The Ruby Theatre — NYC Venue Guide
A hidden library speakeasy in Midtown, currently home to Drunk Shakespeare and the Drunk Shakespeare Society. Not a conventional theater — an experience-first Off-Broadway room where the atmosphere is part of the evening.
The Ruby Theatre is not the kind of place that reads as a theater until you are already inside it. The room at 35 West 39th Street is built to resemble a hidden library — books covering the walls, a speakeasy aesthetic, cocktails available from your seat. The stage sits in the center. The audience surrounds it. The feeling of being there is closer to being admitted somewhere exclusive than taking your seat at a conventional performance venue.
That atmosphere is deliberate and is not separable from what the venue hosts. The Ruby Theatre has been home to the Drunk Shakespeare Society since the company moved there, and the space was designed — or thoroughly designed around — the idea of a 21+ adult comedy night that feels like a night out rather than a night at the theater. Knowing what kind of room this is matters before you book, because it shapes the experience as much as the production itself does.
What Kind of Venue Ruby Theatre Is
Off-Broadway as a designation covers an enormous range — from small black-box studio theaters to purpose-built commercial houses like New World Stages. The Ruby Theatre sits in its own category within that range: an experience-shaped venue designed around a specific kind of immersive adult entertainment, not a neutral room waiting for whatever production arrives.
The room is intimate. The in-the-round setup means no one is far from the stage, and the circular sightlines mean the performers can play to the entire audience simultaneously rather than projecting toward a single proscenium. The library setting — walls of books, dim lighting, speakeasy atmosphere — creates an environment that feels designed rather than assembled. You notice it when you walk in. The full-service bar, with cocktails delivered to your seat during the show, completes the idea: this is a space that treats the whole experience of being there as the product, not just the performance itself.
The Ruby Theatre works for adults who want a Midtown evening that has atmosphere and energy alongside the performance. It does not work for families, for under-21 visitors, or for anyone who wants the formal experience of a traditional theater house. That is not a criticism — it is the venue’s intended identity, and it is worth knowing in advance.
The venue has been the home of the Drunk Shakespeare Society since the company relocated there, and the relationship between space and show is close. The hidden-library concept, the speakeasy entry, the round stage — all of it was designed around a concept that needed that environment to deliver its full effect. What you feel when you walk in and when you sit down is part of what the evening is selling.
Seating at Ruby Theatre
The room is configured in the round, which changes the logic of seat selection compared to a conventional proscenium theater. There is no back of the room in the traditional sense — every tier faces the central stage, and the performers play to the entire circle rather than to a front-facing audience. What the tiers offer is primarily a difference in proximity and in how much you are inside the action versus watching it.
The closest seats to the stage. Performers work at this level and interact with Stage Side guests most directly. If you want to feel inside the show rather than watching it, this is the section. Also the most likely to involve direct audience participation during Drunk Shakespeare performances.
Slightly elevated above Stage Side with a complete view of the in-the-round setup. Strong position for seeing the full staging while still being close to the action. Works well for people who want genuine proximity without being the first target of audience interaction. The practical sweet spot for most groups.
The furthest back and most elevated tier. A bird’s-eye view of the circular stage layout — you see everything happening in the round from above. The most affordable seats in the house and still a genuinely strong vantage point. Good for groups who want the full picture at a lower price and a slightly lower likelihood of being pulled into the performance.
A throne seat. Two guests are crowned King or Queen and Squire for the evening, receive premium seating, crowns, cocktails, and champagne, and become named characters within the show. An effective choice for birthdays, anniversaries, and occasions where someone in the group deserves to be the focal point of the night. The most theatrical option in the room.
Stage Side is for people who want to be in it — the closest seats, the most likely to have performers engage with them directly, the most immersive experience in the room. Mezzanine balances proximity with a complete view of the circular staging. Balcony is the right choice if budget matters, if you prefer watching to participating, or if you want the full spatial picture of how the in-the-round format works. All three are genuinely strong options for different reasons — this is not a case where one tier is clearly better than the others.
The Royalty Experience is a separate calculation: it turns someone in your group into part of the show, which either sounds like the best possible night or gives them anxiety. Know your group before you book that one.
Logistics, Accessibility, and What to Know Before You Go
Drinks served from your seat throughout the show
The full-service bar offers beer, wine, craft cocktails, and light snacks, with table service available throughout the performance. You order from your seat — no need to get up during the show. This is a standard part of the Ruby Theatre experience, not an add-on, and is built into how the room is designed to feel.
Arrive early — late seating is not guaranteed
The official recommendation is to arrive 15 to 20 minutes before showtime. Late seating is at management’s discretion, is not guaranteed, and if granted, may place you in a different section than what you purchased. The in-the-round setup means late entry is more disruptive than at a conventional theater. Doors open approximately 30 minutes before each performance.
Service animals are welcome
Guide dogs and service animals are admitted and must remain within the seating area of the individual during the performance. Service animals may not be accommodated in all seat sections — contact the venue in advance if this affects your seating choice.
Accessibility questions
The venue is wheelchair accessible from the main entrance at 35 West 39th Street, with wheelchair seating locations and an accessible restroom available on request. For specific accessibility needs or seating arrangements, contact the venue directly at will@drunkshakespeare.com before your visit.
