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The high-tech boom created an enthusiastic and philanthropic audience for Seattle's arts community, which continues to grow. The gorgeous Benaroya Hall is a national benchmark for acoustic design. Its main tenant is the Seattle Symphony. At the Seattle Center, the ethereal Marion Oliver McCaw Hall combines Northwest hues and hanging screens in colorful light shows accompanying performances by the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Although the city's music scene has lost some of its shine after Portland became the go-to city for indie rock, music is still a main form of entertainment here. This very literate city also supports a full calendar of readings, lectures, and writing workshops.
The Seattle International Film Festival gets a lot of attention, but the city also hosts numerous smaller festivals throughout the year. The most popular include STIFF (Seattle's True Independent Film Festival; www.trueindependent.org) in June; the Children's Film Festival (www.childrensfilmfestivalseattle.nwfilmforum.org/), held at the Northwest Film Forum in January; and the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (www.threedollarbillcinema.org) in October.
Beloved by locals for its humorous, ground-breaking, and unique choices, Seattle Public Theater brings five shows a year to an intimate stage. This tiny company puts on performances worth scheduling a day around.
Developed by Community Roots Housing, 12th Avenue Arts is designed to keep the arts in the neighborhood. It plays host to two theaters with rotating shows from various local troupes, including the excellent Strawberry Theatre Workshop and Washington Ensemble Theatre. The building itself also provides low-cost housing, office space for nonprofits, and holds a few restaurants.
Dedicated to launching exciting works by emerging dramatists, ACT has four staging areas, including a theater-in-the-round and an intimate downstairs space for small shows. The season runs from April to November.
This performance and education venue run by the Cornish College of the Arts hosts public music and theater programs, produced by students and professionals, throughout the year in a 432-seat auditorium on the Seattle Center Campus.
Top-notch productions of new works join adaptations from classic children's literature here. After the show, actors come out to answer questions and explain how the tricks are done.
During its season (September through June), the Seattle Repertory Theater brings new and classic plays to life. Adoring fans flock to new takes on choice classics as well as works fresh from the New York stage, but the overall mission is to produce shows that reflect the experiences and perspectives of people in the region. You can preorder your drinks from the lobby bar to enjoy during intermission.
Even if you don't plan on seeing anything here, this Asian fantasia is worth a peek—it's one of the most beautiful venues in the world. The 5th Avenue Theatre opened in 1926 as a silent-movie house and vaudeville stage, complete with a giant pipe organ and ushers who dressed as cowboys and pirates. Today it has its own theater company, which stages lavish productions October through May. At other times it hosts concerts, lectures, and films.
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