We’re thrilled to announce the nominees for the 15th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off Broadway during the 2025-2026 season.

Awards will be presented in five competitive categories: Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival, Best Solo Performance, and Best Unique Theatrical Experience.

In addition to the competitive awards, Legend of Off-Broadway Awards will be presented to Peter Friedman and Christine Pedi for their extraordinary contributions over many years. David Gersten, Andy Halliday, and Paul Libin will be posthumously inducted into the Off Broadway Hall of Fame. The Friend of Off-Broadway Award will be presented to  Richard Ridge for his longstanding support and advocacy of the Off Broadway community.

The 2026 Off Broadway Alliance Awards nominations & honorees are:

BEST MUSICAL
Beau
Bigfoot
Mexodus
Night Side Songs
The Porch on Windy Hill

BEST PLAY
Cold War Choir Practice
The Honey Trap
Kyoto
The Reservoir
This Much I Know

BEST REVIVAL
The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The Baker’s Wife
Gruesome Playground Injuries
Titus Andronicus
You Got Older

BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE
Can I Be Frank?
Kenrex
The Least Problematic Woman in the World
Other
ta-da!

BEST UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
11 To Midnight
Amaze
Burnout Paradise
Gotta Dance
Masquerade

Nominators for the 2026 OBA Awards will cast their final votes on Sunday, May 24th, the day before Memorial Day, with official winners slated to be publicly announced on Wednesday, May 27th. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 16th at 1PM at Sardi’s, bringing together members of the Off Broadway community for an afternoon celebration recognizing excellence across New York’s vibrant independent theater landscape.

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and honorees!

Or: How To Get Butts In Seats

Our three-part series of seminars exploring the topic “How to Produce Your Off Broadway Show” will conclude on Sunday, June 1st – our first two installments covered “Artistic and Financial Planning,” and “Finding a Venue and Assembling a Creative Team,” and the subject of our final installment is “Marketing and Promotion.”

This session will focus on developing and executing an effective marketing strategy to maximize audience reach and ticket sales. The seminar will include a panel discussion with established marketing, promotion, and publicity professionals followed by a question-and-answer period and a post-seminar networking hour with coffee and bagels.

Tickets are $5 and must be reserved in advance. Register at https://obaseminar3.eventbrite.com.

The Sunday Seminar panelists include:

Hugh Hysell, an innovator in theater marketing who has represented over 200 Broadway and Off Broadway productions.

Victoria “Vic” Cairl, founder and CEO of Table 7 Strategy- a Marketing and Sales Strategy firm for theater and live events. Table 7 provides marketing services and strategic planning for Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, All the Beauty in the World, Don Giovanni: A Rock Opera and My Son’s a Queer. Vic held senior positions at Disney Theatrical Group and Lincoln Center, and is the Marketing Director for BOOP! The Musical.

Joe Trentacosta of JT Public Relations has provided public relations services for hundreds of Broadway and Off Broadway productions, including Kowalski, Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now, The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers, Anthony Rapp’s Without You, and Tennessee Williams’s Night of the Iguana (starring Tim Daly, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Lea DeLaria).

Jeffrey Schmelkin is the founder of JES Theatrical Marketing, which is focused on providing targeted marketing services for Off Broadway productions. Jeffrey is the in-house marketing director of the Theater Center, and a consultant specializing in strategic campaign development for Off Broadway productions.

The panel discussion will include insights and information on the following topics:

•    Branding & Messaging: Define unique selling points, craft a compelling pitch, and create a strong visual identity.
•    Website & Digital Presence: Build a user-friendly website with key show details, media, ticketing links, and SEO optimization.
•    Social Media Strategy: Utilize platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook with engaging content, countdowns, and influencer collaborations.
•    Advertising & Paid Promotions: Leverage social media ads, Google search marketing, and partnerships with local businesses.
•    Community Engagement & Word-of-Mouth: Use email marketing, street teams, audience participation incentives, and local outreach.
•    Tracking & Analytics: Monitor website traffic, ad performance, and ticket sales to optimize marketing strategies.
•    Engaging journalists, bloggers, and theater critics for potential press coverage.
•    Hosting press previews or inviting reviewers to opening night.
•    Partnering with ticketing platforms to streamline sales.
•    Keeping the audience engaged with behind-the-scenes content, updates, and special announcements.

We look forward to seeing you at the final installment of our 2025 Sunday Seminar series!