off Broadway
noun
professional drama produced in New York City in small theaters often away from the Broadway area and characterized by experimental productions.
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off Broadway
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off-Broadway
off-Broadwayadjectivedesignating the kind of experimental, low-budget, or noncommercial productions associated with theatre outside the Broadway area in New York
off Broadway
American
Or
Off Broadway
noun
off-Broadway
British
adjective
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designating the kind of experimental, low-budget, or noncommercial productions associated with theatre outside the Broadway area in New York
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(of theatres) not located on Broadway
off-Broadway
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of off Broadway
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An hour later, Johnny and Beansie were at the Salvation Army storefront south of Canal off Broadway, volunteering to be street Santas, ringing bells, quarters clanking into their tin buckets.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
She agreed and the play was staged off Broadway in 2015.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 3, 2023
He’s doing a play off Broadway, “Two Jews, Talking.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2022
In the past week, more than a dozen productions on and off Broadway canceled performances because of covid outbreaks detected within their casts or crew or, in some cases, mere fears of covid-19 exposure.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2021
Moss stood next to his mother, jumping up and down, screaming at people as loud as he could, pointing them toward the group that was now pouring off Broadway.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Reviewing the off-Broadway production, our critic called it a “dark and bruisingly powerful play.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026
Here’s a guide to the current best of Broadway, off-Broadway and beyond, as covered by the Journal’s critics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
It has been 30 years since the show first opened off-Broadway in New York, but the actor says there are "certain songs that weirdly resonate now".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
She was the subject of an off-Broadway play and was honored by Rutgers University with the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
I’d seen it off-Broadway and loved it so much that I went to see it again when it hit the big stage.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
