Samuel West, left, and Scott Cohen perform in a scene from Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? at the off-Broaday Public Theater.

AP / Joan Marcus

NEW YORK — New York theater means Broadway, right? Well, not exactly.

“Broadway consists of only about 35 theaters, while there are 60 to 80 major off-Broadway houses,” said David Cote, theater editor of Time Out New York, a weekly magazine whose pithy reviews and comprehensive listings make it indispensable to theatergoers.

“Off-Broadway is the bedrock of theater. It’s the massive heartland between very expensive, spectacle-oriented Broadway and off-off Broadway, which is an amazing area of experimentation, risk-taking and weirdness.”

Smaller can be better

Off-Broadway includes theaters with 100 to 499 seats, much smaller than the Broadway houses. (The definition stems from the contract that performers and stage crew members have with producers of a show, not geography. There are some off-Broadway theaters in the Broadway district.)

Cote argues that size matters to the theatergoing experience. “There’s something wonderful about sitting closer to the actors and not hearing a computer-amplified musical,” he said. “I think you’re somehow closer to the roots of theater when you see it in a more intimate setting.”

AT A TIME when a Broadway ticket costs upwards of $100, price is a part of the allure of off-Broadway, where top tickets average about $60. Cheaper doesn’t mean lesser theater. Many Broadway hits originated off-Broadway, including recent Tony Award winners Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens, Avenue Q, Doubt and I Am My Own Wife.

The most consistently excellent off-Broadway productions are probably to be found at nonprofit companies such as the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage, Vineyard Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Signature Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company and others.

For many people, the Public is the flagship theater of off-Broadway. Founded by Joseph Papp, it has spawned such hits as Hair and A Chorus Line, and it puts on Shakespeare in the Park every summer in Central Park.

For theater on the edge, there’s off-off-Broadway, which includes venues of 99 seats and fewer. “It can go from amateurish showcases, where a bunch of college graduates put on The Tempest because they want some agents to see their work,” Cote said. “Then you have companies who have been around for 10, 15 years who are working on a very small scale but creating really interesting, sometimes experimental art. They can be very resourceful.”

He cites Radiohole and the Civilians as off-off Broadway standouts, as well as downtown performance venues PS122, LaMaMa and Here Arts Center.

But whatever your taste, the main thing is to seek out something new and different from the latest Broadway blockbuster.

“If you take a risk on an off-Broadway show, you take a risk on seeing something that could stay with you your entire life: a new drama, an experimental musical or the work of a young company that could startle and excite you,” Cote said. “If you go off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway, you run the distinct risk of running into some real art.”If you go

Off Broadway

Here are five picks by David Cote, theater editor at Time Out New York.

Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?, the U.S. premiere of a play by Caryl Churchill (Top Girls). Political allegory of American-British relations. Through April 6, Public Theater. (212) 967-7555; publictheater.org.

The American Dream and The Sandbox, an Edward Albee double bill, directed by the playwright and starring Judith Ivey. In previews; opens Tuesday and runs through April 19, Cherry Lane Theatre. (212) 239-6200; cherrylanetheatre.com.

The Drunken City by Adam Bock. Three young brides-to-be hit the bars and wind up questioning the idea of marriage. In previews; opens March 26 and runs through April 20, Playwrights Horizons. (212) 279-4200; playwrightshorizons.org.

The Sound and the Fury, a production based on William Faulkner’s novel, by the experimental theater group Elevator Repair Service. In previews starting April 15; opens April 29 and runs through May 18, New York Theatre Workshop. (212) 460-5475; nytw.org.

Saved, a new musical with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book and lyrics by John Dempsey and Rinne Groff. Adapted from the movie about Christian teens. In previews starting May 9; opens June 3 and runs through June 22, Playwrights Horizons. (212) 279-4200; playwrightshorizons.org.