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

Despite appreciation for the dancing, neither show proved a commercial or critical success — and Maurice Hines was forced to do much of his best work off Broadway and on tour.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 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

She began working off Broadway, playing multidimensional roles — in shows like “Crooked,” “Stunning,” “That Face” — that made the most of her big-eyed girlish exterior and the dark heart beating beneath.

From New York Times • Mar. 26, 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