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

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.

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.

To get oriented at Lincoln Center, start across the street, on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets, at the David Rubenstein Atrium. Here you'll find free Wi-Fi, tables, a café, a Tkts booth, and that rarest of NYC commodities: a public restroom. There are regular free musical and dance performances, as well as discussions and spoken-word programs throughout the week, and programs for families and kids on the weekends. Day-of-show discounted tickets for many Lincoln Center venues may be purchased in person here; there is a limit of four tickets per customer.

Every fall, thousands of locals and visitors flock to Little Italy for the multiday Feast of San Gennaro in mid-September. This festival is a mix of religion, food, colorful parades, and live entertainment. Don’t miss the cannoli-eating competition at the beginning of the festival.

Even if you're not joining the more than 50,000 runners taking a 26.2-mile tour through New York’s five boroughs on the first Sunday in November, you’ll want to experience the electric atmosphere and the very best of New York with the 2 million spectators who come out to watch and cheer.

In addition to maintaining what may be the world's largest collection of theater, film, dance, music, and recorded sound, the library presents concerts and mounts periodic exhibitions related to major artists and composers. At the library’s free, year-round Silent Clowns series ( www.silentclowns.com), held Saturday afternoon each month in its auditorium, rarely seen prints of the silent era’s comedy masters are paired with live piano music.

Over the first three Saturdays in August, you can join hundreds of thousands of locals to let loose on nearly 7 miles of pedestrianized arterials for Summer Streets. From the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, along Park Avenue and connecting streets, New Yorkers hit the car-free streets to run, zip-line, dance, experience art, or just ramble along the city's streets in a new way—all for free.

Brookfield Place, an upscale shopping-and-dining complex across the street from the World Trade Center, provides a showcase for an entirely free program of performing and visual arts, including occasional live music, as well as site-specific installations (with an emphasis on commissioned works), poetry readings, film screenings, and more. Events are presented within Brookfield Place's spectacular, 10-story, glass-covered Winter Garden atrium or on its outdoor plaza overlooking the Hudson (weather permitting). In winter, there's an outdoor ice-skating rink, too.