Top Off-Broadway Shows for August 2026
Off-Broadway shows include the world premieres of Benevolent and Hungry Women, an intimate revival of The Gin Game, plus more.
What’s happening Off-Broadway in August? BroadwayWorld is here to guide you through the top picks for theatre this season. August 2026 is packed with exciting shows, including a star-studded Shakespeare in the Park production of The Winter's Tale, featuring Lily Rabe, Raúl Esparza and more; World Premieres including Hungry Women with Julia Lester, plus more.
Audiences can also catch hits like The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the new musical Label•less and others. This season offers a mix of stories coming to Off-Broadway stages across New York.
Benevolent
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Good Apples Collective will present the World Premiere production of Sophie McIntosh's benevolent, directed by Nina Goodheart at IATI's Main Theater.
Set in 1917, benevolent follows four inmates consigned to Inwood Benevolent Home, a draconian reformatory for fallen and friendless girls. They forge unlikely connections as they pass their days on laundry duty, and, when one of their group finds herself in trouble, the others must decide how much they're willing to risk to help her. Benevolent will run at IATI's Main Theater, August 14-September 5.
Read More: World Premiere of BENEVOLENT and More Set for Good Apples Collective's 2026 Season
Disruption
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Disruption, a new play by Andrew Stein, directed by Hersh Ellis, is now playing Off-Broadway at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center.
The cast of Disruption also includes Irene Sofia Lucio as Mia, Jason Ralph as Barry, Conrad Ricamora as Ben, Elizabeth Stanley as Jill, Joe Tippett as Paul, John David Washington as Nick, Shaunette Renée Wilson as Suzie, and Emma Kikue as Raven. Octavia Chavez-Richmond, Carman Lacivita, Lauren Marcus, and Brian Miskell will serve as understudies.
Does anyone know what would make them truly happy? Tech entrepreneur Nick thinks he has the answer. After tremendous Silicon Valley success and a big exit, Nick presents his three best friends with his next big idea: an algorithm that is more complex than the human brain and promises to guide them through big life decisions better and more effectively than they can guide themselves. In an era where every aspect of human life has been documented with data and disrupted by technology, do computers know us better than we know ourselves? And even if they do, should we listen? Andrew Stein's sharp, unnerving thriller is a timely and insightful exploration of our tech obsessed world.
Disruption will officially open at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center on August 2. Previously scheduled to close on September 13, the production will now run through September 27, 2026.
Read More: DISRUPTION to Offer Rush Policy and Extend Run Two Weeks
Forget I Said Anything
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Something Better Productions is presenting the Off-Broadway premiere of Forget I Said Anything, now playing at Theatre Row in New York City.
The original musical, written and directed by Samantha Roberts, explores themes of memory, identity, healing, and self-discovery. Originally developed as a 13-song cycle while Roberts was a student at Temple University, the work has evolved over the past eight years into a full-length musical featuring 30 original songs.
Forget I Said Anything is produced by Something Better Productions, a nonprofit theatre company dedicated to developing new works and supporting emerging artists. Forget I Said Anything, is now running through August 8 at Theatre Row in New York City.
Read More: Photos: FORGET I SAID ANYTHING At Theatre Row
Hungry Women
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Melissa Maney’s Hungry Women, directed by Daniella Caggiano. Hungry Women is now playing a limited engagement at SoHo Playhouse.
The production stars Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominee Julia Lester, with Zoe Dean, Mariyea and Sophie Zmorrod. If men went extinct, what would our world look like? Hungry Women envisions this exact reality across two hundred years. A dark comedy that blends absurdism and the macabre through a feminist lens, the play explores survival, identity, sexuality, motherhood, and the reshaping of power in the absence of the patriarchy. In the end, it asks: What are women most hungry for?
Hungry Women will play a limited engagement at SoHo Playhouse through through Sunday, August 30.
Read More: Julia Lester to Star in the World Premiere of HUNGRY WOMEN Off-Broadway
Label•less
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Label•less is a new 90-minute musical experience that gets real about the challenges we all face in today’s world. Created by Drew Lachey (98 Degrees & “Dancing With the Stars”) and choreographer Lea Lachey, Label•less features a wildly talented cast of young adults sharing real-life experiences and taking audiences on an emotional journey packed with soaring vocals and electric dancing. With an original score spanning rock, pop, and R&B, plus hit songs like “Born This Way” and “Rise Up,” Label•less is on a mission to break down barriers, remind us of our shared humanity, and envision life beyond labels. Label•less is now playing at Duke on 42nd Street.
