New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Theatre Development Fund announced August 13 that over 2,000 free and low-cost tickets to Broadway shows will be made available to NYC high school students. See a video of the announcement above.
High school students can now enter a lottery (open through 10 AM ET August 17), to receive free tickets to six Broadway shows and In the Heights (at New York City Center). The Broadway shows participating are Buena Vista Social Club; School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; The Lost Boys; The Great Gatsby; and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York). High school students can enter the lottery by visiting On.NYC.gov. Winners will be announced September 1.
Mamdani made the announcement onstage at New York City Center, in an event that also included a performance of “New York” from Two Strangers, sung by Tony nominee Sam Tutty and a chorus of young New Yorkers.
“It is a privilege to be here as the first mayor to have ever played Curly in an eighth-grade production of Oklahoma on the Upper West Side,” said Mamdani at the event with a wide smile, before adding with more seriousness: “There are so many kids growing up in our city for whom Broadway feels as if it is a world away, like something that only belongs to other people. We are together today to prove differently, to make it possible for kids from Sheepshead Bay to Morrisania (no matter how much money their parents make) to enter that different world, to experience that magical moment when the lights go down, the curtain goes up, and they’re transported on the journey of a lifetime—one they will carry with them for decades to come. From the plays of ancient Greece to the public gardens of Mughal India to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, history teaches us that the best art has always been made accessible to working people.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sam Tutty
(Heather Gershonowitz)
Every student who enters the lottery will automatically receive a free, two-month TDF membership, giving access to discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway shows, as well as music, museums, and dance. Discounted tickets typically range from $20 to $40. Students can claim their free TDF Membership and download their digital membership cards even after the lottery has ended; free two-month TDF memberships will remain available through September 13, also at On.NYC.gov.
Any New York City student in grades 9-12 is eligible for the free, two-month TDF membership and the Broadway ticket giveaway. TDF runs the TKTS discount booth for theatre tickets, located in Times Square and at Lincoln Center.
The free tickets for this initiative were donated by the shows themselves.
“Driven by a core belief that experiencing art leads to healthier individuals and stronger communities, TDF has distributed close to 70 million free and deeply discounted tickets to New Yorkers and visitors to our city,” said TDF Executive Director Deeksha Gaur at the announcement event. “There has never been a more important time to make sure young people get access to the arts, which is their birthright as New Yorkers, and we are honored that this administration has made their joy a citywide priority.”
Earlier this year, Mamdani launched Summer in N.Y.C., an interactive website connecting young New Yorkers with affordable summer activities across the five boroughs. The Mamdani administration has also delivered a record $323 million in funding for the Department of Cultural Affairs—which then distributes the funding to arts organizations around the city. The Mayor also established the Cultural Stability Fund to support cultural organizations facing unexpected or emergency circumstances.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Deeksha Gaur, Rafael Espinal, Diya Vij, Nantasha Williams,Julie Su, and Kamar Samuels with NYC high school students, and members of Buena Vista Social Club, School Girls Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Lost Boys; The Great Gatsby, and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
(Heather Gershonowitz)
At the press conference after the announcement, Mamdani said this TDF initiative was “one example of what is going to be a term-long commitment to the arts, to culture, and to ensuring that every New Yorker sees themselves in arts and culture.”
Mamdani was also asked what his favorite musical was. His answer: In the Heights (which will receive an upcoming production at New York City Center, with its own affordable ticket initiative) and Fela! “Broadway is something that you typically think of as a portal to another world, and yet when I went to go see In the Heights, it was a world that I knew. But to see it on stage, to see it with the depth, the fluency, the talent, the art—it was incredible. I still sometimes wake up singing ‘96,000,’ and I want that experience for every New Yorker. I want them to be able to see a world they didn’t know, and sometimes to be able to see themselves as well. I remember also watching Fela!, the musical. That was that was an amazing experience, to see an African icon and his life on stage right here in Midtown.”
As part of the initiative, a TDF Membership will give New York City high school students the opportunity to visit some of New York City’s most iconic cultural institutions for free or at discounted rates; students just need to show their TDF Membership card. Participating organizations include American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Hall, Flushing Town Hall, Historic Richmond Town, Jamaica Center for the Arts and Learning, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Louis Armstrong House Museum, MoMA PS1, Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City Ballet, New York City Center, New York Hall of Science, New York Botanical Garden, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Queens Botanical Garden, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island Museum, The Bronx Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival, Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
