New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a 2,000-Broadway-ticket lottery for the city’s high schoolers on Thursday morning. The program is in partnership with the Theatre Development Fund (TDF). It is part of the Mamdani administration’s goal to connect young New Yorkers with easily accessible programming around the city.
Seven Broadway shows will be available for the free tickets, including 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, and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
“…We want every high school student to have the opportunity to explore this city, experience incredible art and discover something that stays with them long after the curtain falls,” said Mayor Mamdani.
This lottery will accept any student within the city between grades 9 and 12. Those who are selected are eligible to claim two Broadway tickets. Even if students don’t win the tickets, every student who enters the lottery automatically receives a free two-month TDF membership that provides discounted tickets to Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway shows, music, museums, and dance events, between $20 and $40.
Some of these participating organizations include the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, MoMA PS1, the New York Botanical Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Ballet, and the Public Theater, and much more.
The lottery is set to go through August 17 at 10 AM EST, through the city’s Broadway lottery website. Even after the lottery ends, students can claim the free 2-month TDF Membership through September 13.
