Best of Halloween 2026 Cabaret & Concerts: Drag, Circus, Ghost Stories & More in NYC
Peruse this list of this year's fun Halloween-themed NYC shows
Halloween is coming up very soon. There’s nothing scarier than scrambling for last-minute plans, so we put together a list for you early birds to snap up events before they sell out. Celebrate all October with some of these spooky, funny and sexy Halloween-themed events – there’s something for every budget and person, from dance parties, scary stories and drag to circus and burlesque, with a healthy dose of Broadway.
54 Gets Away with Murder at 54 Below
October 16 @ 9:30 pm
For one night only, the Fortunate Few Productions collective is bringing the murder ballad songbook to 54 Below! Produced by Tommy Kelly and Aidan C. White, 54 Gets Away With Murder pledges to pass the microphone to music’s most conniving killers, bringing a mixture of musical theatre, country, hip-hop, and jazz to Broadway’s basement. Featuring raucous renditions of songs from Sweeney Todd, Bonnie & Clyde, Little Shop of Horrors, Death Becomes Her, and even the songbooks of Rihanna, Bobby Darin, and Lemon Demon, this night of cold-blooded camp is sure to be a bloody good time.
Tickets: Tickets start at $19.50. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum
Yuva Presents: Bollyween at Red Eye NY
October 16 @ 10 pm
Wear something spooky and descend to the basement at Red Eye for an unforgettable night filled with dancing, performances and a very special birthday celebration. Performances by Malai and Tamasha Bhosle. Bollywood Beats by DJ DynAmite. Special DJ Set by DJ Ritz. Abdul’s Big Queer Birthday Celebration. This will be a night to remember – don’t miss it!
Tickets: Tickets start at $15.
Death of Classical: Nightfall at The Green-Wood Cemetery (Brooklyn)
October 22 and 23 (rain date October 24) at 7 pm
For two nights only, Green-Wood's winding pathways will lead you deep into unfamiliar corners of the Cemetery, where darkness holds more than you'd expect. See where the shadows dance in a world of spectacle and mystery. This immersive event features a variety of performers scattered through the storied grounds of Brooklyn's famous Gilded Age cemetery, where every viewer walks their own path and no two visitors have exactly the same experience.
Tickets: Tickets are $70, $56 for members, and $95 for Premium Tickets. October 23 is sold out.
Zane Carney: A Kinda Sorta Spooky Cabaret at the Green Room 42
October 24 @ 9:30 pm
Equal parts intimate solo concert and hauntedly theatrical concert, A Kinda Sorta Spooky Cabaret bridges the gap between Zane’s original repertoire and spooky seasonal classics. Expect a wild mash-up featuring EVAN + ZANE Halloween fan-favorites sung by Zane himself, unexpected dark covers, and Zane’s trademark real-time live guitar looping. Atmospheric, eccentric, and dripping with October mood, it’s a late-night musical spell you won’t want to miss!
Tickets: Tickets start at $27.95.
Alysha Umphress: Season of the Witch at Joe’s Pub
October 24 and 25
Alysha Umphress resurrects her hit spooky kooky sexy mystical crystally musical moment of witchy whatever. She's conjuring up magical arrangements, a coven of special guests, a killer band and MORE. Infusing her jazzy theatrical spin on artists from The Rolling Stones to the Police to Laufey to Eartha Kitt just to name a few. And while the show will be deliciously wicked, there will be nothing from Wicked the musical just FYl. You need a break. You'll love it. Come.
Tickets: Tickets are $42 (inclusive of advance phone/web service fee). There is a 2 drink or 1 food item minimum per person.
Tomorrow, the Island Dies by Ryan Scott Oliver at 54 Below
October 26 @ 7 & 9:30 pm
Join an incredible lineup of New York City’s finest up-and-coming performers at 54 Below for a concert presentation of the award-winning new musical TOMORROW, THE ISLAND DIES by Ryan Scott Oliver (35MM: A Musical Exhibition; Jasper in Deadland).
On the storm-ravaged island of Haverness–soon to be lost to rising seas–18-year-old Widow Clack, pregnant and living in exile at the lighthouse with her brother, prepares for the island’s final evacuation. But when a young man is found dead on the beach, the few remaining youth tasked with closing up the village turn on each other, unraveling into paranoia, betrayal, and violence. Set in a not-so-distant future shaped by climate catastrophe, Tomorrow, The Island Dies is a chilling new folk-horror musical (think Once meets Sweeney Todd). Blending gothic tradition with a razor-sharp contemporary lens, the show explores fear, fractured communities, and the haunting question: can we escape the storms we create?