Read More: LABEL•LESS Off Broadway to Offer $33 Digital Rush Tickets
The Bathroom Attendant
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SparkPlug Productions will present the World Premiere of The Bathroom Attendant, a dark comic thriller by Tom Kelly, Directed by winner Andrew Block.
The Bathroom Attendant is set in a ramshackle apartment on the outskirts of Vegas. Here, an ex-prize fighter and his neighbor, a former adult film star, are visited by a young man with a secret and an offer they can’t refuse. Booze, betrayal and blackmail ignite an explosive night that will change their lives forever.
The Bathroom Attendant stars Dan Patrick Brady (Off Broadway: The Lover, Eden, Women and Football), Kate Miller (Broadway: Moon Over Buffalo with Carol Burnett & Amadeus with Michael Sheen), Evan Klein (TV: The Pitt Season 2 on HBO MAX), Jon Krupp (US v Gupta and Milk with New Georges, Lisa D'Amour's 16 Spells to Charm the Beast with Clubbed Thumb), and Mari Blake (Off Broadway: The Cry of the Butterfly, Cassandra, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance). The production team includes Winnie Chiang (Stage Manager), Scott Fetterman (Production Designer), Tony Lepore (Sound & Lighting Design), and Angelina Cerami (Assistant Director). Previews begin August 13 at the 124 Bank Street Theater with opening set for Wednesday, August 19.
Read More: Kate Miller and Evan Klein to Star in THE BATHROOM ATTENDANT at the 124 Bank Street Theater
The Real Ivanov
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Initiative Productions will present the world premiere of The Real Ivanov, a 100-minute adaptation of Anton Chekhov's first staged play, Ivanov, by writer and Chekhov scholar Laura Strausfeld who also directs. Strausfeld's faithful and fast-paced adaptation centers the comedy in Chekhov's prescient play about living with despair.
In the course of a year, Nikolai Ivanov—mid-30s, once charismatic and admired—has become overwhelmed and depressed. Everyone around him thinks they know why. Ivanov isn't convinced. This gripping adaptation captures the central insight of Chekhov's first masterpiece: misunderstanding one another is both comic and calamitous.
Sam Underwood (“Dynasty,” “The Following,” “Fear The Walking Dead”) stars as as Nikolai Ivanov and leads an ensemble cast that includes Sam Adegoke (“Dynasty”) as Borkin, Ivory Aquino (ABC's “When We Rise”) as Anna, Spencer Aste (Bedlam, Axis Theatre) as Lebedev, William DeMeritt as Kosyk, Jordan Lage (Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo) as Count Shabyelsky, Sarah Long as Zinaida, Amelia Mason as Sasha, Soph Metcalf (Machinal, Slaughter City) as Avdotya, Hagan Oliveras (John Proctor Is the Villain, Our Town, dir. Kenny Leon) as Dr. Lvov, and Kimberlee Walker as Babakina in addition to understudies Aubyn Heglie and Brendan Titley.
This strictly limited engagement will run August 17 – September 19, 2026, at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater, with an opening set for Tuesday, August 25.
Read More: Sam Underwood and More to Star in THE REAL IVANOV Off Broadway
The Winter's Tale
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The Public Theater is currently presenting Free Shakespeare in the Park with this summer’s second production of The Winter's Tale at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Veteran director Daniel Sullivan returns to The Delacorte with his 12th production for Free Shakespeare in the Park.
The complete cast of THE WINTER’S TALE includes Heschel Bay (Ensemble), Marsha Stephanie Blake (Paulina), Teagle F. Bougere (Camillo), Chuck Cooper (Old Shepherd), Peter Douskalis (Musician), Matthew Eby (Mamillius/Time/Ensemble), Raúl Esparza (Leontes), Isabela Ferrer (Perdita), Katie Griffith (Mopsa/Ensemble), Alex Hernandez (Cleomenes/Ensemble), Michael Khalid Karadsheh (Young Shepherd), Denise Kolodja (Ensemble), Daniel Kyri (Florizel), Everett Lonergan (Ensemble), Aubie Merrylees (Archidamus/Ensemble), Jennifer Mogbock (Emilia/Ensemble), Gilbert Owuor (Polixenes), Violeta Picayo (Ensemble), Lily Rabe (Hermione), Bianca Rogoff (Ensemble), Matt E. Russell (Dion/Ensemble), Steven Skybell (Antigonus/Autolycus), Michael Thanh Tran (Ensemble), and Jackson Whitman (Ensemble).
