Best Broadway shows in New York in October 2025

Check out our guide to must-see Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre in October 2025, a popular month for the openings of buzzy new Broadway plays and musicals.

Gillian Russo
Written byGillian Russo

Fall is underway and it's time to fall in love with some new theatre — or fall in love with your favorite shows all over again. Broadway's long-running favorites are still going strong, but they're joined by plenty of new Broadway plays and musicals, including world-premiere Off-Broadway shows and many offerings with starry casts.

Check out our list of theatre to see in October 2025 below. And don't forget — it's Halloween season, so be sure to check out our roundup of spooky, supernatural, and magical Halloween shows and events in New York to visit.

1.

Little Bear Ridge Road

2.

Beetlejuice

3.

Wicked

4.

Ragtime

5.

Liberation

6.

Death Becomes Her

7.

The Queen of Versailles

8.

Chess

9.

The Least Problematic Woman in the World

10.

Little Shop of Horrors

11.

Drunk Dracula

12.

André De Shields is Tartuffe

13.

Romy & Michele: The Musical

14.

Let's Love!

15.

Beau the Musical

16.

Oh Happy Day!

17.

Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)

18.

Oratorio for Living Things

19.

Other

20.

Not Ready for Prime Time

1.

Little Bear Ridge Road

Broadway
Play
Stars on stage
Drama

Emmy and Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf returns to the stage in Little Bear Ridge Road, the Broadway-debut family drama from The Whale playwright Samuel D. Hunter. Metcalf and Micah Stock) star as an estranged aunt and nephew who come together in the wake of a family death, attempting to overcome their loneliness, unravel their history, and forge a connection.

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Little Bear Ridge Road

2.

Beetlejuice

Broadway
Musical
Screen to stage

It's showtime — again! Someone must have said his name three times, because the Beetlejuice musical begins its third run in NYC just in time for Halloween. Adapted from the hit Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice sees a chaos-causing demon, a newly dead couple, and a goth teenager form an unlikely alliance to raise hell in a suburban home.

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Beetlejuice

3.

Wicked

Broadway
Musical
Award winner
Stage to screen
Family-friendly

Can't wait for the Wicked: For Good movie to drop in November? See the Broadway show that started it all. October 30 of every year is Wicked Day, commemmorating the day the musical first opened in 2003, so don your most magical outfit and plan a Halloween trip to see the popular musical about the witches of Oz.

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Wicked

4.

Ragtime

Broadway
Musical
Award winner

Now on Broadway after an acclaimed Off-Broadway concert production, Ragtime starring Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz proves just as urgent and moving as when it premiered in 1996. Following the connected stories of three families in 1900s New York, the musical paints an epic portrait of what it means to chase the American dream.

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Ragtime

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09:00

Breakfast at Liberty Bagels

Regularly named one of the city’s best bagel shops, the unassuming Liberty Bagels is the perfect spot to get a classic NYC breakfast sandwich.

10:00

Macy’s Herald Square

One of the world’s largest stores, Macy’s is a sight to behold, especially when it’s decked out for the holidays.

5.

Liberation

Winner of multiple Outstanding Play and Outstanding Ensemble prizes for its Off-Broadway premiere, Bess Wohl's Liberation comes to Broadway with the whole award-winning cast intact. The memory play jumps between the 1970s, when an unlikely group of women start a feminist group in suburban Ohio, and the modern day, when one member's daughter tries to figure out how the rebellious activist from years ago became the traditional mom she knew.

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Liberation

6.

Death Becomes Her

Broadway
Musical
Award winner
Screen to stage

Now a warning? The cult classic 1992 film Death Becomes Her is a Broadway musical to die for — and perfect for Halloween. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn popularized the roles of Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp, two frenemies who drink a magic potion to achieve eternal youth. Now, Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard step into the ladies' high heels opposite Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams as potion keeper Viola Van Horn and Christopher Sieber as Ernest Menville.

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Death Becomes Her

7.

The Queen of Versailles

Broadway
Musical
Screen to stage
Stars on stage

Tony Award-winning Broadway royalty Kristin Chenoweth is The Queen of Versailles on Broadway, playing beauty queen and socialite Jackie Siegel. The musical, featuring songs by Wicked's Stephen Schwartz and adapted from the same-named documentary, follows Jackie's quest to build America's largest single-family home — until the 2008 recession puts her expensive dreams in jeopardy.

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The Queen of Versailles

8.

Chess

Broadway
Musical
Stars on stage

Game on. Aaron Tveit, Nicholas Christopher, and Lea Michele) lead the first Broadway revival of the musical about American and Soviet grandmasters whose chess tournament is just as high-stakes as the battle over one woman who's a key player in their lives. The beloved score by Tim Rice and ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus remains, while Emmy winner Danny Strong (Dopesick) wrote a new book.

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Chess

9.

The Least Problematic Woman in the World

Off-Broadway
Play with music
Stars on stage

Dylan Mulvaney rose to fame for telling her story on social media. Now, the social media star, transgender activist, and longtime theatre kid is telling all live in The Least Problematic Woman in the World. Her solo show also features original songs by composers like Six's Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, KPop Demon Hunters's Mark Sonnenblick, The Notebook's Ingrid Michaelson, and The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical's Abigail Barlow.

