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excellent literary revivals—such as Chekhov’s Three Sisters or Shakespeare’s The Tempest—perhaps with a modern spin, and often with reigning theatrical stars.

Ellen Stewart, also known as La Mama, founded La MaMa E.T.C. (74A E. 4th St., between Bowery and 2nd Ave., East Village | 10003 | 212/475–7710 | lamama.org | Subway: F to 2nd Ave.; B, D, F, M to Broadway–Lafayette St.; 6 to Bleecker St.) in a small basement space in 1961. It’s grown now, and her influential Experimental Theater Club continues to support new works that cross cultures and performance disciplines.

The New York Theater Workshop (NYTW) (79 E. 4th St., between Bowery and 2nd Ave., East Village | 10003 | 212/460–5475, 212/279–4200 tickets | www.nytw.org | Subway: F, M to 2nd Ave.; B, D, F, M to Broadway– Lafayette St.; 6 to Bleecker St.) produces work by new and established playwrights. Jonathan Larson’s Rent got its pre-Broadway start here, and current works by Tony Kushner (Homebody/Kabul), Caryl Churchill, and Paul Rudnick are staged. Hit the box office for Sunday night CheapTix; those seats are $20—in cash, in advance only— as available.

Performance Space 122 (P.S. 122) (150 1st Ave., at E. 9th St., East Village | 10009 | 212/352–3101 tickets | www.ps122.org | Subway: 6 to Astor Pl.) became a launching pad for now well-recognized talent like Karen Finley, Spalding Gray, Ann Magnuson, and Eric Bogosian back in the day, and continues to offer a dazzling repertoire of performance from the fringe. Their Avant-Garde-Arama! festival has drawn crowds since the nonprofit’s founding in 1980.

The Public Theater (425 Lafayette St., south of Astor Pl., East Village | 10003 | 212/539–8500, 212/967–7555 tickets | www.publictheater.org | Subway: 6 to Astor Pl.; R to 8th St.) presents fresh theater such as the 2010 six-hour F. Scott Fitzgerald marathon, Gatz, a 2008 Stephen Sondheim debut, and the latest work of Suzan-Lori Parks. Many noted productions that began here (Hair, A Chorus Line) went on to Broadway.

Go to the Public’s box office one hour before curtain to snag limited-availability $20 rush standby tickets (two tickets max; cash only). In summer you won’t want to miss their incomparable—and free—Shakespeare in the Park performances, which are held at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.

TIP Because you can stand in line for hours—and still not get a ticket voucher—the easiest way to score these scarce tickets is to register online with their “virtual line” after midnight on the night before the performance you would like to attend; an email response confirms (or denies) success.

A four-theater cultural complex, Theater for the New City

(155 1st Ave., between E. 9th and E. 10th Sts., East Village | 10003 | 212/254–1109 | www.theaterforthenewcity.net | Subway: 6 to Astor Pl.) stages short runs of shows by new and emerging American playwrights. Favorite longtime troupers and presenters of seriously giant puppets (upward of 12 feet is typical), the 1960s N.Y.C.-rooted, and still seriously political, Bread & Puppet Theater put in an annual appearance as well.

Readings and Lectures

KGB Bar (85 E. 4th St., between Bowery and 2nd Ave., East Village | 10003 | 212/505–3360 | kgbbar.com | Subway: F, M to 2nd Ave.; F to Broadway–Lafayette St.) is a downtown nexus of literary readings: start with Sunday Night Fiction or KGB Poetry on Monday night; then there’s True Story nonfiction on Tuesday night, and more.

The reigning arbiter of poetry slams, the Nuyorican Poets Café (236 E. 3rd St., between Aves. B and C, East Village | 10003 | 212/505–8183 | www.nuyorican.org | Subway: F, M to 2nd Ave.) schedules open-mike events, most often on Wednesday night, and hosts the influential granddaddy (b. 1989) of the current spoken-word scene, the Friday Night Poetry Slam.

The Poetry Project (St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery,131 E. 10th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village | 10003 | 212/674– 0910 | poetryproject.org | Subway: 6 to Astor Pl.) had its start in 1966, and has been a source of sustenance for poets (and their audiences) ever since. This is where Allen Ginsberg, Amiri Baraka, and Sam Shepard first found their voices, and where you’re likely to find folks of the same caliber today. Prime times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Fodor’s Choice | The famed Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway, at E. 12th St., East Village | 10003 | 212/473– 1452 | www.strandbooks.com | Subway: L, N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St./Union Sq.) hosts nonfiction panels, special Family Hour events, and current fiction readings with authors like Marisha Pessl, Thomas McGuane, Calvin Trillin, and Mark Kurlansky.

LOWER EAST SIDE

Film

With vestiges of its life as a vaudeville theater all but gone, the Sunshine Cinema (143 E. Houston St., between 1st and 2nd Aves., Lower East Side | 10002 | 212/330–8182 | www.landmarktheatres.com | Subway: F, M to 2nd Ave.), with its five decent-size screens, is the neighborhood go-to for a mix of art-house and smaller-release mainstream films.

Opera

The Gotham Chamber Opera (410 W. 42nd St., between 9th and 10th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/868–4460 | www.gothamchamberopera.org | Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority) presents less-known chamber works from the baroque era to the present in inspired productions.

