86 Best Performing Arts Venues in New York City, New York

Arguably the most iconic landmark in the neighborhood, no visit to Harlem is complete without stopping by the legendary Apollo Theater. Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, and James Brown are just a few of the world-class performers who have appeared on this equally famed stage. This year, Apollo's Amateur Night begins their 90th season, with shows every Wednesday night. Perhaps bigger than the 90th season of Amateur Night, the Apollo is slated to undergo renovation to expand into the Apollo Performing Arts Center, with a restoration of the Apollo Theater, and the opening of the Apollo's Victoria Theater. The Apollo Stages at the Victoria are accessible via the third floor of the newly-opened Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel. Safe to say, the Apollo is a history buff's treat with more room to explore than ever, so to dive in deeper, take a tour, held on Monday at 11 am and 1 pm, Wednesday at 11 am, and Saturday at 11 am and 1 pm, and must be reserved in advance.

Dedicated to preserving and exhibiting independent and avant-garde film, the Anthology Film Archives has two screening rooms (seating about 200 and 100, respectively) as well as a film repository and a library, all inside a 1919 redbrick courthouse. Cofounded in 1970 by the downtown legend and filmmaker Jonas Mekas, Anthology remains a major destination for adventurous and unusual movies, new as well as old. The Essential Cinema series delves into the works of canonized groundbreaking directors; the frequent festivals are more eclectic.

Founded in 1861 and operating at its current location since 1908, BAM is a more than music; it's multidisciplinary performing arts center that now encompasses three edifices, including the Beaux-Arts, seven-story Peter Jay Sharp building. It's known for innovative performances within its facilities, including an unadorned "black box" theater, dance venues, a four-screen cinema, an opera house, a gallery, and an open-plan performance and restaurant space.

Internationally renowned Carnegie Hall has incomparable acoustics that make it one of the world's best venues for music—classical as well as jazz, pop, cabaret, and folk. Since the opening-night concert on May 5, 1891, which Tchaikovsky conducted, virtually every important musician in the world has appeared in this Italian Renaissance–style building. The world's top orchestras perform in the grand and fabulously steep 2,804-seat Isaac Stern Auditorium; the 268-seat Weill Recital Hall often features young talents making their New York debuts; and the subterranean 599-seat Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall attracts big-name artists such as the Kronos Quartet and Milton Nascimento to its stylish modern space. A noted roster of family concerts is also part of Carnegie's programming.

The box office releases $10 rush tickets for some shows on the day of performance, or you can buy partial-view seating in advance at 50% off the full ticket price. Head to the second-floor Rose Museum (open by appointment) to learn more about the famous hall's history through its archival treasures, or join an insider's guided tour (available most days; $20 for adults).

Formerly known as Philharmonic Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, David Geffen Hall is the residence of the New York Philharmonic ( www.nyphil.org); the orchestra's season is September to June. The hall reopened in late 2022 after a two-year, $550 million renovation to its acoustics and public areas, including a new welcome center that is part ticket office, part lounge. Select performances from inside the concert hall are streamed live, free of charge. A popular Young People's Concert series is on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm four times throughout the season. Lincoln Center presents Great Performers, Mostly Mozart Festival, and White Light Festival in this hall, too.

In addition to premiering new international features and documentaries that are otherwise hard to catch on the big screen, this nonprofit with four theaters hosts movies by canonized directors such as Hitchcock, Godard, and Bertolucci; in-depth film series devoted to particular actors or genres; and newly restored prints of classic works. The small concession stand in the lobby serves tasty cakes and freshly popped popcorn. This is no megaplex, but updates in 2018 included new seats with more legroom and a higher slope for better views.

A few blocks south of Lincoln Center itself, this Columbus Circle venue is almost completely devoted to jazz, with a sprinkling of other genres mixed in. Stages in Rafael Viñoly's crisply modern Frederick P. Rose Hall include the 1,200-seat Rose Theater, where up-and-coming artists as well as jazz world fixtures like composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (the organization’s managing and artistic director), perform several times a year. Also here is The Appel Room, an elegant theater with a glass wall overlooking Columbus Circle. In the smaller Dizzy's Club, there are often multiple sets nightly, plus late-night sessions Tuesday through Saturday, all accompanied by a full bar and restaurant with a New Orleans–inspired menu.

Set within a former art deco movie house, the 472-seat Joyce Theater has superb sight lines and presents a wide range of classical and contemporary dance. Its 48-week season includes a rotating roster of international, national, and New York–based companies.

Exclusive premieres and retro screenings, often with celebrity guest speakers, and an ever-changing calendar of both classic and obscure films lure patrons to this boutique movie theater, where six films are usually shown on the two screens each day. There's also a restaurant and a bar in which to hang before or after the show, a small bookstore for browsing, and a retro candy counter with exotic albeit expensive treats.