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The Least Problematic Woman in the World

10.

Little Shop of Horrors

Off-Broadway
Musical
Classic
Award winner
Stars on stage

There's no better time than October to revisit this smash-hit horror comedy, now celebrating its fifth anniversary off Broadway! A cult classic for decades, Little Shop of Horrors follows a shy flower shop worker, Seymour, who makes a devilish deal with a talking plant in exchange for fame and fortune. Seymour's end of the deal? He has to provide the plant with fresh meat.

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Little Shop of Horrors
Halloween in New York
Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice

Palace Theatre
Wicked

Wicked

Gershwin Theatre
Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of Horrors

Westside Theatre
Drunk Dracula NYC

Drunk Dracula NYC

The Ruby Theatre
Masquerade

Masquerade

Lee’s Art Shop
Perfect Crime

Perfect Crime

The Theater Center
Speakeasy Magick

Speakeasy Magick

The Overlook Bar
AMAZE Magic

AMAZE Magic

New World Stages
Bat Boy: The Musical

Bat Boy: The Musical

New York City Center
Chamber Magic

Chamber Magic

Lotte New York Palace Hotel
Dreadful Episodes

Dreadful Episodes

59E59 Theaters Theater B
NT Live: Frankenstein (Encore)

NT Live: Frankenstein (Encore)

Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space

11.

Drunk Dracula

Off-Broadway
Play
Comedy
21+

Thirsty for some Halloween fun? The team behind Drunk Shakespeare returns with its seasonal presentation of Drunk Dracula, a boozy adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic. Dracula may be drinking blood, but you'll be drinking cocktails as you watch four sober actors and one drunk one sink their teeth into the play — and hilariously try to keep the drunk performer from going off the rails.

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Drunk Dracula

12.

André De Shields is Tartuffe

Off-Broadway
Play
Classic
Stars on stage

The title says it all. Tony Award-winning Broadway legend André De Shields (Hadestown, The Wiz: Cats: The Jellicle Ball) steps into the title role of Moliere’s classic play. The story of a clever con man who swindles a pious family into thinking he's holy is performed at the library in House of the Redeemer, an opulent and intimate Golden Age mansion.

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André De Shields is Tartuffe

13.

Romy & Michele: The Musical

Off-Broadway
Musical
Screen to stage

We'll take the businesswoman special! Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde) and Kara Lindsay (Newsies) star in the new musical adaptation of the cult classic film Romy & Michele's High School Reunion, stepping into the platform heels of two best friends who invent fake careers to impress their former classmates.

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Romy & Michele: The Musical

14.

Let's Love!

Off-Broadway
Play
Comedy
Drama
Stars on stage

Fresh off her onscreen collaboration with Oscar-winning director/writer Ethan Coen in the film Honey, Don't! Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Recreation, Agatha All Along) returns off Broadway in his one-act play trio about the messiness of love in all its forms.

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Let's Love!

15.

Beau the Musical

Off-Broadway
Musical

After an acclaimed world premiere, the heartwarming musical Beau the Musical returns for an encore engagement. Matt Rodin reprises his acclaimed performance as Ace Baker, a gay teen who discovers his supposedly dead grandfather Beau (Tony nominee Jeb Brown) is alive. The story of how their relationship grows is told concert-style, with eight performers acting as both the characters and the band.

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Beau the Musical

16.

Oh Happy Day!

Off-Broadway
Play with music

You've heard the Noah's Ark story, but never like this. Tony Award nominee Jordan E. Cooper (Ain't No Mo') wrote and stars in this play with music about a birthday BBQ where an estranged son returns, a flood is coming, and chaos ensues all around for the Johnson family. Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence contributes original songs.

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Oh Happy Day!

17.

Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)

Off-Broadway
Play

Described as "a poetic love letter to the inner child," Zoë Kim’s autobiographical solo show Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?) explores love — how it's given, learned, and reflected — and how her experience of it intertwines with belonging, healing, and her Korean American identity.

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Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)

18.

Oratorio for Living Things

Off-Broadway
Musical
Award winner

With soaring, symphonic choral music that blends blends blues, gospel, jazz, and soul, Heather Christian's Oratorio for Living Things explores what it means to be alive. After winning multiple awards for its first Off-Broadway run, the show returns for an encore engagement with much of the original company intact.

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Oratorio for Living Things

19.

Other

Off-Broadway
Play

Tony Award winner Ari'el Stachel (The Band's Visit) brings his raw and humorous solo show to NYC. He navigates his identity both off stage, as a man of mixed ethnicity, and on it, reflecting on his search for belonging in the characters he's played and performing through pain.

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Other

20.

Not Ready for Prime Time

Off-Broadway
Play

As Saturday Night Live continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary, look back on where it all began. The new play Not Ready for Prime Time goes behind the scenes of the first episode, showing the backstage conflicts and creative breakthroughs of nine comedy legends — Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Lorne Michaels, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner — unaware they're about to change TV history.

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Not Ready for Prime Time