The Broadway calendar has a rhythm that nobody explains to you. Summer empties out — five shows close this month alone — and then, starting mid-August, the new season quietly begins loading in. First previews stack up through the fall like planes on a runway.
This matters for exactly one practical reason: lotteries launch at first preview. Not at opening night, not when the reviews land. The day a show starts performances is usually the day its digital lottery goes live, and for about two weeks nobody knows it exists yet.
That two-week window is the single best arbitrage on the whole board. So here’s every Broadway show starting previews between now and Halloween, plus the Off-Broadway openings worth the same treatment.
Broadway: August
Paranormal Activity — August Wilson Theatre, first preview August 14
The horror franchise, on stage, in a Broadway house. That is either the best or worst sentence you’ll read today and I genuinely don’t know which. What I do know is that a brand-new title with no Tony history and an untested audience is exactly the profile that produces a soft opening lottery. Watch Broadway Direct and TodayTix from the 14th.
Broadway: September
School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play — Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, first preview September 8
Jocelyn Bioh’s play had a long Off-Broadway life before this, and it’s arriving at a Manhattan Theatre Club house. MTC shows tend toward rush and membership programs rather than splashy lotteries, so check the rush board as much as the lottery one.
The Imaginary Invalid — Todd Haimes Theatre, first preview September 25
Molière at a Roundabout house. Roundabout means HipTix — $30 tickets if you’re 18 to 40, $10 if you’re a high schooler, free to join. That program is not a lottery and it is dramatically easier to use than one, and it’s the thing most people in that age range never sign up for.
Other Desert Cities — Hudson Theatre, first preview September 29
Jon Robin Baitz’s play returning to Broadway, taking the Hudson after Every Brilliant Thing closes there on August 9. Straight plays at the Hudson have historically run lotteries. Worth watching.
Broadway: October
- 860 — Imperial Theatre, first preview October 1.
- A Few Good Men — Vivian Beaumont Theater, first preview October 8. This is the Lincoln Center house Ragtime vacates on August 16. Lincoln Center means LincTix, their under-35 program — $35-ish seats, no lottery, just a sign-up. If you’re eligible, do it now rather than in October.
- Wanted — James Earl Jones Theatre, first preview October 15.
- The Fantasticks — Hayes Theater, first preview October 22. The longest-running musical in world history, finally on Broadway proper.
- Much Ado About Nothing — Winter Garden Theatre, first preview October 31. Taking the house Salesman leaves on August 9.
Past that, November and December bring Inter Alia (Music Box, Nov 10), Galileo (Shubert, Nov 10), DOLLY: A True Original Musical (St. James, Dec 7, into the house Titanique leaves in September), and Awake and Sing! (Friedman, Dec 15).
Off-Broadway, where the real odds are
Everything above will be fought over. The Off-Broadway fall slate will not be, and several of these are considerably more interesting:
- Imitation of Life — The Shed, September 9.
- The Cherry Orchard — Park Avenue Armory, September 14. Short run, closes September 26.
- Kramer/Fauci — St. Ann’s Warehouse, September 27. Brooklyn, and worth the trip.
- Slam Frank — Orpheum Theatre, October 4.
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — The Public Theater, October 8. The Public runs its own discount programs; get on their list.
- 2:22 – A Ghost Story — Lucille Lortel Theatre, October 20.
- In the Heights — New York City Center, October 28. A City Center run, which means it’s short and it will move fast.
- Ms. Blakk for President — Vineyard Theatre, October 15. Waiting for Lefty — Classic Stage, October 15. The Heart — Laura Pels, October 8 (Roundabout, so HipTix applies).
- Spring Awakening — Studio Seaview, November 27, if you’re planning further out.
How to actually play a first preview
Three habits, and they’re not complicated.
Set a reminder for the day before first preview, not the day of. Lotteries frequently go live 24 to 48 hours ahead of the first performance. If you check on the day, you’ve already missed the first draw.
Check all four platforms, because you can’t predict which one. Broadway Direct, Telecharge, Lucky Seat, and TodayTix each carry different shows, and the assignment has more to do with the producer’s existing relationships than anything you could reason out. The platform guide covers who runs what.
If you’re under 35, the membership programs beat every lottery. HipTix at Roundabout, LincTix at Lincoln Center. They’re not a draw — you just buy the ticket. Two of the shows above are at those houses. Signing up takes five minutes and it works for years.
One honest caveat: producers announce lottery and rush programs close to first preview, sometimes days before. Anything I said above about which program a specific show will run is a read on the house and the producer, not a confirmed announcement. The dates are firm; the programs firm up later.
The lottery hub updates as new shows come online, which is the least painful way to catch a launch. And if you’re new to this, how to win every Broadway lottery is the place to start.
Summer’s ending. Good. The fall board is where the winnable stuff lives.
Keep reading
- The Fall Previews Lottery Watch: Which New Broadway Shows Actually Have a Lottery
- Broadway's Fall Opening Nights, and the Cheap Door for Each
- The Big Rooms That Aren't Broadway: Fall Cheap Seats at the Armory, BAM, St. Ann's and City Center
- Titanique's Final Nine Days: Three Doors Under $50 and the Friday Morning That Decides It
