3 Best Performing Arts Venues in Chicago, Illinois

Background Illustration for Performing Arts

If you're even mildly interested in the performing arts, Chicago has the means to put you in your seat—be it floor, mezzanine, or balcony. Just pick your preference (theater, dance, or symphony orchestra), and let an impressive body of artists do the rest. From critically acclaimed big names to fringe groups that specialize in experimental work, there truly is a performance art for everyone.

Ticket prices vary wildly, depending on whether you're seeing a high-profile group or venturing into more obscure territory. Chicago Symphony tickets range from $15 to $200, the Lyric Opera from $30 to $180 (if you can get them). Smaller choruses and orchestras charge from $10 to $30; watch the listings for free performances. Commercial theater tickets cost between $15 and $75; smaller experimental ensembles might charge $5, $10, or pay-what-you-can. Movie prices range from $11 for first-run houses to as low as $1.50 at some suburban second-run houses.

The Salt Shed

West Town Fodor's choice

Chicago's music scene got a major upgrade in 2022, when the owners of small-but-cool clubs like the Empty Bottle converted a disused Morton Salt facility into one of the country's most exciting places to see live music. There are two distinct spaces here: the acoustically excellent Shed, an indoor venue that's big enough to attract acts like the Flaming Lips and PJ Harvey but small enough to feel special, and the Fairgrounds, an outdoor stage with music festival vibes perched beside the Chicago River. In 2024, homegrown brewer Goose Island launched an on-site brewpub with a great riverside patio, adding a pre-show pint spot into the mix.

Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago Loop

This block-long landmark building houses several performance spaces. The most magnificent is the top-floor Preston Bradley Hall, with its Tiffany glass dome and ornately detailed white marble walls.

Constellation

Lakeview

A converted warehouse on Western Avenue is home to an eclectic mix of adventurous performances, ranging from genre-fluid jazz and contemporary classical music to small, scrappy dance troupes to cutting-edge solo performance art.

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