1683 Best Performing Arts Venues in USA

Established in 1896, the symphony is Portland's largest classical group—and one of the largest orchestras in the country. Its season officially starts in September and ends in May, with concerts held at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, but throughout the summer the orchestra and its smaller ensembles can be seen at Waterfront Park and Washington Park for special outdoor summer performances. It also presents about 40 classical, pop, children's, and family concerts each year.

The theater complex has four stages, where a typical season includes 11 plays covering classics (including Shakespeare, of course), contemporary, musicals, comedies, and family shows. The theater also hosts the very popular Orlando International Fringe Festival, the oldest in America. The season runs June through April, with the Fringe Festival in May. PlayFest! The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays offers world-premiere and staged-reading opportunities for new playwrights. The theater is in Loch Haven Cultural Park, just a few minutes north of Downtown, where the Orlando Science Center and the Museum of Art also stand.

The biggest touring shows perform at this gorgeously restored 2,200-seat venue. The theater, opened in 1926, is as much an attraction as the shows. It was modeled after a 12th-century French cathedral and is considered one of the most beautiful theaters in the world; the interior walls have ornate stonework, and the gilded plaster ceiling is perforated with tiny lights.

Beautifully restored through community support, this historic theater dating from the silent-movie era (1925) survived Hilo's many tsunamis and now showcases everything from film festivals and old movies to musical productions and holiday concerts. There are even performances by big-name artists. The lovely vintage details inside the theater make you feel as if you stepped back in time.

Housed in a restored downtown vaudeville house and movie palace on Congress Avenue, this gorgeous 1915 theater is a go-to favorite for local performance arts lovers of all shapes and sizes. Every year, the Paramount's calendar of events ranges widely, from live stand-up comedy specials and short film festival series to touring author Q&As and podcast tapings. The cool respite of their annual Summer Classic Film Series is beloved by all ages. It's also an important flagship venue for annual fests like SXSW and the Moontower Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

Built in the 1920s but then abandoned for many years, this restored art deco jewel with a working Wurlitzer pipe organ received a splendid restoration in 1997 and now hosts concerts ranging from world music to blues, jazz, and country acts, as well as an ongoing film series and touring musicals.

More than 50,000 people roll into town during the second full week in September for one of the oldest and most prominent rodeos in the United States. With its famous slogan of "Let 'er Buck," the Round-Up features eight days of parades, races, beauty contests, and children's rodeos, culminating in four days of rodeo events. Vendors line the length of Court Avenue and Main Street, selling beadwork and curios, while country bands twang in the background.

Eccentric comic magicians Penn & Teller are more popular now than when they settled into the Rio in 2002. Ventures such as their durable TV magic contest Fool Us expanded the duo into mainstream culture beyond the Strip. Their magic in a gorgeous 1,500-seat theater remains topical and genuinely baffling, and their comedy is satiric, provocative, and thoughtful. 

This first-rate summer (mid-June–mid-September) theater troupe has been performing since 1933, these days presenting seven main-stage productions in a converted 18th-century barn throughout the summer. The Players also present children's shows in July and August.

Artistic director Angel Corella leads the company through a season of classic favorites and new works; they dance on the stage of the Academy of Music and at the Merriam Theater at the University of the Arts. Their annual production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker is a holiday favorite.

A host of local film festivals, this handsome theater inside a restored historic downtown building is a great place to see diverse indie, classic, and art-house movies. The Pickford presents an outdoor rooftop cinema series in summer as well as a children's film festival in March and other themed movie showcases. It also offers a good selection of beer, wine, and snacks in the lobby. 

The two-day Plains Indian Powwow, in late June, brings together hoop dancers, traditional dancers, and jingle dancers from various tribes. The performances take place outdoors in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West's Robbie Powwow Garden.

The resident company of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center stages modest productions built on fine original scripts and timely social and cultural themes.

Of the three notable performance halls in UNM's Center for the Arts, Popejoy Hall, with just under 2,000 seats, is the city's go-to for the New Mexico Philharmonic, blockbuster Broadway touring shows, dance performances, concerts, comedy acts, and lectures. Rodey Theatre, a smaller, 420-seat house in the same complex, stages experimental and niche works throughout the year while Keller Hall, a 274-seater with superb acoustics, is the perfect home for the much-acclaimed annual John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium for new music (in spring) and the university's excellent chamber music program.

Housed in a handsomely restored 1891 armory, Portland Center Stage puts on around 10 contemporary and classic works on two stages in the LEED-certified green building between September and June. These are first-rate productions with exceptional onstage and behind-the-scenes talents.

The city's top performing arts complex hosts opera, ballet, rock shows, symphony performances, lectures, and Broadway musicals in its five venues: the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, the Keller Auditorium, and the three-in-one Antoinette Hatfield Hall, which comprises the Brunish, Newmark, and Winningstad theaters. The majority of the region's top performing companies call these venues home, including the Portland Opera, the Oregon Symphony, the Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Oregon Children's Theatre, and the Portland Youth Philharmonic.

