7 Best Performing Arts Venues in Brooklyn, New York City

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.

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.

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.

Marionettes have been used to enact classic children's fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Magic Flute at this storefront theater since 1990. A friendly puppeteer preps the young audience on theater etiquette before each show. Afterward, theater education continues with a Q&A. Performances are twice a day on weekends only; call or email for reservations.