Off-Broadway shows to see this spring

Discover the major plays and musicals coming to New York theatres this spring, including new shows from award-winning writers and star-led productions.

Spring is known as theatre's busy season, and that's not just true of Broadway shows vying for Tony Awards in June. Honors like the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards include Off-Broadway shows, too, so theatre companies regularly present major new works in the spring for consideration.

Off-Broadway theatre is a vast landscape, with venues scattered across Manhattan and beyond. It would be nearly impossible to round up all the shows opening off Broadway this spring, but we've named the shows premiering at major institutions, including Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theater Company, Second Stage Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and more. Plus, check out buzzy revivals and star-led productions playing at additional New York theatres.

Learn about major Off-Broadway musicals and plays opening this spring below, listed in order of start date. To discover even more spring theatre, check out our roundup of all the spring Broadway shows premering this season.

Get Off-Broadway show tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Musicals off Broadway this spring

Off-Broadway musicals are rarer than plays, so when they come along, they're a treat. Now-celebrated musicals like Hamilton began as Off-Broadway spring headliners, so one or more of these shows could be the next blockbuster Broadway hit by next spring.

A Sign of the Times

Petula Clark said to go downtown, but you'll have to go to Midtown for this new musical that transports audiences back to the '60s, when the world was changing rapidly every day. The story of a photographer trying to find her place in this world amid anti-war, civil rights, and women's rights movements is set to the decade's biggest pop hits, like "Downtown" and "Rescue Me."

Performances start: February 7

Get A Sign of the Times tickets now.

The Lonely Few

This tender, romantic show is New York-bound after premiering on the West Coast. Up-and-coming musician Lila gets a chance for her band to tour with well-known musician Amy. But instead of just finding her big break, Lila finds an unexpected romance with Amy. But can it survive beyond the road?

Performances start: April 26

Get The Lonely Few tickets now.

Three Houses

Dave Malloy, the acclaimed creator of Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812, is back with his newest original musical. During the pandemic, three people — one in Ireland, one in Latvia, and one in New Mexico — may be miles apart, but they undergo a common journey of confronting their pasts in isolation.

Performances start: April 30

Get Three Houses tickets now.

Plays off Broadway this spring

Off-Broadway is the place to find exciting new plays and see them in intimate venues. Multiple award-winning Broadway writers are premiering their latest works off Broadway this spring alongside exciting emerging playwrights telling stories you won't hear anywhere else this season.

Oh, Mary!

Award-winning writer and comedian Cole Escola reimagines the story of former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in their new dark comedy. With Conrad Ricamora as "Mary's Husband" — i.e. former President Abraham Lincoln — James Scully as her teacher, and more, Escola explores the alcoholism, suppressed desire, and more that defined Mary's life just before her husband's assassination.

Performances start: January 26

Get Oh, Mary! tickets now.

The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers

Beloved TV show host raised a generation of fun-loving fans on his Nickelodeon game show Double Dare and his Food Network show Unwrapped. Now, Summers steps back into his old gig — sort of — performing this game-show-meets-theatrical-memoir about the ups and downs of his life and career. In between little-known stories, Summers will enlist audience members in interactive challenges — watch out for the slime!

Performances start: February 14

Get The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers tickets now.

Sally & Tom

Tom, the director and star of a play about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, is dating the woman playing Sally. What could go wrong? Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks's new play strikingly compares historical power plays with those of today.

Performances start: March 28

Get Sally & Tom tickets now.

Orlando

Taylor Mac stars in the latest revival of Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl's time- and gender-defying play based on Virginia Woolf's novel. Across centuries, the title character morphs from a 16th-century man to a 20th-century woman, rediscovering their social, romantic, and personal preferences and standards many times over in a continual process of becoming.

Performances start: April 2

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Jordans

The lone Black employee at a white-dominated company is at first excited when another young Black woman gets hired. But in the cutthroat corporate world, they're pitted against each other to make it to the top. Obie Award winner Whitney White directs this ferocious play by Ife Olujobi.

Performances start: April 11

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Staff Meal

A restaurant in the city acts as a kind of oasis for a ragtag group of folks seeking refuge from the outside world. At least until closing time, they're safe there — but what happens after? This world-premiere comedy by Abe Koogler is all about people searching for connection and comfort in a lonely world.

Performances start: April 12

Check back for information on Staff Meal tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Here There Are Blueberries

In 2007, one small photo collection sparked a huge nationwide debate. A U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum received pictures of Nazis frolicking and relaxing while atrocities raged on, prompting questions about what parts of history should be remembered and displayed — and what those decisions say about the people who make them. Moisés Kaufman, Amanda Gronich, and Tectonic Theater Project, creators of The Laramie Project, present this play based on true events.

Performances start: April 17

Get Here There Are Blueberries tickets now.

The Welkin

Tony Award nominee Lucy Kirkwood returns to New York with her latest play about womanhood, truth, and democracy. In 1759 England, a convicted woman reveals she's pregnant, hoping to escape her death sentence — and it's up to 12 of her fellow townswomen to decide her fate.

Performances start: May 16

Check back for information on The Welkin tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

What Became of Us

Two siblings, each born in a different country, must figure out how to maintain their connections to both places and each other without losing any part of their identity. This Atlantic Theater Company production marks the Off-Broadway debut of playwright Shayan Lotfi.

Performances start: May 17

Check back for information on What Became of Us tickets on New York Theatre Guide.