RECOMMENDED: 50 best New York attractions Visitors may think
they know this venerable theater from TV’s Showtime at the Apollo. But as the
saying goes, the small screen adds ten pounds: The city’s home of R&B and
soul is actually quite cozy. Known for launching the careers of Ella
Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo, among others at its legendary Amateur
Night competition, the Apollo continues to mix veteran talents like Dianne
Reeves with younger artists such as the Roots and Lykke Li.
Harlem
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One of the rare theaters to call Queens its home, the Secret
is well kept by artistic director Richard Mazda, who founded the space in 2007.
Most of the work at this Long Island City venue (tucked behind a coffee
distributor) tends to be classical, but it also includes the White Box Festival
of one-act plays and can be rented by outside productions.
Long Island City
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4 out of 5 stars
Recommended
Best known as an avant-garde theater space, the Kitchen also
offers experimental dance by inventive, often provocative artists.
Chelsea
On Saturday nights, employees at this magic emporium move
the furniture to the wings to make room for 45 folding chairs. On a built-in
stage, local magicians amaze and delight viewers of all ages with
sleight-of-hand and other illusions. The shop also offers private magic
lessons.
Elmhurst
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Interviews and auditions are required at this venerable
studio, which was opened in 1969 by Terry Schreiber and counts Edward Norton
among its conservatory graduates. Newbies can choose from beginner
classes like Meisner Technique I ($695 for 12 sessions),
On-Camera I ($425 for six sessions) and Beginning Technique ($550 for eight
sessions). The studio also mounts full-fledged productions, too, in case you
want to see its students and alumni in action.
Chelsea
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Formerly the Best Buy Theater, this large, corporate club
begs for character but finds redemption in its creature comforts. The sound and
sight lines are both good, and there’s even edible food. Those who wish to look
into a musician’s eyes can stand in the ample front section; foot-weary fans
can sit in the cinema-like section in back. It’s a comfortable place to see a
well-known band that hasn’t (yet) reached stadium-filling fame.
Midtown West
The adventurous theatergoer’s alternative to BAM, St. Ann’s
Warehouse offers an eclectic lineup of theater and music; recent shows have
included high-level work by the Wooster Group and National Theatre of Scotland.
In 2015 it moved to the impressive Tobacco Warehouse, built in the 1870s as an inspection
center for tobacco and newly renovated for theatrical use.
DUMBO
Recommended
Upper West Side
·
Recommended
Brian Rogers and Sheila Lewandowski founded this
5,000-square-foot performance venue in Long Island City in 2005, converting a
onetime hardware store into two spaces: a low-ceilinged downstairs room and a
loftier, brighter upstairs whitebox. The Factory is not for rent: Rogers
curates his season, inviting artists (from midcareer playwrights like Mac
Wellman to rising directors like Alice Reagan) onboard—and the space pays them.
It's a welcoming place (buy your chocolate-chip cookies at the box office), and
the spot won an Obie for its programming, which tends toward the highly
physical, the interdisciplinary and the avant-garde.
Long Island City
·
Recommended
New York Live Arts was formed in 2011 by a merger of the
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and Dance Theater Workshop. Its mission
is to support and showcase dance and movement-based artists through new
approaches to producing, presenting and educating.
Chelsea
Recommended
This gorgeous, high-ceilinged sanctuary for downtown dance
is at its most sublime when the music is live. The work of choreographers who
take on the four-sided performance space ranges from pure movement to
technological experimentation. Executive director Judy Hussie-Taylor has also
introduced an especially gratifying series, Platforms 2010, which features
guest curators.
East Village
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This system of small rehearsal rooms and studios also
includes the Dorothy Jones Theater, a small cabaret-ready venue available for
rent.
Flatiron
Recommended
This elegant theater at the Juilliard School hosts an
outstanding variety of substantial concerts, most of them free or extremely
affordable.
Upper West Side
Recommended
Former artistic director of American Ballet Theatre and
White Oak Dance Project, Mikhail Baryshnikov is something of an impresario. His
home base—on a stark overpass near the Lincoln Tunnel—includes several inviting
studios, the Howard Gilman Performance Space (a 192-seat theater), and superb
facilities for rehearsals and workshops. The newly renovated Jerome Robbins
Theater, at 238 seats, is an intimate, refined addition to the New York scene.
The Wooster Group is the resident company.
Hell's Kitchen
·
·
BAM, which showcases local and out-of-town companies, is one
of New York's prominent cultural institutions.
Fort Greene
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This 30-year-old community arts center, deep in the heart of
the East Village, is known for its long history of raucous poetry slams, jam
sessions and anything-goes open mikes.
East Village
The newest branch of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre,
which replaced the old Two Boots Pioneer Theater, brings the same sort of cheap,
raw and rowdy shows featured on the West Side, though this space focuses more
on sketch and stand-up than improv.
East Village
The grandest of the Lincoln Center buildings, the Met is a
spectacular place to experience opera and ballet. The space hosts the
Metropolitan Opera from September to May, with major visiting companies
appearing in summer. The majestic theater also showcases works from a range of
international dance companies, from the Paris Opéra Ballet to the Kirov Ballet.
In spring, the Met is home to American Ballet Theatre, which presents
full-length classic story ballets, works by contemporary choreographers and
special performances and workshops for children.
Upper West Side
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Recommended
This midtown cultural institute's 400-seat theater is home
to a number of Gallic-themed screenings for kids and adults alike. For which we
must say a hearty "merci!"
Upper East Side
·
Recommended
The Miller Theatre single-handedly made contemporary music
sexy in New York City. The credit belongs to former executive director George
Steel, who proved that presenting challenging fare in a casual, unaffected
setting could attract young audiences and retain them. The tradition continues
with new director Melissa Smey.
Morningside Heights
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The School of Visual Arts has two theaters, one that seats
479 attendees and the other 266. Musical performances and lectures are made all
the more dramatic with Dolby Surround Sound.
ChelseaFREE
Nestled in the East Village's historic, neoclassical
Colonnade Row, the Astor Place Theater opened in 1968 and, for a while, was one
of the city's go-to spots for experimental theater. Since 1991, however, it has
been home to the indigo aliens of Blue Man Group, who give no sign of leaving
anytime soon.
As well as the New York City Ballet
(nycballet.com), the recently rechristened David H. Koch Theater is also home
to the New York City Opera.
