off Broadway

American  

Or Off Broadway

noun

1. 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 British  

adjective

1. designating the kind of experimental, low-budget, or noncommercial productions associated with theatre outside the Broadway area in New York

2. (of theatres) not located on Broadway

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off-Broadway Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for part of the theatrical community of New York City that presents small-scale, often experimental dramas. The costs of off-Broadway productions are generally much lower than those of Broadway (see also Broadway) plays.

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Other Word Forms

• off-Broadway adjective

Etymology

Origin of off Broadway

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55

Example Sentences

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 worked at a local dinner theater and saved money to pay her way to New York, where she spent more than a decade performing on and off Broadway.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2024

He also appeared on and off Broadway in “Look Back in Anger and the revival of Lanford Wilson’s “Burn This.”

From Seattle Times • May 23, 2023

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

He suggested to Quirin and Heinck to check in to the nearby Hotel Chesterfield, just off Broadway on Forty-Ninth Street.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• arena
• scene
• set
• spotlight
• theater