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Off-Broadway Shows
Off-Broadway Shows

Off-Broadway Shows to Look Out For in Fall 2024

Fall has arrived on the New York theater scene, and numerous exciting productions are opening on Broadway during the final months of the year. But the excitement doesn’t stop in the Theatre District. Here’s a look at some of the Off-Broadway productions we’re looking forward to this fall.


Marla Mindelle returns Off-Broadway this fall with The Big Gay Jamboree.
Marla Mindelle returns to the Off-Broadway stage this fall with The Big Gay Jamboree.

The Big Gay Jamboree, Orpheum Theatre
In Performances

With her follow-up to the smash hit Titanique (which should always be on your Off-Broadway must-see list), Marla Mindelle returns to the Off-Broadway stage in The Big Gay Jamboree, an original musical that the Lucille Lortel Award winner created and stars in. It centers on Stacey, who wakes up hungover and must find her way out of, as the production describes, “the most terrifying place of all: an Off-Broadway musical.” With a premise so hysterical and with Mindelle’s name attached, there’s really no reason not to secure your tickets to The Big Gay Jamboree immediately.


Safety Not Guaranteed, BAM Harvey Theater
Performances begin September 18

Based on Derek Connolly’s award-winning indie film of the same name, the new musical Safety Not Guaranteed stars Nkeki Obi-Melekwe (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) and Taylor Trensch (Dear Evan Hansen). Featuring a score by Guster frontman Ryan Miller and book by Nick Blaemire, “the story follows Darius, a low-level journalist who is assigned to report on a local classified ad offering the opportunity to go back in time, and the complicated relationship that ensues.” Early teasers of the new score were shared across social media, prompting more buzz for the upcoming musical.


Good Bones, The Public Theater
Performances begin September 19

Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames reunites with director Saheem Ali this fall following the acclaimed Fat Ham, which played at The Public Theater in 2022 before moving to Broadway the following year. In his new play, Good Bones, Ijames “explores gentrification and the growing price of the American dream.” The production has already extended its run once, a sign to make room for the play in your fall schedule.


Adam Driver will star in Hold on to Me Darling this fall.

Hold on to Me Darling, Lucille Lortel Theatre
Performances begin September 24

The Lucille Lortel Theatre has been home to the hottest tickets Off-Broadway for the past year. Christopher Abbott and Aubrey Plaza wrapped up Danny and the Deep Blue Sea earlier this year, with Cole Escola’s Off-Broadway turned Broadway sensation, Oh, Mary!, following it up. This fall, Adam Driver returns to the stage in a new production of Kenneth Lonergan’s Hold on to Me Darling. With the Academy Award nominee at the helm, it’s already proving to be a hot ticket.


We Live in Cairo, New York Theatre Workshop
Performances begin October 9

Fresh off his star-making turn in The Who’s Tommy this past spring, Ali Louis Bourzgui is leading the Off-Broadway premiere of We Live in Cairo. The new musical, written by Jonathan Larson Grant winners Daniel and Patrick Lazour, “follows six student activists using their street art, photography, and song to overthrow a regime older than they are.”


Teeth, New World Stages
Performances begin October 18

You may have already seen this new musical from A Strange Loop creator Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs, which we recommended last spring. If you missed it, then you’re in luck. Teeth will return for an open-ended run this fall at New World Stages with original stars Alyse Alan Louis, Will Connolly, Jason Gotay, and Jared Loftin returning, and three-time Tony Award nominee Andy Karl joining.


Walden, Second Stage Theater
Performances begin October 16

First premiering in 2021 at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, Amy Berryman’s Walden will receive its New York premiere this fall in Second Stage Theater’s upcoming season. Directed by Tony Award nominee Whitney White, the play follows two estranged twins reuniting, reigniting old conflicts, and “forcing the sisters to choose between staying on Earth or pursuing a future in space.” Emmy Rossum (Shameless, the Phantom of the Opera film) and Zoë Winters (Succession) are set to star.


Robert O'Hara and the cast of <i>Shit. Meet. Fan. Photo by Imani Champion.
Robert O’Hara and the cast of Shit. Meet. Fan. Photo by Imani Champion.

Shit. Meet. Fan., MCC Theater
Performances begin October 10

If you’re looking for a star-studded cast this fall, look no further than Shit. Meet. Fan. Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Krakowski, Debra Messing, and Constance Wu are just a few of the names set to star in the new comedy written by Slave Play director Robert O’Hara. Tickets are already sold out for the initial run, but a two-week extension was just announced, so keep an eye out when those go on sale!


Babe, The New Group
Performances begin October 29

Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei will return to the stage this fall in the world premiere production of Babe by Jessica Goldberg. As described by the production, “From grunge to femme punk hits, Abby (Tomei) and Gus (Arliss Howard) have produced it all. Their work marriage is legendary, and Gus has the platinum records to prove it. But when Katherine (Gracie McGraw), a fresh A&R hire, calls Abby out on the compromises she’s made in her work, Abby must face the music and fight to survive.“


New York City Center will stage Ragtime with an all-star cast this fall.
New York City Center will stage Ragtime with an all-star cast this fall.

Ragtime, New York City Center
Performances begin October 30

The musical destined to enter classics territory returns this fall with an all-star cast. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Ragtime will be New York City Center’s annual gala presentation with theater favorites Colin Donnell, Joshua Henry, Joaquina Kalukango, Caissie Levy, Ben Levi Ross, Shaina Taub, and Brandon Uranowitz set to star. Fittingly playing right through the week of the 2024 presidential election, Ragtime is “an explosive and relevant portrait of America in the throes of social upheaval.”


Gatz, The Public Theater
Performances begin November 1

The Great Gatsby has had a resurgence in media due to its recent entry into the public domain, namely with two major musicals premiering this past year: the currently running Broadway musical The Great Gatsby and the new adaptation featuring a score by Florence Welch titled Gatsby that premiered at American Repertory Theater this summer. Gatz, which first premiered at the Public in 2010, returns this fall and is the most faithful to the original book, as it quite literally is an eight-hour enactment of the entire novel (including two intermissions and a dinner break!). The production states that this is Gatz’s final return, so this fall is your last chance to experience the can’t-miss event!


Mama I'm A Big Girl Now stars Kerry Butler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Marissa Jaret Winokur walk The Roommate opening night carpet together. Photo by Emilio Madrid.
Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now stars Kerry Butler, Laura Bell Bundy, and Marissa Jaret Winokur walk The Roommate opening night carpet together. Photo by Emilio Madrid.

Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now, New World Stages
Performances begin November 2

First taking the New York stage together more than two decades ago in the Broadway premiere of Hairspray, Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tony Award nominee Kerry Butler, and Tony Award nominee Laura Bell Bundy will reunite this fall to perform hits from their respective careers, tell stories of their origins and friendship, and more. Butler teased to Broadway Direct at The Roommate’s opening night that there might even be a playful story about when Butler discovered that Bundy would replace her in Legally Blonde after Butler had played the role of Elle Woods in earlier stages of the musical. “And we’re still friends today,” said Bundy.


In case you missed it, make sure to check out Broadway Direct’s Broadway Fall Preview.

Updated September 27, 2024.