premiere at the Orlando Fringe Festival in 2021, where the show took the festival's highest honor, "Ain't Done Bad" has astounded sold-out audiences during workshop runs in Orlando and North Carolina through 2022 and 2023. Now, the production makes its New York City debut at the Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, larger than ever before.
Cellino v. Barnes
Now through October 13, 2024
Asylum NYC
Cellino v. Barnes is a darkly comedic play following the tumultuous partnership between infamous lawyers Ross Cellino and Steve Barnes, documenting their rise and fall as the top injury attorneys in the country. Through the 90's, 2000's, and 2010's, we witness our pals navigate the ethical ambiguities of the law, grapple with personal demons (and fax machines), and aspire to world domination. They're a couple of bros with big dreams and loose morals, trying to make it in the cut throat world of ambulance chasing.
Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern
Now through April 29, 2025
Stage 42
Calling all adventurers! Come celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world’s greatest roleplaying game in the most epic way imaginable.
Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern is an interactive adventure live on stage for you and 500 of your newest friends. Control the quest as you journey through an ever-changing campaign set in the heart of the Forgotten Realms. Find a new home at the Tavern, where laughter flows like ale and your new best companion is right beside you. Solve puzzles, explore hidden secrets, and conquer in action – this is the adventure you’ve been waiting for!
Will your choices help restore the magic of the Forgotten Realms? Or will the world of your story crumble into chaos? Gather your party, roll for initiative, and become a hero in a theatrical experience like nothing else in the world.
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Empire: The Musical
Now through September 22, 2024
New World Stages Stage I
Told through the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976, this original story shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will and desire. With a desperate city pinning its hopes on this seemingly impossible project, only skyscraper-high levels of grit and determination can keep it climbing. Discover the dramatic tales of derring-do through spectacular choreography, foot-tapping music, and colorful, timeless characters. Take the thrilling ride to the sky with the brave Mohawk Skywalkers, industrialist visionaries, and can-do immigrants, all of whom had the guts to go up when everyone else was down. Witness the extraordinary resilience and optimism that built a landmark that still inspires today.
The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project
Now through August 11, 2024
59E59 Theatres [Theatre B]
Most know of the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case, but few know the story of their youngest child, Robert, orphaned at six following his parents' execution for espionage and adopted by Abel Meeropol who wrote the song “Strange Fruit” seared into America’s consciousness by Billie Holiday.
Written and performed by award-winning actor/playwright John Jiler, The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project plumbs America’s character and history both sweet and sour, through the telling of Robert’s remarkable story. Accompanied by clarinetist Sweet Lee Odom, Jiler weaves together strands of American history, political movements, Klezmer, and jazz.
The Sabbath Girl: A New Musical
Now through September 1, 2024
59E59 Theatres [Theatre A]
Angie Mastrantoni has a lot going on: her own art gallery, a new apartment, but not much time for romance... until her divorced Orthodox Jewish neighbor, Seth, unexpectedly knocks on her door.
A sparkling new musical about big-city life and the possibility of finding love when you least expect it – maybe even right down the hall.
Someone Spectacular
Now through August 31, 2024
The Pershing Square Signature Center [The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre]
Once a week, six recently bereaved strangers gather for group therapy. It’s a stable routine — until one day, their grief counselor is inexplicably MIA. The group’s typical session quickly goes off the rails, offering an open-ended meditation on loss, with revelations that are at once beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking. Domenica Feraud’s newest play examines the complicated emotions that accompany grief, while exploring universal and personal truths that are sure to stay with you for a lifetime.
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Cats: The Jellicle Ball
Now through September 8, 2024
Perelman Performing Arts Center
Cats: "The Jellicle Ball" is a radical reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic dance musical based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Inspired by the Ballroom culture that roared out of New York City over 50 years ago and still rages on runways around the world. Staged as a spectacularly immersive competition by Zhailon Levingston (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Chicken & Biscuits) and PAC NYC Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way), with all new Ballroom and club beats, runway ready choreography, and an edgy eleganza makeover that moves the action from junkyard to runway. Come one, come all, and celebrate the joyous transformation of self at the heart of Cats and Ballroom culture itself.
Pre-Existing Condition
Now through August 23, 2024
The Connelly Theater
Emmy Award winner Edie Falco has extended her run in Pre-Existing Condition by Tony Award nominee Marin Ireland and directed by Maria Dizzia. Pre-Existing Condition is a play exploring the challenges, shared community, and everyday indignities of learning to move forward after a life-altering, harmful relationship.
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