Overview
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Theatre Development Fund opened the online lottery on Thursday, Aug. 13 and set the entry window to close on Aug. 17 at 10:00 a.m., with winners to be drawn on Sept. 1.
- Any New York City student entering grades 9 through 12 is eligible to enter the lottery for a chance to win up to two free tickets per student.
- A total of 2,100 tickets are available across seven participating productions, including In the Heights, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Great Gatsby, and others.
- Students apply online at the city site, may rank three show choices or let the system pick, and every entrant is automatically given a free two-month digital TDF membership.
- City officials say the program builds on broader affordability and youth outreach efforts by lowering one-time cost barriers and steering teens toward ongoing discounted access to theater and more than 20 cultural institutions.