Mamdani Administration & TDF Launch Lottery Giving NYC High Schoolers Free Broadway Tickets

New York City high school students can enter to win free Broadway tickets starting today, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration teams with TDF (Theatre Development Fund) on a new program called Tickets for Teens.

The lottery is giving away 2,100 free tickets - two per winner - to seven Broadway and Off-Broadway productions: Buena Vista Social Club, In the Heights (at New York City Center), School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Great Gatsby, The Lost Boys, and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). Entrants can rank their top three choices or select "Pick for me!"

Registration opened Thursday, August 13 at 10 a.m. at tft.tdf.org and closes Monday, August 17 at 10 a.m. Winners will be notified by email on September 1; every entrant receives an email either way.

Every student who signs up - winner or not - also receives a free two-month TDF Membership, which unlocks discounted tickets to theatre, music and dance across the city, plus free or discounted admission to a roster of museums and cultural institutions. The membership offers run through October 31. Students who miss the lottery deadline can still register for the free membership through September 17.

Eligibility is open to any student in grades 9 through 12 attending a New York City high school as of fall 2026. Public school students register with their OSIS number; nonpublic school students use a school email address. One entry per student.

Notably, the city is not funding the giveaway. According to TDF the seven participating productions offered up the tickets themselves.

Students can enter the lottery here.