Friday 5: Favorite Off-Broadway Theaters - The Stand Alones

Favorite Off-Broadway Theaters

(The Stand Alones)

We spend most of our New York theater budget on Broadway, but that doesn't mean we don't love off-Broadway, too! We've seen some great shows in some of the coolest, quirkiest spaces, as well as some smaller but traditional spaces, too. Here are but 5 of our favorites that stand alone on the TheatreScene:

The Lucille Lortel Theatre

This historic venue has been producing a wide range of plays and musicals since the 1950s. Any and every up and coming playwright has has work produced here, many by the theater's namesake. Today, the late Ms. Lortel's legacy continues with the annual awards named for her that honor the best of off-Broadway each season. I like the intimate seating here and the terrific sound overall. A couple of years ago, the venue played host to a little play called Oh, Mary! by a fresh upstart named Cole Escola. I personally have enjoyed several productions there, including Alice Ripley, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Gideon Glick in Wild Animals You Should Know, Jonathan Groff and Eddie Kaye Thomas in The Submission, and Carrie with Marin Mazzie, Molly Ranson and Carmen Cusak. I'm especially fond of the old-school marquee, which just adds to its downtown charm.

The New Victory Theatre

For years, this next door neighbor to Broadway's Lyric Theatre on 42nd Street, was shrouded under scaffolding and tarps, but it was worth the wait. This charming little theater is grand in all the very best ways. Ornate and tall, the levels of seating with boxes rival that of many an uptown theater. We've only been inside once, to see a holiday favorite, the stage version of Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, starring Colin Trudell (The Lost Boys). Granted we saw it during the return from the pandemic with empty seats surrounding us, but it was extremely comfortable, the sound and the view was terrific. I kept think this is the perfect place to introduce live theater to younger children, and ideal for teaching appropriate theater etiquette in formal, if kids-sized, setting.

Stage 42/The Little Shubert Theatre

Here's another Theatre that I've only been to once (so far), but it made a big impression. When we saw Lucky Guy: The Musical starring Kyle Dean Massey, Leslie Jordan and Varla Jean Merman, I was struck by how polished this place was - a mini Broadway house, really - with a beautiful lobby and a comfortably cozy/remarkably spacious seating area. Then it was called The Little Shubert Theatre, but now goes by Stage 42, and anchors Theatre Row.

New World Stages

This multi-stage venue is the off-Broadway spot I've been to the most over the years, and in that time I've been in each of the 5 spaces at least once. I love everything about this space. Each theater, though each slightly different, offers great seating, with good views just about everywhere in the house and plenty of leg room. But, and especially, when there are shows at every stage happening concurrently I really appreciate the spacious common area in all its industrial minimalist splendor. There is room for everyone and the staff keeps things moving and organized. Among the shows I've enjoyed there include the off-Broadway run of Avenue Q, Puffs, Mimi Le Duck, Rent, Bare, Evil Dead:The Musical, and both the original and current revival of Heathers. Talk about variety!

Westside Theatre

Here is another charming and storied theater. Built in the late 19th century as a German Baptist Church, then later repurposed as a night club, the venue as we know it today became a two theater space in the early 1970s. I've only been in the upstairs (larger theater) and it is a great space, with terrific views and leg room galore. There we saw the current long-running Little Shop of Horrors just prior to the shut down with Jonathan Groff, Christian Borle, and a young actress named Joy Woods as one of the urchins. I loved the unique lobby space and quirky, original stairwells in and out of the place.

In a couple of weeks, we will be sharing a Friday 5 Favorite Off-Broadway Institutional Theaters.