For getting to the venue from elsewhere in Manhattan, the getting to a show in Midtown guide covers subway routing and arrival timing for this part of 39th Street. For dinner before the show, Hell’s Kitchen is a short walk west, and the restaurants near Broadway guide covers the neighborhood options closest to this venue. If you are staying overnight, the hotels near Broadway guide has the most conveniently positioned Midtown options.
Current Productions at Ruby Theatre
The Ruby Theatre is the resident venue of the Drunk Shakespeare Society, the company behind New York’s long-running adult comedy series built around Shakespeare and alcohol. The Society has been performing in New York since 2014 and moved to the Ruby Theatre after earlier runs in other Midtown spaces. The venue’s identity is deeply tied to their work — the hidden library atmosphere, the in-the-round setup, and the adult-only policy all exist because the space was shaped around what these productions need.
The original production: five actors, one drunk, a rotating Shakespeare play each night. Running continuously since 2014 and a New York Times Critics’ Pick. The primary show at the Ruby Theatre and the one most people come specifically for. 21+ with photo ID. 90 minutes, no intermission.
A spin-off from the same company focused entirely on Romeo and Juliet — one actor gets five shots and attempts Romeo while the cast improvises around them. A limited-run companion to the flagship show, set in the same space with the same format and the same 21+ policy. Check the official site for current dates.
The venue’s programming is built entirely around the Drunk Shakespeare Society concept. It is not a multi-production Off-Broadway house in the way that New World Stages is. If you are visiting the Ruby Theatre, you are visiting it for this specific universe of shows — and the venue was designed to make that universe feel like a complete world rather than a production in a neutral room.
Ruby Theatre vs a Traditional Broadway House
The differences are significant enough that they are worth naming plainly, because visitors who arrive expecting one and find the other can be thrown off.
A Broadway house like the Al Hirschfeld or the Gershwin is a formal architecture built for scale — elaborate proscenium design, tiered seating for 1,000 or more, a physical grandeur that is part of what you pay for. The Ruby Theatre is the opposite of that in almost every dimension. It is small, close, informal in atmosphere, and built to make you feel like you are inside an experience rather than watching it from a respectful distance. Neither is better — they are genuinely different things, suited to different kinds of nights.
If you want Broadway scale, elaborate production design, and the experience of being in a century-old theatrical house, the Ruby Theatre is not the right choice and was not built to compete on that ground. If you want an adult night out where the room itself has character, the performers are close enough to single you out, and the cocktail arrives at your seat while chaos unfolds on stage — this is a much more specific and harder-to-replicate option than anything Broadway offers.
Frequently Asked Questions
At 35 West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY 10018. The nearest subway is the B, D, F, or M train to 42nd Street–Bryant Park, a short walk south. The venue is also accessible from multiple Times Square subway lines.
The venue currently hosts Drunk Shakespeare (the flagship open-ended production) and periodic limited engagements from the same company, including Drunk Romeo & Juliet. Verify the current performance schedule and which productions are running on the official site at drunkshakespeare.com before booking.
Yes. The Ruby Theatre is wheelchair accessible from the main entrance at 35 West 39th Street. Wheelchair seating locations and an accessible restroom are available. Contact the venue at will@drunkshakespeare.com in advance if you have specific accessibility requirements, as seating arrangements are best confirmed before the day of the show.
The room is configured in the round, with the stage at the center and three tiers of seating surrounding it: Stage Side (front row, closest to the action), Mezzanine (second row, slightly elevated), and Balcony (third row, highest vantage point). A Royalty Experience throne seat is also available, which puts guests in a premium position and makes them part of the show. All tiers have strong sightlines because of the circular setup — the tiers differ in proximity and level of audience interaction, not in view quality.
Yes. The full-service bar offers beer, wine, craft cocktails, and light snacks, with delivery to your seat throughout the performance. This is a core part of the Ruby Theatre experience — the shows at this venue are built around the idea of an audience that is drinking alongside the production.
Off-Broadway. The Ruby Theatre is a small Off-Broadway venue, not a Broadway house. It does not have Broadway-scale production design or seating capacity. What it has is a distinctive atmosphere, intimate in-the-round staging, and a specific kind of adult-oriented entertainment that Broadway houses are not built to deliver.
It depends on the visitor. For adults 21 and up who want a fun, loose, and genuinely memorable night out, it is an excellent first theater experience — low-barrier, immersive, and nothing like sitting through a show you are not sure about. For visitors who want a classic Broadway-house experience, or who are under 21, or who are attending with family — it is not the right first choice. Know which kind of night you are planning before you book.
What Makes This Venue Worth Knowing About
The Ruby Theatre is one of the more distinctive Off-Broadway venues in Midtown because it turns theatergoing into something that feels less like attending a performance and more like being admitted somewhere. The hidden-library atmosphere, the in-the-round staging, the drinks at your seat, the adult-only identity — all of it adds up to an evening that has a texture most theater venues do not offer, and that the shows running here were built to need.
It is not a venue for every visitor. For families, for under-21 guests, and for anyone whose idea of a great theater night is a grand proscenium house and a traditional production, this is the wrong room. But for adults who want a Midtown night out with energy, atmosphere, and a show that does not ask them to sit quietly — the Ruby Theatre is a strong and specific choice.
For full information on the current show, see the Drunk Shakespeare guide. For planning the rest of your evening, the restaurants near Broadway guide and the hotels near Broadway guide cover the neighborhood well.