Marie's Crisis Cafe

"Best bar 2025 Down in a basement where the Manhattan grid gives way to the diagonals and chaos of the West Village, there is a place where the cacophony becomes a chorus. Marie’s Crisis is a piano bar—that’s the first thing you should know. A show-tune piano bar, specifically, and every night it’s humming with the living history of musical theater. A piano player on a five-hour shift plays a set from Little Shop of Horrors, then a CliffsNotes version of Cabaret, and everyone sings along. Most of the time, I love quiet. Marie’s Crisis is never quiet, and I love Marie’s Crisis more than any other place in New York City. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This is the only bar on earth that I want packed. Marie’s Crisis is at its best when it’s crowded, especially late on a Saturday night, when the Tisch kids are joined by the tristate area’s drama teachers and the performers who just peeled themselves out of their Lion King cheetah costumes and you. When you’re all jammed in, shoulder to shoulder, bellowing “Being Alive.” It’s not simply that everyone knows all the words to all the songs. It’s that they know whether they’re a tenor or a baritone. It’s that they harmonize. Marie’s Crisis began as a speakeasy in 1929. It’s got a WPA mural on the back wall commemorating Thomas Paine—the guy who wrote the words “these are the times that try men’s souls”—who happened to die here in 1809, when the building was a boardinghouse. It’s cash only, the pours are heavy, and the stairs to the bathroom are steep enough to kill you even if you’re sober. If you want craft cocktails or conversation, you’d be better served elsewhere. Honestly, go elsewhere. The place is small. I have had more epic nights that started or ended at Marie’s Crisis than I can count, but it stands out as the last great place I got to take my parents to. We had all met up in the city for my mom’s eightieth, it was early enough to find it only very crowded, and the kids gave up their seats at the piano, no questions asked. Mom requested some Frank Sinatra, and that’s not really what they do at Marie’s Crisis, but the piano player indulged her, and in an instant everyone was singing “Fly Me to the Moon.” The voices bounced off the stone walls of a basement bar that had seen Stonewall and the seventies and AIDS and would soon see Covid and whatever we’ll end up calling this current disaster. Decades of harmony exist in that basement, unbroken. And we were part of it. Marie’s Crisis has survived a lot of the times that have tried men’s souls. But as Elaine Stritch sang in the Broadway revival of Follies, she’s still here"

@chaunch26

"Piano bar - great ambiance "

@capoul

"Piano-bar avec chant comédie musicale "

@elisanna

"Big gay musical theatre singalong bar - just great value "

@edwootton

"Cheap bar but only for the beer and Vodka Sodas"

@matthew_maya_17

"Recommendation- piano bar broadway theme "

@agathemarty

"Piano Bar!!, miniiii Surreal, gay bar, todos vi ya do del alma canciones de Broadway shows. Cagado conocer..😂"

@rmatoukr

"L’énergie de cette place est folle. Immersion New Yorkaise assurée. Le pianiste reprend des chansons de comédies musicales de Broadway (que tu les connaisses ou non ça vaut le coup). Personnellement, je connaissais qu’une seule chanson et j’ai passé une excellente soirée. Cependant, si tu n’aimes pas les petits endroits où tout le monde est collé, ça serait sûrement un peu difficile pour toi d’y aller (ou peut-être à essayer en semaine ?) I loved the queer vibe."

@yurfavlau

"Bar pour chanter Broadway "

@clara_btn

"Il faut bien connaître les comédies musicales de Broadway"

@caroshop87

"Rose : dans le Village, piano bar ou c'est répertoire comédie musicale en CONTINU et c'est genre emblématique et tout le monde sing along et les boissons sont pas chers pour NY. Moi j’adore mais faut être un peu fan de comédie musicale je pense ahah. C’est quand même marrant à voir. "

@gicmoute

"Piano-bar du village, fréquenté par une clientèle éclectique et joyeuse venue entonner de concert les plus grands airs de Broadway, accompagnée par le pianiste de la maison : Mamma Mia !, Hello Dolly !, Chicago… et autres comédies musicales bien connues des Américains. Ambiance de folie certains soirs et boissons pas chère du tout. "

@coraly.mz2r

"C'est un lieu historique dans le quartier de Greenwich Village, connu pour ses soirées où les clients chantent en chœur autour du piano."

@sixe67

"Fun Broadway singing vibes! "

@jasonsmutek

"Piano bar - super bonne ambiance"

@larafaroux

"Des musiciens talentueux se produisent tous les soirs. Les entrées sont gratuites, et vous devrez simplement consommer pour pouvoir profiter du spectacle."

@matran

"Bar avec piano en live, chanteurs de Broadway "

@victoire.lebihan3

"Bar où il y a des personnes qui chantent tous les soirs Parfois des artistes de Broadway avant d’aller faire leur show "

@anne.laure.costy

"Piano cafe des music de broadway"

@gchambertprotat

"Fun basement bar to sing along to Broadway showtunes. Can be tough to get in. Rating: (3/5)"

@mathepburn12

"Chanson type comédie musicale Broadway a tester "

@florence.lacour

"https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRq7RRpg/"

@avagallo

"Recommended by Iain- show tunes and broadway actors. Cheap wine "

@helegg

"cabaret authentique food extra"

@looriinnee

"Broadway bar (là où j'ai été)"

@paulinagm

"Gay piano bar where everyone can sing along to show tunes"

@ertiablan

"broadway music sing along, piano too "

@iscott

"Piano under canopy of Christmas lights "

@boatgoat1982

"Ambiance Broadway. Y aller le lundi de préférence."

@jonathanhoenig

"Bar historique queer karaoké sing-along Broadway. Pas de cover mais une boisson par set (entre 1 et 3h) et tips pour le pianiste."

@marie.jeandheur7

"Piano bar sing a long Broadway showtune"

@rosalielapourre

"Broadway singers come through. So great "

@katewillmadeit

"The often crowded piano bar Marie's Crisis is a hang-out for many musical actors, when they are not auditioning or acting (especially on Monday nights, where most Broadway theaters are closed). The guests do sing-along with whatever the pianist plays - and as they are often professionals, they can really belt it out. Marie’s Crisis is a gay bar in the middle of the city’s gay area, but lots of straight people come to this bar, and - on a good night - it's probably the most impressive, improvised cabaret outside of Berlin. "

@breum

"Piano bar style "Broadway""

@carole.anne07

"Bar Gay chante standards de Broadway et Disney"

@jo_anna_nas

"Piano Bar ambiance musical où littéralement tout le monde chante "

@juliegangstr

"Where Broadway singers go excellent place !!"

@emilyalouani

"Broadway hangout. Cash only. "

@mackenzie112195

"Bar-taverne - gay - comedies musicales broadway"

@ameliewarnault

"This historic piano bar draws a crowd of locals & musical-theater performers in dimly lit digs."

@margaretannritter

"Bar gay (cash only) où les gens chantent tous des chants de Broadway, accompagnés par qqn au piano ! "

@audeliaszulman

"piano bar that only plays show tunes "

@maggietyma

"Emblematic LGBT piano bar in the village, with everyone singing along classic musical songs. "

@lea.pernet

"Seems similar to bo peep. Singing involved "

@freefrenchgirl

"Bar gay, chansons de broadway"

@hannambrk

"Bar-taverne - gay - comedies musicales broadway"

@erwancoutellier73

"Bar qui joue les shows de Broadway (+ 21 ans)"

@newyorkoffroad