NYC Students Can Enter Lottery For Free Broadway Tickets

NEW YORK, NY— New York City high school students can enter a lottery for free tickets to seven Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, with the chance to claim up to two tickets if selected.

The lottery, announced Thursday by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Theatre Development Fund, remains open until 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17.

Students in grades 9 through 12 can enter here.

The participating productions are:

• Buena Vista Social Club
• In the Heights at New York City Center
• School Girls Or, The African Mean Girls Play
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• The Lost Boys
• The Great Gatsby
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

The program offers more than 2,000 free tickets as New York City students prepare to return to school.

What Do Students Get Even If They Don't Win?

Every student who enters the lottery also receives a free two-month TDF membership, regardless of whether they receive Broadway tickets.

The membership provides access to discounted tickets for Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions, as well as music, dance and museums. Discounted tickets typically cost $20 to $40.

Students can claim the membership and download their digital membership cards through Sept. 13 on this website, even after the Broadway lottery closes.

"In a city overflowing with extraordinary art and culture, every young person should have the opportunity to experience those moments, regardless of what’s in their bank account,” Mamdani said.

The Theatre Development Fund, a nonprofit organization founded in 1968, works to expand access to the performing arts by reducing financial, physical and other barriers.

“At TDF, we believe that theatre is the birthright of every New Yorker,” TDF Executive Director Deeksha Gaur said.

TDF also provides open-captioned, audio-described and ASL-interpreted performances, Autism Friendly Performances, a Veterans Theatregoing Program and school programs serving more than 11,000 New York City public school students each year.

Which Museums And Cultural Institutions Are Included?

Students can use their membership cards to receive free or deeply discounted admission at participating cultural institutions throughout the City, including:

• American Museum of Natural History
• Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• Brooklyn Museum
• Carnegie Hall
• Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
• MoMA PS1
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• New York City Ballet
• New York City Center
• New York Hall of Science
• New York Botanical Garden
• The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival
• Queens Botanical Garden
• Staten Island Museum
• The Bronx Museum
• Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center
• Wildlife Conservation Society

The full list also includes Flushing Town Hall, Historic Richmond Town, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Louis Armstrong House Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and Snug Harbor Cultural Center, among others.

The initiative builds on the Mamdani administration's broader effort to connect young New Yorkers with free and low-cost summer programs.

Earlier this year, the administration launched “Summer in N.Y.C.,” an online resource that connects young people with activities across the five boroughs, including sports, classes and extracurricular programs.

The City also announced a record $323 million investment in the Department of Cultural Affairs and established the Cultural Stability Fund for cultural organizations facing unexpected or emergency circumstances.