Everything You Need to Know about NYC Off-Broadway Week

What is Off-Broadway Week?

A growing theater tradition and NYC & Company initiative aimed at boosting off-Broadway ticket sales and promoting lesser-known shows. Taking place September 17-30, the outreach program offers two-for-one ticket deals for select off-Broadway plays. For the full list of participating productions, see our table below, and keep reading for more information on how to obtain NYC & Co.’s discounts.

Off-Broadway Week New York Shows 2012

Off-Broadway Shows
Avenue Q
The Awesome 80s Prom
The Berenstein Bears Musical
Black Angels Over Tuskegee
Blue Man Group
Bullet for Adolf
Chenneling Kevin Spacey
Closer Than Ever
COCK
Cougar the Musical
Dona Flor y Sus Dos Maridos
Don’t Go Gentle
The Fantasticks
Forbidden Broadway
Fuerzabruta
Gazillion Bubble Show
Harper Reagan
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Locuras en Wichita
Mary Broome
Modern Terrorism
Old Jews Telling Jokes
Perfect Crime
Rain Pryor’s Fried Chicken and Latkes
Red Dog Howls
SILENCE! The Musical
Sistas: The Musical
STOMP

Off-Broadway Week 2-for-1 Ticket Deals

The best way to take advantage of NYC & Company’s 2-for-1 ticket deals is, of course, to visit the organization’s website. Their special off-Broadway section includes promotional codes, which you’ll need when purchasing tickets (the site redirects to broadwayoffers.com). Click here for their off-Broadway page.

Or, scroll a little further to compare NYC & Co’s prices with our own compilation of off-Broadway ticket links.

Top Off-Broadway Week Shows

Don’t want to miss out on a great deal, but unsure of which show(s) to check out? Here are our top 5 Off-Broadway Week recommendations:

Avenue Q

The riotous musical with a raunchy heart has become a modern classic in the few years since making its Broadway debut. Spouting life lessons about love, friendship, and the Internt’s true purpose, puppets haven’t been this much fun since David Bowie was their overlord. The laughs in Avenue Q come quick and easy – so long as you’re not easily offended.

Mary Broome

This relic from the turn of the 20th century shouldn’t be mistaken for dull and dusty. A satire of middle-class values every bit as insightful, and biting, now as it was in 1911, Mary Broome is for those who like their comedy dry, their wit droll, and who find their driving enjoyment in clever wordplay.

SILENCE! The Musical

Because a baritone Hannibal Lecter earnestly intoning an expletive-laced homage to specific areas of Claric Starling’s anatomy is not to be missed.

Harper Regan

Among the few dramatic offerings this Off-Broadway Week, Harper Regan is a dysfunctional-family tale focusing on the eponymous heroine (of sorts). The British import has gotten some mixed reviews Stateside, but the sharp writing and talent of the actresses who’ve filled Regan’s wandering shoes remain largely unquestioned.

The Fantasticks

Mary Broome may be the oldest of our picks, but the disarming earnestness and extreme low-budget effects of The Fantasticks run the risk of alienating their fair share of modern viewers. The show’s antique – not antiquated – charm, however, is precisely why it made our list. Fantasticks lacks the snark of an Avenue Q and the causticity of a Broome, instead championing good ole’ fashioned tunes and a straightforward boy-meets-girl plot. Think of it as retro, if you must, but the play that set the world record for longest-running musical remains timeless as ever.

Off-Broadway Week Tickets New York 2012

Avenue Q

Blue Man Group

Channeling Kevin Spacey

Cougar The Musical

The Fantasticks

Forbidden Broadway

Fuerzabruta

Gazillion Bubble Show

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Old Jews Telling Jokes

Perfect Crime

Sistas: The Musical

Average Ticket Prices for Off-Broadway Shows