Shows and Performances in New York City in August

Catch a show with your kids this August in New York City. Here's our list of free and low-cost theater and performances for kids and families in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

Manhattan

‘Pinkalicious, The Musical’
WHEN: Through Aug. 30, Saturday-Sunday, 1pm
WHERE: Vital Children’s Company, Bleecker Street Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village
AGES: 2-7
WHAT: The popular musical adaptation of Elizabeth and Victoria Kann’s children book.
WANT TO GO? $36.50-$46.50. 212-239-6200. vitaltheatre.org.


‘The Berenstain Bears LIVE!’
WHEN: Through Aug. 30, Saturday-Sunday, 11am
WHERE: Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 W. 60th St., Upper West Side
AGES: All
WHAT: Adapted from the children’s book series, this show is hugely popular with young kids.
WANT TO GO? $39.95-$49.95. 866-811-4111. berenstainbearslive.com.

SummerStage Kids: Edge School of the Arts
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 10:30-11:30am
WHERE: Seward Park, Canal Street, Essex Street, Jefferson Street, and East Broadway, Lower East Side
AGES: All
WHAT: A performance of traditional and classical Chinese dances by the talented ESOTA.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 212-360-2777. cityparksfoundation.org/arts/summerstage-kids.

SummerStage Kids: National Dance Institute
WHEN: Monday, Aug. 10, 10:30-11:30am
WHERE: Morningside Park, 120th Street and Morningside Avenue, Morningside Heights
AGES: All
WHAT: A performance by the talented public school kids who have received free dance training from NDI.
WANT TO GO? FREE. cityparksfoundation.org.

Hudson RiverKids’ Story Pirates 
WHEN: Monday, Aug. 10, 6:30pm
WHERE: Pier 25 in Hudson River Park, at North Moore Street, Tribeca
AGES: 4-10
WHAT: A night of family fun with crowd favorite, the Story Pirates. See why everyone loves their exciting brand of interactive, improvised kids’ theater.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 212-561-7462. hudsonriverpark.org.

106.7 LITE FM’S Broadway in Bryant Park
WHEN: Thursdays, Aug. 6 and 13, 12:30-1:30pm
WHERE: Bryant Park, Sixth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets, Midtown
AGES: All
WHAT: Hear songs from New York City’s most popular Broadway and off-Broadway shows, all totally free to watch while you eat your lunch in the park. Schedule subject to change.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 212-768-4242. bryantpark.org.

Joffrey Ballet School Jazz/Contemporary Intensive
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 14, 2pm and 7pm
WHERE: Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, Upper West Side
AGES: 7 and older
WHAT: A fast-paced, eclectic, music video-like spectacular with works created by award-winning choreographers.
WANT TO GO? $45. 212-864-5400. symphonyspace.org.


‘Penn and Teller on Broadway’
WHEN: Through Aug. 16, Monday and Wednesday-Friday, 8pm; Saturday-Sunday, 3pm and 8pm
WHERE: Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway, Times Square Theater District
AGES: 8 and older
WHAT: The evil geniuses are back on Broadway for the first time in almost 25 years. They bring astonishing tricks from their record-breaking Vegas act, along with their most outrageous classics. Famous for their shocking shows, Penn and Teller isn’t suitable for very young kids.
WANT TO GO? $47-$147. 877-250-2929. pennandtelleronbroadway.com.

SummerStage Kids: Ephrat Asherie Dance
WHEN: Monday, Aug. 17, 10:30-11:30am
WHERE: Morningside Park, 120th Street and Morningside Avenue, Morningside Heights
AGES: All
WHAT: A morning of breaking, hip-hop, and house dance from Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie and her crew MAWU.
WANT TO GO? FREE. cityparksfoundation.org.

Battery Dance Festival
WHEN: Aug. 15-20, 6:30-8:30pm; Aug. 21, 6-8:30pm
WHERE: Robert F. Wagner Park, 20 Wagner Place, Battery Park City
AGES: 7 and older
WHAT: New York’s longest-running public dance festival features dance companies from around the world with diverse dance backgrounds and styles.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 212-219-3910. batterydance.org.

Super Sprowtz Live!
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 23, 11am-3pm
WHERE: Children’s Museum of Manhattan, 212 W. 83rd St., Upper West Side
AGES: All
WHAT: Meet the Super Sprowtz and their Super Trainer Roger for a funfilled show as they share the powers hidden within every veggie and the importance of keeping a healthy body and mind.
WANT TO GO? Free with museum admission: $11; $7 seniors; free for children younger than 1. 212-721-1223. cmom.org.

Family Performance Festival
WHEN: Sundays, Aug. 2-30, 12-1:30pm
WHERE: Central Park - Great Hill, Central Park West and West 106th Street, Central Park
AGES: All
WHAT: Enjoy puppetry, music, and wildlife theater that is both entertaining and educational. Aug. 2: Nature in the City. Aug. 9: Butterfly Boogie. Aug. 16: Nature Songs and Stories. Aug. 23: The Case of the Missing Chipmunk. Aug. 30: Hook, Line, and Sinker. RSVP requested via website.
WANT TO GO? 646-208-4111. centralparknyc.org/fpf.

Brooklyn

‘Donkey Jote’
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 6pm
WHERE: Highland Park, Jamaica Avenue and Elton Street, Cypress Hills
AGES: All
WHAT: Patty Cake Theatre presents a re-telling of the classic tale of Don Quixote from the eyes of a donkey dreaming of becoming a noble knight.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 718-235-4100. nyc.gov/parks.

StoryFaces
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 8, 12-3pm
WHERE: Staten Island Zoo, 614 Broadway, Staten Island
AGES: All
WHAT: Audience volunteers are brought on stage and face-painted to illustrate the stories as he tells them, such as traditional folktales and original stories ranging from comic adventure to heroic and historic tales. Three 40-minute shows will be presented.
WANT TO GO? $8; $6 seniors; $5 for children 3-14; free for children younger than 3. 718-442-3101. statenislandzoo.org.

Brooklyn Summer Shakespeare-ience: ‘The Taming of the Shrew’
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 8, 3pm
WHERE: Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Heights
AGES: 9 and older
WHAT: The Brooklyn Summer Shakespeare-ience is a summer intensive designed to make Shakespeare accessible to inner-city youth in the borough of Brooklyn using the activities of reading, analyzing, and performing Shakespeare. It is both a literacy and performance arts program. At this performance, students of the program will perform The Taming of the Shrew.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 718-230-2100. bklynlibrary.org.

‘The Plantation’
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 15, 3pm
WHERE: Governors Island. Ferries leave from Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 and from 10 South Street Slip, Manhattan.
AGES: 9 and older
WHAT: A free site-specific staged reading of The Plantation, a new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, set during Reconstruction Virginia, 1870, and staged on Governors Island. Adapted and directed by Claire Beckman on the 150th anniversary of the end of The Civil War, and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement.
WANT TO GO? $35-$95; free for children younger than 12. 212-440-2200. govisland.com.

Shakespeare at Sunset: ‘Measure for Measure’
WHEN: Aug. 11, 12, 14, 15, and 16, 7pm
WHERE: Brooklyn Bridge Park - Pier 1, 334 Furman St., Brooklyn Heights
AGES: 9 and older
WHAT: Once a free and open society, Brooklyn Bridge Park is transformed into Vienna, a city bitterly divided between high morals and the greed of commerce. Disguised as a monk, the Duke wanders the land, prying into the daily lives of his subjects.
WANT TO GO? FREE. 718-683-5600. brooklynbridgepark.org.