free (and almost free) theater

Before you pay to see a theater performance in New York City, take a look at what's offered for free or at a very low price.

All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Click on an event to see more details.

Thu, Jul 29 5:00PM	Theater $10 suggested donation	Family Theater Workshop New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Jul 29 6:30PM	Theater free	Euripides’ Medea: Revenge of the Barbarian New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Jul 29 7:30PM	Staged Reading Free; call for info on tickets required	Charity Henson-Ballard's Pete the Girl: Gender-Bending Comedy New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Jul 29 8:00PM	Theater Free tickets distributed the day of the show starting at 1pm	Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, Directed by Daniel Sullivan New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Jul 29 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Jul 29 8:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 7:30PM	Staged Reading Free; call for info on tickets required	Monet Hurst-Mendoza's Veil'd: Behind the Burqa New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 8:00PM	Theater Free tickets distributed the day of the show starting at 1pm	Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale: Unhinged by Jealousy New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 8:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Jul 30 8:00PM to 9:30PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $30	Hilarious, Shocking, Illuminating Off-Broadway show New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 2:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 5:00PM	Theater $10 suggested donation	Family Theater Workshop New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 6:00PM to 7:10PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $30	Magic & Comedy for those over 21! New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 6:30PM	Theater free	Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac: That Famous Schnozz New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 6:30PM	Theater free	Theatre 4the People's A Grimm Reality New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 7:30PM	Staged Reading Free; call for info on required tickets	Sevan Greene's Say Something: When You Pretend to Be a Terrorist New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 8:00PM	Theater Free tickets distributed the day of the show starting at 1pm	Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale: Unhinged by Jealousy New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 8:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Jul 31 8:00PM to 9:30PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $30	Hilarious, Shocking, Illuminating Off-Broadway show New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 2:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 5:00PM	Theater $10 suggested donation	Family Theater Workshop New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 5:00PM	Theater Members $0 Regular $65	Off-Broadway: A unique blend of music, comedy, dance, theater, and juggling New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 6:30PM	Theater free	Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac: That Famous Schnozz New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 1 8:00PM	Theater Free tickets distributed the day of the show starting at 1pm	Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, Directed by Daniel Sullivan New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 2 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Shakespeare's Sprawling History Play Edward III New York City, NY; NYC
Wed, Aug 4 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Dorothy Laager Miller discusses her book New York City in the Great Depression: Sheltering the Homeless New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 5 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 5 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 5 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 6 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 6 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 6 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 7 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 7 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 7 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 8 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 8 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 9 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Lope de Vega's Spanish Golden Age Comedy Madness in Valencia New York City, NY; NYC
Tue, Aug 10 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Paranormal Mysteries: Out-of-This-World Detectives New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 12 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 12 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 12 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 13 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 13 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 13 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 14 2:00PM	Staged Reading free	Roundtable Readings: Joseph Hullett's The Pledge New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 14 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 14 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 14 8:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare in the Parking Lot: Julius Caesar New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 15 4:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Timeless Comedy New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 15 6:00PM	Staged Reading free	John McKinney's The Art of Maneuver New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 15 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 15 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 16 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Shakespeare's Comedy-Romance Pericles New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 19 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	David Grann discusses his book The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 19 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 19 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 20 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 20 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 21 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 21 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 22 6:00PM	Staged Reading free	Play Reading: Post Mortem New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 22 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 22 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 23 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Carlo Goldoni's Commedia dell'Arte Play The Venetian Twins New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 23 8:00PM	Theater free	Toshiki Okada's Play Five Days in March: Self-Obsessed Japanese Hipsters New York City, NY; NYC
Tue, Aug 24 8:00PM	Theater free	Toshiki Okada's Play Five Days in March: Self-Obsessed Japanese Hipsters New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 26 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Thu, Aug 26 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 27 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Fri, Aug 27 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 28 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Aug 28 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 29 6:00PM	Staged Reading free	Linda Seagel Crawley's Ashes and a Dream New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 29 6:30PM	Theater free	Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: Dying for Love New York City, NY; NYC
Sun, Aug 29 7:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing: A Comedy of Two Couples New York City, NY; NYC
Mon, Aug 30 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Shakespeare's Romantic Comedy Twelfth Night New York City, NY; NYC
Tue, Aug 31 6:30PM	Staged Reading free	Humor Power: How to Get It, Give It and Prosper New York City, NY; NYC
Sat, Sep 4 4:00PM	Theater free	Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Timeless Comedy New York City, NY; NYC