4 Best Performing Arts in Albany and Central New York, New York

Though balanced on a platform that reaches six stories underground, the futuristic Empire State Performing Arts Center, known as the Egg, appears to float above the plaza like a UFO. Shows here include acts by big-name artists, touring pop and folk musicians, comedy routines, and modern dance performances.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is the summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The open-air venue, with both assigned amphitheater seats and lawn seating, also hosts concerts by big-name pop acts.

At the 2,945-seat Stanley Center for the Arts you can see touring Broadway shows and enjoy performances by the Mohawk Valley Ballet and the Utica Symphony Orchestra. The Mexican-baroque center was built as a movie house in 1928. It has an ornate marquee and terra-cotta and mosaic tile accents on its exterior; inside, walls are adorned with gold-leaf lions and angels, and the ceiling is scattered with stars.

National music acts, the circus, and wrestling all make stops at the 16,000-seat Times Union Center.