The production will run through Sunday, August 23.
Read More: Raúl Esparza, Lily Rabe and More in Rehearsals for THE WINTER'S TALE
We've Been Here Before
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We’ve Been Here Before: A One-Woman Musical is getting ready to make its New York stage premiere Off-Broadway. Created by, written and starring Lindsey Kraft, We’ve Been Here Before is music directed by the Emmy Award nominee singer, songwriter and composer Ben Folds.
Liv is 40, codependent, and about to have a mid-life awakening, brought on by an overwhelming urge to write music. Starting with no prior experience, she learns to play piano while beginning a relationship with a secret online confidant. The result is a funny, heartbreaking, and fiercely honest playlist of her life—tackling everything from her father’s addiction to a lifetime of staying quiet. Through raw, original music about family secrets, unspoken truths, and the courage to stand alone, she is led out of woods she didn’t even realize she was in.
Lindsey Kraft is joined on stage by musicians Ben Folds and Dan Rudin in her new one-woman musical story about love, loss, and liberation. Co-directed by Machel Ross and Lindsey Kraft. We’ve Been Here Before begins performances on Tuesday, August 4 and runs through Monday, August 17 at SoHo Playhouse.
Read More: Lindsey Kraft & Ben Folds Give a Sneak Peek of WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
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The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
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The first New York revival of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is now at New World Stages!
Tony Award winning Alex Newell (Shucked, “Glee”) joins the cast as Rona Lisa Peretti, beginning Friday, August 7, for 4 weeks only. Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper plays her final performance in the role on Sunday, August 2. Tony Award nominee Jasmine Amy Rogers (BOOP!) concludes her run as Olive Ostrovsky on Sunday, August 9, with Nina White (Kimberly Akimbo) beginning in the role on Monday, August 10. Fernell Hogan (Kimberly Akimbo, The Prom) extends his run at the Bee, covering Leaf Coneybear during original cast member Justin Cooley’s leave of absence, through Monday, August 10.
In addition to the above, the show currently stars two-time Emmy Award-winner Jon Cryer as Vice Principal Douglas Panch, Laura Marano as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre, Philippe Arroyo as Chip Tolentino, Leana Rae Concepcion as Marcy Park, and Matt Manuel as Mitch Mahoney. Understudies are Brandon L. Armstrong, Jahbril Cook, DeMarius Copes, Vanessa Magula, Emily Nicole Rudolph, and Cecilia Snow.
The 20th Anniversary Production, and first ever major revival, opened on November 17, 2025, following previews that began on November 7, 2025, and has extended twice to now run through September 6, 2026. In addition to winning the 2026 Lucille Lortel Award, the Off Broadway Alliance Award, and the Dorian Award for Best Revival of a musical, the production was one of the most nominated shows of the season – on Broadway & off - receiving an additional Lortel nomination for Best Ensemble; 4 Drama League Award Nominations for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, Distinguished Performance (Cooley, Rogers); 4 Drama Desk Award Nominations for Outstanding Revival, Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Featured Performance (Cooper, Rogers); and 4 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations for Outstanding Revival, and Outstanding Featured Performer (Cooley, McHale, Rogers).
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a fast-paced and funny D-E-L-I-G-H-T. As six wonderfully unique and impassioned contestants vie for the championship by spelling their way through vexing vocabulary, hilarious and poignant personal stories unfold…along with a dash of riotous audience participation.The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee delivers an unforgettable experience that is sure to leave audiences spellbound.
Six spellers enter, but only one can win The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee! This charmingly witty and touching musical has entertained audiences across the world since its Tony–winning Broadway debut in 2005. It now returns to New York in a special 20th Anniversary production that celebrates the singular heart, humor, and verve that cemented its place in the musical theater canon. Performances are running through September 6, 2026 at New World Stages.
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