Top theatre to see in New York in May

Discover new Broadway shows and Off-Broadway shows to check out across New York City in May 2024, including star-studded plays, original musicals, and more.

May is the height of the theatre awards season — now that all this season's Broadway shows have opened ahead of the June 16 Tony Awards ceremony, it's campaign time, so keep an eye out for articles, subway ads, posters, and more featuring the hopeful honorees when you're online or walking around the city. But even though there are only a few new Broadway musicals and plays this month, that doesn't mean there's any lack of theatre to see.

You can still catch performances of Broadway shows that opened in April, or be the first to see the earliest premieres in the 2024-25 season. There are also plenty of Off-Broadway shows opening anew, so why not check some of those out and go to a theatre you might not otherwise visit? Here are our picks for Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre to see in May, and visit the links below to discover even more hot shows playing now.

Discover and get tickets to Tony Award-nominated shows in 2024.

Get tickets to a New York show on New York Theatre Guide.

Hell's Kitchen

The most Tony Award-nominated musical of the season with 13 nods, Hell's Kitchen is the original musical co-created by 16-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys. The show is a coming-of-age story about 17-year-old Ali, loosely inspired by Keys, that's set to a score of her hit songs. Hell's Kitchen is up for Best Musical and performance awards for Maleah Joi Moon (as Ali), Shoshana Bean, Kecia Lewis, and Brandon Victor Dixon. That's the stuff dreams are made of!

Get Hell's Kitchen tickets now.

Stereophonic

With 13 nominations, Stereophonic is not only the most Tony Award-nominated play of the season, but the most Tony-nominated play in history. Set in a '70s recording studio, David Adjmi's play tells the story of a troubled band making what might become their breakout album. The play, whose nods include Best Play and Best Original Score, features original rock music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler.

Get Stereophonic tickets now.

Home

This Tony Award-nominated play from 1979 is being revived on Broadway for the first time. Written by Samm-Art Williams and directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon, Home follows Cephus Miles, whose high school sweetheart goes to college and marries someone else. This heartbreak sends Cephus on a coming-of-age journey across the country to find a new place or person to call home.

Get Home tickets now.

Ben Platt Live at the Palace

This three-week concert residency from Ben Platt will reopen the Palace Theatre on Broadway, which has been closed for renovations for five years. The Tony Award-winning actor and musician (Dear Evan Hansen, Parade) will sing Broadway tunes and debut his new album, Honeymind.

Get Ben Platt: Live at the Palace tickets now.

The Lonely Few

Rock out at this new Off-Broadway musical starring Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Patten, and Damon Daunno. The Lonely Few tells the story of Lila, whose small-town band gets a chance to tour with established musician Amy. On the road, Lila and Amy fall for each other — but can their romance last when it's time to go home?

Get The Lonely Few tickets now.

Three Houses

Dave Malloy, the creator of the Tony Award-winning musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, premieres his latest show off Broadway. Three Houses is a musical about three people — one each in New Mexico, Ireland, and Latvia — dealing with isolation and haunting memories during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Get Three Houses tickets now.

What Became of Us

This world-premiere play tells the story of two siblings, each born in a different country, trying to figure out how to stay connected to both places and to each other.

Two different, equally starry casts will appear in the play: Rosalind Chao (3 Body Problem) and Tony Award winner BD Wong (M. Butterfly) from May 17 to June 15, and Emmy Award winner Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam, House of Sand and Fog) and Emmy and Tony winner Tony Shalhoub (Monk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) from June 10-29.

Check back for information on What Became of Us tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

The Welkin

Sandra Oh stars in this new play about truth, trust, and housework. In 1759 England, a woman on death row announces her pregnancy, and 12 local, ordinary women are called together to determine whether she's telling the truth — which will determine her fate.

Check back for information on The Welkin tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Eden Espinosa in Lempicka on Broadway. (Photo by by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)