Tickets: Tickets start at $19.50. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum
Shudder: A Chilling New Musical Comedy at 54 Below
October 28 @ 9:30 pm
Join 54 Below for a wild ride through a haunted castle in the award-winning new musical, Shudder! What do you get when you combine an unusually bizarre Brothers Grimm tale with classic musical theatre conventions and horror tropes? The dark hilarity of Shudder, a new horror-comedy musical complete with priests, knights, peasants, and princesses singing in 5 part harmony! Step aside Beetlejuice and Little Shop, it’s time to truly LEARN FEAR.
Tickets: Tickets start at $19.50. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum
The Bowery Boys: Ghost Stories of Old New York at Joe’s Pub
October 28-31
Tom Meyers and Greg Young of the Bowery Boys Podcast have turned their live ghost stories show, based on their long-running podcast series, into a genuine New York City Halloween tradition. Featuring actual spooky stories taken from the city’s history and blended into a fabulous cabaret experience thanks to music director Andrew Austin and vocalist Lisa Karlin.
Tickets: Tickets start at $36 (inclusive of advance phone/web service fee). There is a 2 drink or 1 food item minimum per person.
The Joe Iconis Haunted Halloween Special at The Laurie Beechman
October 30-31 7 pm
Joe Iconis & Family come home to The Beechman for their annual Haunted Halloween Special!
This devilish celebration of rock and roll fun will feature songs from spooky musicals, cuts from obscure horror flicks, Halloween-themed Iconis originals, and a body bag full of holiday classics. A night of whiskey ghosts, kazoo spirits, and happy skeletons.
Featuring Mr. Iconis on the piano, an electrocuted rock band, and a murderer’s row of character actors inviting you to get in(to) the spirit(s).
Full Cast Announcement Coming Soon
Come in a costume, come as you are, just make sure to come on home to The Beechman for a night you’ll never forget.
Tickets: Tickets start at $45. There is a $25 food & beverage minimum
Paige Turner's Halloween Spooktacular DRAG BRUNCH! at The Laurie Beechman
October 31 @ 12 & 2:30 pm
Double, double, toil and trouble…the cauldron is on, the brunch is brewing, and the witches are ready to put a spell on you...
This Halloween, three fabulous drag witches of Hell(’s Kitchen), Paige Turner, Nomi Sas & Shnappshanna Von Carlsberg, come together for a wickedly hilarious Halloween Spooktacular!
When the clock strikes the bewitching hour, expect tricks, treats, live singing, lip-syncing and plenty of BOO-ze, with spellbinding numbers inspired by Wicked, Little Shop of Horrors, Hocus Pocus, Death Becomes Her, Alfred Hitchcock, Disney, Divas and more!
So grab your broomstick, gather your coven and join us at the Laurie Beechman Theatre for a Halloween drag brunch that’s scary, sparkly and absolutely bewitching!
Two seatings. One wicked Halloween. No Hocus Pocus required.
Tickets: Tickets start at $25. There is a $25 food & beverage minimum
The 3rd Annual Spooky Spectacular at 54 Below
October 31 @ 9:30 pm
After two wildly successful years, Productions by Stephan is ecstatic to return to 54 Below for The 3rd Annual Spooky Spectacular this Halloween season. Back by popular demand, this fan-favorite concert is bigger, bolder, and more electrifying than ever—delivering high-energy performances, killer vocals, and spine-tingling fun on NYC’s most iconic cabaret stage.
Tickets: Tickets start at $19.50. There is a $25 Food & Beverage Minimum
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Songs From My Childhood The Green Room 42 (10/22-10/22) |
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I am ME - on Purpose! Laurie Beechman Theatre (10/10-1/10) |
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The 37th New York Cabaret Convention Jazz AT Lincoln Center's Rose Theater (10/13-10/15) |
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The Humoral Funeral Parlor on the Corner of the Street The Green Room 42 (10/20-10/20) |
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Carroll County: Bright Lights Edition! 54 Below (10/18-10/18) |