Fresh, exciting theater keeps people talking about the Public Theater, which was founded in 1954 but has most recently seen such hits as Lin-Manuel Miranda’s current Broadway sensation Hamilton, and David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's \"poperetta\" Here Lies Love, about Imelda Marcos. Many more noted productions that began here (Hair and A Chorus Line, among others) went on to Broadway and beyond. Tickets for the constantly changing roster of shows are available through the website; some \"rush\" tickets (day-of) are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This is also the company that puts on Shakespeare in the Park in Central Park in summer. On the mezzanine of the theater, The Library restaurant and bar is an elegant spot for a meal or a drink, whether or not you're attending a show.

This landmark was built shortly after the stock market crash of 1929, when John D. Rockefeller Jr. wanted to create a symbol of hope in what was a sad, broke city. When the hall opened, some said there was no need for performances, because people would get more than their money's worth simply by sitting there and enjoying the grand space. Despite being the largest indoor theater in the world, with its city-block-long marquee and nearly 6,000 seats, it feels warm and intimate. Hour-long Stage Door walking tours run year-round with limited availability. 

There are big-name concerts and major events year-round, but the biggest draw is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular: more than a million visitors every year come to see the renowned Rockettes dance. Make reservations early, especially if you want to attend near Christmas or on a weekend (many performances can sell out by October). Tickets are affordable for the 90-minute show, with promotional and matinee deals available.

This is the crown jewel amid a treasury of local arts attractions, and its marquee star is the 2,195-seat Dreyfoos Hall, a glass, copper, and marble showcase just steps from the restaurants and shops of The Square. The center also boasts the 289-seat Rinker Playhouse, 170-seat Persson Hall, and the Gosman Amphitheatre, which holds 1,400 total in seats and on the lawn. A packed year-round schedule features a blockbuster lineup of Broadway's biggest touring productions, concerts, dance shows, dramas, and musicals; the Miami City Ballet, Palm Beach Opera, and the Palm Beach Pops perform here.

This historic, fully renovated, country playhouse presents national and local musicians, comedians, magicians, theatrical performances, classic and new films, and insightful lectures. Stars ranging from Gordon Lightfoot to Lyle Lovett, Dana Carvey to Amy Schumer, and performances such as Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Shakespeare's Henry V have been headliners over the years.

Charleston's stunning Egyptian Art Deco theater opened in 1939 but sat vacant for the past several decades until a renovation reopened the space for concerts and events in 2022. A bar and patio overlooking King Street are ideal for a pre-show drink.

This intimate cinema in the heart of downtown screens first-run films, with an emphasis on foreign and indie flicks, in a charming little theater with pressed-tin ceilings and a lobby concession selling craft beer, local wine, and elevated snacks. In the elegant Starlight Room, on the third floor, retro and other interesting film screenings take place, and food and drinks are served.

An early-1900s firehouse was converted into the Rosendale Theatre in 1949—and few changes have been made to the movie theater since. One ancient vending machine still discharges candy, while a concession stand serves popcorn and other snacks. The community-owned nonprofit theater offers a diverse lineup of events, including documentaries, live theater, and performing arts. In the fall, the Rosendale hosts the annual Woodstock Film Festival.

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.

Drawing international performers, the opera's season runs January–April. Past performances have included Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, and La Bohème, plus solo concerts by such talents as Renée Fleming.

For ballet lovers, the nation's oldest professional company is reason alone to visit San Francisco. The primary season runs from January through May with a repertoire including full-length ballets such as Don Quixote and Sleeping Beauty; the December presentation of The Nutcracker is truly spectacular. The company also performs bold new dances from star choreographers such as William Forsythe and Mark Morris, alongside modern classics by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.

Founded in 1923, this internationally recognized organization has occupied the War Memorial Opera House since the building's completion in 1932. September–December and June–July, the company presents a wide range of operas, from Carmen to an operatic version of It's a Wonderful Life. The opera often takes on ambitious world premieres as well as unconventional, edgy projects designed to attract younger audiences. Translations are projected above the stage during most non-English productions.

One of America's top orchestras performs from September through May, with additional summer performances of light classical music and show tunes. The symphony is known for its daring programming of 20th-century American works, often performed with soloists of the caliber of André Watts, Gil Shaham, and Renée Fleming.

This gilt-wood jewel box of a stage is the preferred venue for many of Boston's classical orchestras and the home of Harvard University's many ensembles. Located in Memorial Hall, 180-degree stage design and superb acoustics afford intimacy and crystal projection. A favorite of folk, jazz, and world-music performers, the 1,000-seat Sanders hosts the holiday favorite Christmas Revels, a traditional participatory Yule celebration, and well as the José Mateo company's original Nutcracker ballet. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Leonard Bernstein, and Oprah Winfrey have appeared at this famed seat of oratory and music.