The 5 Most Exciting Off-Broadway Shows of Spring 2025

Broadway isn’t the only place to see the best theater New York has to offer. Maybe consider going off your beaten path a little bit to check out some of these off-Broadway shows that are opening this winter and spring. Who knows, you might just discover your new favorite play.

1. My First Ex-Husband
Previews: January 29
Opens: February 6
MMAC Theater

The View cohost Joy Behar wrote and stars in this series of short comedies about women who find the courage to leave the wrong man and open the door on their futures. Alongside Behar, the to-die-for cast includes Curb Your Enthusiasm‘s Susie Essman, stage icon Tovah Feldshuh, and Orange Is the New Black‘s Adrienne C. Moore, who will perform through February 23. Then, a new company of stars takes over.

2. The Jonathan Larson Project
Previews: February 14
Opens: March 10
Orpheum Theatre

Originating as a cabaret show at 54 Below, The Jonathan Larson Project is based on years of research by historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper, and presents unheard music by the composer of Rent and Tick, Tick…Boom! Celebrating a talent gone too soon, you’ll hear tunes from Larson’s never-seen musicals Superbia and 1984, cut tracks from his two hits, material written for revues by Naked Angels and the National Lampoon, and standalone pop songs.

3. Wine in the Wilderness
Previews: March 6
Opens: March 24
Classic Stage Company

Three-time Tony winner LaChanze starred on Broadway in Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind; now, she makes her New York directorial debut with Childress’s 1969 drama about an artist, his muse, and the perception of Black womanhood. Leading the company are Severance‘s Tramell Tillman and Olivia Washington, recent star of the West End premiere of Slave Play. This is your chance to see a play that almost never gets produced.

4. Sumo
Previews: February 20
Opens: March 5
Public Theater

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a play about sumo wrestlers. Presented by the Public Theater, with Ma-Yi Theater Company and La Jolla Playhouse, Ralph B. Peña directs Lisa Sanaye Dring’s drama about an ambitious teenager with dreams of fame and fortune, an accomplished fighter who wants more, and four other men attempting to climb the ladder in the elite world of sumo wrestling.

5. Ghosts
Previews: February 13
Opens: March 10
Lincoln Center Theater

Ibsen’s drama about a mother coming to terms with her son’s syphilis diagnosis — and his subsequent request for euthanasia — is given a new revival adapted by Mark O’Rowe and directed by Jack O’Brien. O’Brien populates his company with old pals like Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, and Billy Crudup, as well as his rising-star friends Levon Hawke (Ethan and Uma’s son) and Ella Beatty (Annette and Warren’s daughter).