{"id":94608232,"date":"2012-05-18T08:55:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T08:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/five-incredible-off-broadway-theaters\/"},"modified":"2023-02-23T20:47:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T20:47:55","slug":"five-great-off-broadway-theaters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/five-great-off-broadway-theaters\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Great White Way! 5 Great Off-Broadway Theater Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

So, you’re headed to New York City<\/a>! So much to see, so much to do. For many people, a trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without taking in a Broadway show or two.<\/p>\n

But have you looked at the price of theater tickets lately? Face value tickets from the box office will run you $150 to $200 a pop, even higher for the really big hits. And even if you head over to TKTS for some half-price tickets, you’re still going to pay up to $100. If you’re traveling with your family, that’s gonna make a big hole in the old pocket.<\/p>\n

Off-Broadway offerings tend to be significantly less expensive that their Broadway brethren. And there’s always the chance you’ll catch the next Hamilton<\/em> before it hits the Main Stem. What’s more, Off-Broadway fare tends to be more adventurous, if you’re looking for something beyond the splashy musicals of the Great White Way.<\/p>\n

These days, thanks to skyrocketing production costs, commercial Off-Broadway theater has all but disappeared, except for a few holdouts like the Westside Arts Theater and the Orpheum, where Stomp<\/em> has been playing for nearly 30 years. This means that Off-Broadway is now dominated by a handful of ambitious and successful non-profit theater companies. With the decline of the out-of-town tryout, nonprofits have become and indispensable source of vibrant new works.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the most prolific and renowned Off-Broadway theater companies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Public Theater<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

The Public Theater<\/a> by Alex Lozupone<\/a> licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Public Theater<\/a> is one of the most respected theatrical institutions in the country. This theater company, located in the East Village, regularly puts up productions that not only feature Broadway-caliber performers and production values, but also showcase diverse voices with challenging messages. The Public started as the New York Shakespeare Festival in the 1950s, and still produces first-class annual productions of Shakespeare plays at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.<\/div>\n
\n

Recent productions include the Pulitzer Prize winners Fat Ham<\/em> by James Ijames and Sweat<\/em> by Lynn Nottage. But the Public also has at times exhibited a decidedly commercial bent, having given rise to such internationally famous musicals as Hair<\/em>, A Chorus Line<\/em>, Fun Home<\/em>, and the current worldwide phenomenon, Hamilton<\/em>. There’s always something fascinating to see at the Public in one of its numerous theaters and performance spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Atlantic Theater Company<\/h1>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>

Atlantic Theater Company<\/a> by Jim.henderson<\/a> is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

To step into the main theater at the Atlantic Theater Company<\/a>, you might not think that this modest 199-seat house, in a converted church in Chelsea, could have given rise to many successful and award-winning plays and musicals.<\/p>\n

But the Atlantic has nonetheless launched a number of esteemed hits, including the Tony-winning musicals\u00a0Spring Awakening<\/em> and\u00a0The Band’s Visit\u00a0<\/em>and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play\u00a0Between Riverside and Crazy.\u00a0<\/em>The Atlantic has also produced a number of plays by Academy Award-winning British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, including three that went on to acclaimed Broadway runs, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Cripple of Inishmaan,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Hangmen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Playwrights Horizons<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Playwrights Horizons<\/a> by Paul Sableman<\/a> licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Coming in at just one seat shy of the Atlantic’s 199, we have the eminent Playwrights Horizons<\/a>, situated on a section of 42nd Street called Theater Row. Like the Atlantic, Playwrights is a wonderfully intimate space to experience a show, and it’s located just blocks away from Times Square. Whatever you see at Playwrights is pretty much guaranteed to challenge your perceptions of the world and take you on a deep dive into a fascinating new arena.<\/p>\n

Productions at Playwrights have won no fewer than seven Pulitzer Prizes, including the musicals Sunday in the Park with George<\/em>, with musical and lyrics by the late great Stephen Sondheim, and\u00a0A Strange Loop\u00a0<\/em>by Michael R. Jackson.\u00a0A Strange Loop\u00a0<\/em>went on to win the Tony Award for Best musical in 2022. Playwrights is also known for producing challenging and genre-defying plays like Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play <\/em>and Annie Baker’s The Flick.\u00a0<\/em>Other celebrated works include\u00a0Clybourne Park<\/em> by Bruce Norris and\u00a0I Am My Own Wife<\/em> by Doug Wright.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Second Stage Theater<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Second Stage Theater – Tony Kiser Theater<\/a> by A.J. Suresh<\/a> licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

If the Second Stage Theater<\/a>‘s Tony Kiser Theater were roughly double its current size, it might be considered a Broadway theater. That’s because it’s situated right in the middle of the theater district on West 43rd Street. Plus, to be considered a Broadway theater, houses must have at least 500 seats. But its smaller size hasn’t stopped 2ST from nurturing pieces that became critical and commercial successes, including the plays Metamorphoses<\/em> by Mary Zimmerman and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark <\/em>by Lynne Nottage. 2ST also birthed a number of successful musicals, including Dear Evan Hansen, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,\u00a0<\/em> and the Pulitzer Prize winning\u00a0Next to Normal.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Second Stage recently purchased and renovated the Helen Hayes Theater, the smallest theater on Broadway, and has been programming a rotating slate of Broadway shows in addition to its Off-Broadway fare, since 2018. With this additional location, 2ST continues in its mission to showcase the works of new and established American playwrights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

You Might Also Enjoy: <\/strong><\/em>Beyond Broadway! Great Theater Cities Around the World<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Vineyard Theater<\/h1>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Cast of Avenue Q<\/a> by Michael Schamis<\/a> licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Vineyard Theater features the smallest auditorium of all the theaters in this post, with 132 seats. But don’t let the size of the theater fool you. The Vineyard is a highly respect and artistically successful company that, of necessity, showcases intimate plays and musicals, many of which have gone on to major acclaim. These include the musicals Avenue Q<\/em>, The Scottsboro Boys<\/em>, and the cult favorite [title of show]<\/em>. Among the many plays the Vineyard has produced are Paula Vogel’s\u00a0How I Learned to Drive <\/em>and Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women,\u00a0<\/em>both of which won Pulitzer Prizes.<\/div>\n
\n

The Vineyard also has a long-standing relationship with famed composer John Kander of Cabaret<\/em> and Chicago<\/em> fame, and has produced a number of workshops and productions of his newer shows, including\u00a0The Landing <\/em>and\u00a0Beast of the Jungle.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite Off-Broadway theater company that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, you’re headed to New York City! So much to see, so much to do. For many people, a trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without taking in a Broadway show or two. But have you looked at the price of theater tickets lately? Face value tickets from the box office will run you $150 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":741,"featured_media":97217672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,1,1358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94608232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-history","category-other","category-new-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94608232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/741"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94608232"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94608232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97217670,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94608232\/revisions\/97217670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97217672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94608232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94608232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94608232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}