The largest hall in Lincoln Center, the almost 3,800-seat Met is notable for its dramatic arched entrance, as well as its lobby's immense Swarovski crystal chandeliers and Marc Chagall paintings. The titan of American opera companies and an institution since its founding in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera brings the world's leading singers to its vast stage. All performances, including those sung in English, are subtitled on small screens on the back of the seat in front of you. A frequent resident of the Met (and sometimes, of the David H. Koch Theater) is the American Ballet Theatre ( www.abt.org), renowned for its gorgeous full-program renditions of 19th-century classics (Swan Lake,Giselle,The Sleeping Beauty) with choreography re-envisioned by 20th-century or contemporary masters.  A limited number of same-day $25 rush orchestra seats are available at the Met's website. These tickets go on sale for weeknight performances at noon, for matinees four hours before curtain, and for Saturday evenings at 2 pm. There's also an annual free outdoor HD Festival, with screenings of recorded operas on an immense screen covering the facade, and thousands of chairs in the plaza area. Backstage tours of the Met ($35), when available, are held during the performance season, and require advance online reservation.

You'll find a truly engaging and uncommon repertory of American and international film at the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters 1 and 2, on MoMA's lower level, and at the Celeste Bartos Theater, in the lower level of the Cullman Education and Research Building on the museum campus. Sometimes the films tie in with current art exhibitions. The Contenders series, which starts each fall, is a chance to catch up on the past year's releases that are likely to win awards—or at least stand the test of time. Movie tickets go on sale two weeks prior to each screening, online or in person at the museum; limited same-day tickets are available, too. Museum admission is discounted if you have purchased cinema tickets ($14), though a separate ticket is required.

In a magnificently restored space from 1900, The New Victory Theater presents an international roster of supremely kid-pleasing plays, music, dance, opera, puppetry, and circus performances. Through the organization's workshops and arts activities, children and their parents can also learn more about other parts of theater (writing, for instance) and kinds of performance, such as break dancing. Count on reasonable ticket prices, high-energy and high-class productions, and the opportunity for kids to chat with the artists after many performances.

Pause as you enter this neo-Moorish building, built in 1923 for the Shriners (an offshoot of the Freemasons), and admire the ornate decorative details in the lobby and theater. City Center's 2,200-seat main stage is perfectly suited for dance and special theatrical events. Among its varied performances and showcases, the Tony Award–honored Encores! series, generally held in spring, revisits musicals of the past in a concert format—an event that has led to shows returning to Broadway, with the long-running Chicago among them. During summer, Encores! Off-Center features concert versions of off-Broadway musicals. Tickets for City Center's annual Fall for Dance festival sell out quickly.

This cinema shows new and cult-favorite flicks in three theaters, and makes going to the movies more fun with feature presentation–theme menu items and cocktails, served by the wait staff to your cabaret-style seat. (Staples, like popcorn, are also available on the full menu.) Movies often sell out on weekends, so buy tickets ($16) in advance, and make sure you get there half an hour before showtime for each film's offbeat preshow preceding the trailers. Nitehawk has a second location at 188 Prospect Park West.

Completed in 1881, occupying an entire city block, this Gothic-style brick building is now an arts center but was originally the headquarters, drill hall, and social club for the Seventh Regiment, a National Guard unit called the "Silk Stocking" regiment because its members were mainly drawn from wealthy Gilded Age families. The reception rooms on the first floor and Company Rooms on the second floor were designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, and other fashionable designers of the time. A major renovation included restoring Tiffany-designed Veterans rooms and the building's facade. These days the armory is used for trade shows, huge art installations, plays, and concerts, which take full advantage of the 55,000-square-foot drill hall. Intimate artist conversations, recitals, and experimental performances are held in the smaller, first- and second-floor spaces. A 75-minute walking tour visits the first floor period rooms, the drill hall, and part of the second floor; buy tickets in advance.

Fresh, exciting theater keeps people talking about the Public Theater, which was founded in 1954 but has most recently seen such hits as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s current Broadway sensation Hamilton, and David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's "poperetta" Here Lies Love, about Imelda Marcos. Many more noted productions that began here (Hair and A Chorus Line, among others) went on to Broadway and beyond. Tickets for the constantly changing roster of shows are available through the website; some "rush" tickets (day-of) are available on a first-come-first-served basis. This is also the company that puts on Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park in summer. On the mezzanine of the theater, The Library restaurant and bar is an elegant spot for a meal or a drink, whether or not you're attending a show.

This landmark was built shortly after the stock market crash of 1929, when John D. Rockefeller Jr. wanted to create a symbol of hope in what was a sad, broke city. When the hall opened, some said there was no need for performances, because people would get more than their money's worth simply by sitting there and enjoying the grand space. Despite being the largest indoor theater in the world, with its city-block-long marquee and nearly 6,000 seats, it feels warm and intimate. Hour-long Stage Door walking tours run year-round with limited availability. 

