Article
Off-Off-Broadway Theatre In New York
by Alan J. Miller on 9.4.10
In my initial article in this three-part series on Retirement in New York – A Theatre-Lover's Dream (July 12, 2010), I discussed a variety of strategies that frugal theatregoers might employ to snag seats to Broadway shows at prices that wouldn't bankrupt them. Those strategies ranged from determining what you want to see (when it comes to the price of tickets, not all Broadway shows are created equal), when you want to see it (evening or matinee, weekend or weekday), where you want to sit (premium, orchestra, mezzanine or balcony seats) and, most importantly, how and where you purchase your tickets (at the box office, through Telecharge or Ticketmaster, through a ticket broker, at one of the TKTS Booths, or through a discount ticket website). I also touched on the additional benefits you'd derive by availing yourself of discount codes, Rush tickets and Standing Room Only tickets.
In my second article in this series (Off-Broadway Theatre in New York, July 30, 2010), I expanded on the suggestions I made in my first column to encompass the opportunities available to purchase off-Broadway tickets (which generally are cheaper than Broadway tickets to begin with) at even more reasonable prices. Many of the same rules that applied to Broadway shows applied here as well - avoid ticket brokers; compare prices by seat locations and performance times; check out the TKTS Booths, the TDF website, discount codes; et al. – but a few other ideas were presented as well, such as scoring discount prices by joining one or another of the subscription theatre clubs.
Which brings us now to off-off-Broadway, the third broad venue in the New York theatrical scene and the one which, to my mind, is not only the biggest bargain but is also the most exciting of them all.
You may recall that, technically speaking, the difference between Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway relates solely to the sizes of their respective audiences: Broadway theatres accommodate upwards of 500 patrons; off-Broadway theatres usually hold between 99 and 499; and off-off-Broadway hold fewer than 99. But while that is true as far as it goes, it really doesn't go far enough.
The larger truth is that off-off-Broadway theatres differ in a number of other important ways as well, including: (1) their number and location, (2) the wide variety of shows staged, (3) the average duration of those shows' runs, (4) the minimalism of their sets and costumes, (5) their general lack of marquee names, (6) the advance publicity accorded those productions, (7) their willingness to take chances and "push the envelope," and, surely as important as anything else, (8) the bargain price of their tickets.
(1) The Number and Locations of Off-Off-Broadway Theatres
To build (or even rent) a large theatre in New York, especially in a prime location such as the Times Square area, can be inordinately expensive. But smaller, more out of the way spaces, can be found for a much cheaper - in church basements and lofts, in Hell's Kitchen (just west of the Theatre District), on the Lower East Side, or in Brooklyn or Queens. As a result, you'll find hundreds of off-off-Broadway theatres throughout the city.
(2) The Wide Variety of Off-Off-Broadway Shows Staged
Since there are so many off-off-Broadway theatres and since their fixed operating costs are so much lower than those of larger houses, it should come as no surprise that these theatres are able to appeal to niche audiences and are not forced to produce only those splashy extravaganzas that they hope will appeal to the largest possible audiences. This means that if you're into classical theatre, you don't have to wait around and hope that some Broadway theatre will launch a production by Brecht or Chekhov.
If you're instead seeking an evening's entertainment – a magic show, say, or a cabaret – off-off-Broadway has plenty of that to offer too. Off-Off-Broadway does come as close as possible to having something for every theatrical taste.
(3) The Average Duration of Off-Off-Broadway Runs
Of course, there are downsides to everything and one of the downsides to these smaller shows is that the theatrical runs are generally short, sometimes lasting no more than a few days and seldom more than a few weeks, so if you miss seeing a show that would interest you shortly after it opens, there's a chance that you won't get to see it at all. But all that means is that you'll have to be especially diligent in ferreting out the shows that you think you might want to see (see 6 below).
(4) The Minimalism of Off-Off-Broadway Sets, Costumes and Special Effects
Another downside to off-off-Broadway shows can be that sets and costumes will be minimal and that these shows won't provide you with any flashy pyrotechnics. So don't expect to see any Miss Saigon helicopters landing on stage, nor any Phantom of the Opera crashing chandeliers. But what that also means is that the actors often are called upon to provide even finer performances than might otherwise have been the case, had they elaborate sets, costumes and special effects to fall back on for dramatic impact. And that, in turn, means that true theatre lovers may come away with an even more satisfying experience because of the lack of splashy sets, costumes and special effects after all.
(5) The General Lack of "Marquee Names" in Off-Off-Broadway Shows
You're also not going to find many star performers in off-off-Broadway shows – or at least not today's star performers. What you may find though, if you're lucky, are one or more actors who will become "marquee names" a decade hence and, if you do, you'll have the satisfaction of being able to say "I saw them when." I am reminded of an evening nearly a half century ago when my wife and I just happened to drop into The Bitter End in Greenwich Village and caught the acts of a number of unheralded performers - including Woody Allen doing standup comedy, and Peter, Paul and Mary in one of their early folk song performances. It was a night we won't forget and just that much more satisfying for our having "discovered" them.
(6) The Advance Publicity Accorded Off-Off-Broadway Productions
Given that these theatres accommodate fewer than 100 people, that the runs are relatively short, and that producers have limited funds to work with, it is no wonder that little money is spent on advance publicity. That means that many shows may come and go without your even having heard of them and it means that you'll have to make a special effort to find out what's around. For starters, you'll find a lot of off-off-Broadway shows reviewed on Theasy. And you'll find many others listed on the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) website, www.tdf.org.
(7) Off-Off-Broadway's Willingness to Take Chances and "Push the Envelope"
By its very nature, independent theatre doesn't have to "play it safe" and that is what makes it so exciting. Shows can experiment with men in women's roles and vice versa, with themes that might be too outlandish for commercial theatre, with multi-media productions, with audience participation and improvisation shows, and on and on. One example: In Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the company attempts to perform thirty original plays in one hour, an unconventional approach to storytelling.
(8) The Bargain Price of Off-Off-Broadway Tickets
You won't be able to buy tickets to off-off Broadway shows at the TKTS Booths and you generally won't find any discount codes for these productions either. Nor will you find Rush Tickets nor Standing Room Only tickets. But you won't have to. Even at the box office, the price of a ticket to an off-off-Broadway show is a fraction of what a ticket to a Broadway or off-Broadway production costs, seldom amounting to more than $18 and generally much less.
There are two things you should check out, though. First, the TDF Members site lists a large number of off-off Broadway shows, for which tickets can be purchased for just $9 apiece. And second, you might consider purchasing $9 TDF vouchers which can be used to purchase tickets to an even larger number of off-Broadway shows.
Good luck and enjoy the show!