1679 Best Performing Arts Venues in USA

Boston's largest resident theater company consistently performs a high-quality mix of 21st-century plays and classics under the artistic direction of Loretta Greco, and commissions playwrights to produce original dramas. The Huntington performs at two locations: its own recently renovated theater at Boston University and the South End's Calderwood Theatre Pavilion at the BCA.

To shake off the winter blues, the residents of tiny Cordova gather for a week-long celebration in late January and early February. The festivities include a parade and numerous entertaining activities, including the Ice Worm Variety Show and the Miss Ice Worm Coronation.

Billed as "The Last Great Race," the Iditarod pulls in people from around the world to participate as racers, volunteers, and fans in this massive feat of endurance for mushers and their dogs. Many visitors watch the dog teams take off from the ceremonial start in Anchorage and then travel to the finish line in Nome to celebrate as teams to cross under the burled arch. The race starts on the first weekend of March and covers about 1,049 snowy, icy, wild miles from its official start in Willow, 90 miles north of Anchorage, to Nome.

The academy provides professional training for gifted arts students and presents summer workshops "for artists of all ages" in dance, music, Native American arts, theater, visual arts, and writing. Free summer concerts and theater productions feature students and professional performers.

The IFC Center shows a mix of repertory and first-run independent, art-house, and foreign movies as well as shorts (including cartoons). Despite the modern wire-mesh facade, there are still clues that this was once the much-beloved Waverly Theater.

The Berkshires' premier year-round nonprofit independent film house showcases art-house films, documentaries, and the latest from Sundance on two screens. There are outdoor shows during the summer.

Cabaret, experimental chamber opera, and Spanish musical theater (also known as zarzuela) are among the hallmarks of this company founded in 1982. Performances are held at Source, GALA Hispanic Theater, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

More than 700 Native American artists and artisans are showcased at the Heard Museum for this annual March event.

During its 10-week season of summer stock, this striking 420-seat theater presents classic Broadway musicals like 42nd Street, Chicago, and West Side Story.

Caber tossing, Irish step dancing, and a march of bagpipers down Hunter Mountain are just some of what you can expect during this celebration of all things Celtic, held in early August.

In the last full weekend in July, wine lovers flock to McMinnville to sample fine regional vintages along with Pinot Noir from around the world.

Contemporary plays and musicals, as well as classics, are presented in an intimate 80-seat theater by this highly regarded nonprofit company.

Milwaukee raises a glass to all things Irish with traditional food, music, and dancing at this annual event on the third weekend of August.

September's Okra Strut in Irmo is slimy fun and includes live music, a craft market, and carnival rides.

Sequim has been celebrating the introduction of irrigation water to its once-parched prairie since 1896. The fest, held in May, features an antique-car show, Friday art walk, family fun day, parade, and a Logging Show with an arm-over-arm tractor pull competition, a lawn-mower demolition, and fireworks.

Hundreds of poets, dancers, musicians, and other performers and artists entertain tens of thousands of people at this four-day arts festival in late May or early June, which centers around the Commons and Stewart Park. A parade is part of the festivities.

The only Las Vegas performers who don't show their faces speak with their feet. The masked hip-hop dance collective has steadily improved its showmanship since it settled on the Strip in 2010. There's plenty of break dancing but also some mime and a contagious sense of fun, as comedy and warm-hearted themes of brotherhood and inclusiveness emerge from those blank masks. The troupe's latest home in a 300-seat theater allows only four to six of the dancers onstage at the same time, but video projections expand the sense of space.

Art galleries reserve their best exhibits for a 10-day extravaganza encompassing the first two weekends of September. Nationally known artists who work in a variety of mediums are showcased in the galleries, during a quickdraw competition and in a large auction. Other events highlight food, poetry, jewelry, and dance.

You can attend live theater from June through the end of September at the Jackson Hole Playhouse, the oldest building in town. The best seats are a hot commodity, but procrastinators can usually buy last-minute tickets. Eat dinner at 6:30 in the gaudy, Western-style saloon, and take in the show in the playhouse's theater at 8. Performances also take place from late November through New Year's Eve.

Touring Broadway shows, performances by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, ballet productions, operas, and other events are held at this beautiful riverfront complex with three performance halls.

Featuring national performing acts and local jazz musicians, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has brought music lovers together for over 40 years. Taking place over Memorial Day weekend, this three-day, outdoor festival is known to be one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country. While the event is free, preferred seating and VIP packages are available for purchase.

Originally dubbed the Oriental Theatre, this former movie palace has a grand, over-the-top Far Eastern decor (think Buddha statues and huge mosaics of an Indian prince and princess). First opened in 1926, it reopened in 1998 after a period of disrepair to accommodate big-name Broadway hits, and received a welcome name change in 2019.

In June and September, Jazz Aspen Snowmass hosts popular music festivals that feature world-class pop, rock, jazz, and country bands and musicians. JAS also partners with the town of Snowmass Village to bring free concerts to Fanny Hill on Thursday nights in summer.

In mid-August, music fans assemble at the Idyllwild Arts Academy for this two-day festival, a benefit for the school. Performances by students and recognized jazz artists are scheduled all day and into the evening.

This hall, home to the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Society for the Performing Arts, appears almost encased by a second, colonnaded building. Its teak auditorium is more attractive than the exterior.

Located on the northwest corner of Millennium Park, this 1,500-seat, mostly belowground theater is a sleek, contemporary space where you can catch music and dance performances by the likes of Laurie Anderson, Magnetic Fields, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Physicality and high-flying style are the hallmarks of this original group, a blend of modern dance and theater. Works include narrative, video projections, and song, and they succeed at being both poignant and funny.

Musical and theatrical performances by local groups and celebrities alike fill the schedule at this 387-seat theater at Guild Hall. The 1931 jewel-box proscenium stage, with an octagonal white and blue striped tent-like ceiling that sweeps up to a chandelier of glass balloons, makes the theater is as spectacular as the shows offered here. It also hosts myriad lectures, film festivals, and family and children's workshops and events. From October through April, Live from the Met screenings bring New York City to the East End. The theater museum houses permanent art collections and hosts temporary exhibits.

This troupe is building an exciting, contemporary repertory under Cuban-born José Mateo, the resident artistic director-choreographer. Performances, which include Dance Saturdays and an original Nutcracker, take place October through April at the Sanctuary Theatre, a beautifully converted Gothic revival church at Massachusetts Avenue and Harvard Street in Harvard Square. The vibe is intimate, with 250 cabaret-style seats, each with its own perfect view. Also enjoy the theater's Dance for World Community annual festival in Harvard Square in June.

Performers from all over the world head to Juneau each May to celebrate music from Bach to Brubeck. Taj Mahal, Arlo Guthrie, Booker T. Jones, and the Manhattan Transfer are among past guests. First held in 1987, the festival runs for more than two weeks, showcasing jazz and classics along with blues, rock, and soul. Many events require tickets, but others—such as lunch-hour concerts at the State Office Building and jazz jams at a local bar called Lucky Lady—are free. In this spirit of accessibility, visiting musicians also perform in Juneau schools.