There are big-name concerts and major events year-round, but the biggest draw is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular: more than a million visitors every year come to see the iconic Rockettes dance. Make reservations early, especially if you want to attend near Christmas or on a weekend (many performances can sell out by October). Tickets are affordable for the 90-minute show, with promotional and matinee deals available.

Some of the best things in New York are, indeed, free—including this summer theater festival (generally June through mid-September) presented by the Public Theater and performed at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air stage in Central Park. Many notable performers have appeared here, from Meryl Streep to Morgan Freeman. Tickets are given out (limit two per person) starting at noon on the day of each show, and they always run out. What you save in money, you make up for in time and tedium, since lines are usually long. Line up by midmorning or earlier if there have been good reviews. (A limited number of same-day tickets are also distributed via an in-person lottery at the Public Theater,  425 Lafayette St., at Astor Pl.) The easiest way to score these scarce tickets is to register via a digital lottery using the TodayTix app between midnight and noon on the day you'd like to attend; an email response after noon confirms (or denies) success. If catching a Shakespeare in the Park performance is on your NYC bucket list, you may want to register as a supporter of the Public Theater (from $300) for a guaranteed ticket.  The Delacorte Theater closed for renovations in 2024 to revitalize the infrastructure and experience and to improve accessibility. The theater will reopen for the 2025 season.

This cutting-edge theater (originally established in Brooklyn Heights in 1980) occupies a stunningly refurbished tobacco warehouse from 1860 that sits beneath the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The 24,000-square-foot space, with original brick walls and archways intact, has hosted Tony Award–winning productions. They also host weekly outdoor music concerts in the summer. Check their calendar for all upcoming performances.

Founded by suffragists and built in 1921 by famed architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, The Town Hall is an invaluable and legendary part of NYC's cultural fabric. Notable Town Hall claims include Strauss's, Stravinsky's, and Isaac Stern's U.S. debuts; Marian Anderson's first NYC recital; Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker's introduction of bebop to the world; and Bob Dylan's first major concert. More recently, the stage has welcomed musicians like Gilberto Gil, Joan Baez, Patti Smith, and David Byrne; humorists like Fran Lebowitz and Stephen Colbert; the only East Coast staging of Hunter S. Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved"; TED Talks Live; conversations with legendary authors; one-time-only variety shows; and more.

Renamed as The 92nd Street Y, New York—92NY, for short—this grand Upper East Side cultural institution is undergoing a $200 million plan to redevelop its campus, expand its programming, and revamp and enhance performance spaces. Well-known soloists, jazz musicians, show-tune stylists, and chamber music groups perform in 92NY's freshly renovated 905-seat Kaufmann Concert Hall and in the new Arnhold Center, a dance and performance complex with an adjoining dance studio. But the programming is hardly limited to music and dance—its calendar brims with popular lectures and readings series featuring big-name film and TV stars, authors, poets, playwrights, scientists, medical experts, political pundits, and media bigwigs (many events are livestreamed and archived online). Film programs, arts and crafts workshops, and family-friendly events are also worth checking out.

Home to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ( www.chambermusicsociety.org) since it opened in 1969, Alice Tully Hall has top-notch acoustics. A three-story glass lobby with a bar and café greets patrons, before they settle in for a performance inside the warm, even intimate 1,086-seat Starr Theater.

Foreign, independent, and specialty films are screened here. Despite its (six) tunnel-like theaters, small screens, and the occasionally audible subway rumble below, it's usually packed with cinephiles. Get a snack at the café while you wait for your movie to be called.

Famed dancer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov's longtime vision came to fruition in this modern performing arts venue for contemporary dance, theater, music, and film. The center, a few blocks from Hudson Yards, hosts a range of resident artists, including dancers and musical groups, as well as productions by boundary-breaking international choreographers, playwrights, filmmakers, and musicians. The vibrant programming is presented in the center's 238-seat Jerome Robbins Theater and the 136-seat Howard Gilman Performance Space.

Opened in 1929 as a movie theater, the Beacon is now the premier destination north of Madison Square Garden (and operated by the same company) for concerts and residencies by music stars and comedians, from Bono to Jerry Seinfeld. The decor is 1920s but the sound system is cutting-edge, featuring the same technology as the Sphere in Las Vegas. There also are occasional family programs on weekend afternoons.

The Brooklyn Book Festival is a huge, (mostly) free public event with an array of established and emerging authors, readings, panels, discussions, parties, games, and signings—all held in clubs, parks, theaters, and libraries across Brooklyn in late September.

Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of the city’s most popular free outdoor performing arts festivals, and the place to catch excellent live music in the great Brooklyn outdoors. The artists and ensembles reflect the borough’s diversity, ranging from internationally acclaimed performers to up-and-coming musicians. The lineup also includes kids' shows, movies with live music, ballet, and more. Performances are rain or shine and free (suggested donation of $5)—with the exception of ticketed benefit concerts, which directly support the festival. There are usually about 2,000 chairs, but many people think the best seats are on the lawn, so come early and bring a blanket. Local restaurants set up food and drink stands.