Catching a broader audience’s attention, shows include Moisés Kaufman’s acclaimed rendition of the 1947 El Gato Con Botas by Xavier Montsalvatge (staged at the New Victory Theater); Handel’s Arianna in Creta; a collaboration with choreographer Karole Armitage, Ariadne Unhinged; and a joint venture with the Hayden Planetarium of Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna, or The World on the Moon.

Latino arts and culture are celebrated with a sly sense of humor at the Teatro SEA @ Los Kabayitos Puppet & Children’s Theater (Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center,107 Suffolk St., between Delancey and Rivington Sts., Lower East Side | 10002 | 212/529– 1545 or 212/260–4080 | www.sea-ny.org; www.csvcenter.org | Subway: F to Delancey St.; J, M, Z to Essex St.). Who could resist the Three Little Pigs swinging to salsa music? All shows are presented in English and Spanish.

Readings and Lectures

“Poetry Czar” Bob Holman’s Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery, at Bleecker St., East Village | 10036 | 212/614– 0505 | www.bowerypoetry.com | Subway: B, D, F, M to Broadway–Lafayette St.; 6 to Bleecker St.) serves up coffee and comestibles along with its ingenious poetry events. Expect slams and every other permutation of the spoken word—as well as art and music.

GREENWICH VILLAGE

Film

Cinema Village (22 E. 12th St., between University Pl. and 5th Ave., Greenwich Village | 10003 | 212/924–3363 | www.cinemavillage.com | Subway: 4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R to 14th St./Union Sq.) has three tiny screening rooms (with surprisingly good sight lines) that show a smart selection of hard-to-find (some might say obscure) first-run domestic and foreign films.

In addition to premiering new releases, Film Forum (209 W. Houston St., between 6th Ave. and Varick St., Greenwich Village | 10014 | 212/727–8110 | www.filmforum.org | Subway: 1 to Houston St.), a very special nonprofit theater with three small screening rooms, hosts movies by directors from Hitchcock to Bertolucci, genre series with themes from pre-Code to Fritz Lang’s Hollywood, and newly restored prints of classic works. The café in their sleek little Euro-style lobby serves tasty cakes and fresh-popped popcorn.

First-run domestic and foreign films—with a firm commitment to independent ones—are the fare at the IFC Center (323 6th Ave., at 3rd St., Greenwich Village | 10014 | 212/925–7771 | www.ifccenter.com | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to West 4th St./Washington Sq.). Despite the mod wire-mesh facade, there are still clues that this was once the iconic Waverly Theater.

Movie lovers are quite attached to the Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Greenwich Village | 10011 | 212/255–2243 | www.quadcinema.com | Subway: 1, 2, 3, F, M to 14th St.; L to 6th Ave.) despite the patina of its early 1970s vintage—probably because the four teacupsize theaters feel so much like their own private screening rooms. A finely balanced selection of first-run art documentaries and foreign films is the fare here.

Music

Bleecker Street holds onto its musical history a bit longer with the timely conversion of the venerable Village Gate location to the 2008 upstart (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St., between Sullivan and Thompson Sts., Greenwich Village | 10012 | 212/503–3474 | lepoissonrouge.com | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.).The sound system is quite good, and the layout rewards those who like to get up close to the artists—which is especially nice if you’re there for one of their classical chamber shows or a fine guitarist.

Other times the music mix runs from Afropop to electronic, indie, jazz, and DJ. As at most clubs, you’re not assured a seat, so get here early and be prepared for a minimum drink charge as well.

Readings and Lectures

The Center for Architecture (536 LaGuardia Pl., between W. 3rd and Bleecker Sts., Greenwich Village | 10012 | 212/683–0023 | www.aiany.org | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.), a contemporary glassfaced gallery, hosts lively discussions (which may be accompanied by films or other visuals) on topics like radical architecture in Mexico City or visionary American architects of the 1930s.

The Cornelia Street Café (29 Cornelia St., between W. 4th and Bleecker Sts., Greenwich Village | 10014 | 212/989–9319 | www.corneliastreetcafe.com | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.) is a good bet for original poetry—the Pink Pony West open-mike series takes place here—and fiction and nonfiction readings, live jazz, and a good meal serving up dishes such as steak frites and black sesame–crusted salmon as well.

At The New School (66 W. 12th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Greenwich Village | 10011 | 212/229–5488 | www.newschool.edu/events | Subway: 1, 2, 3, F, M to 14th St.) topical panels predominate (Women Writers of the Diaspora), but are complemented with poetry (An Evening with John Ashbery) and film; expect incisive and thoughtprovoking results, whether the subject is philosophy, economics, or design. Jazz and chamber music performances are also part of New School’s low-priced lineup ($5 is typical for panel events; free–$20 for music).

The venerable New York Studio School (8 W. 8th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Greenwich Village | 10011 | 212/673–6466 | www.nyss.org | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.) hosts two—usually free, almost always on Tuesday and Wednesday—evening lecture series on contemporary issues in art. Hear from both emerging and established artists, and from some of the biggest names in art history and criticism.

Theater

A pristine wood-lined theater, the 866-seat Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Pl., at Washington Sq. S, Greenwich Village | 10012 | 212/352– 3101 tickets | www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu | Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, M to W. 4th St./Washington Sq.), supports emerging artists, with a growing repertoire of interesting dance, music, and theater events, often in collaboration with other esteemed companies—including its Village neighbor, the Public.

The Skirball was built in 2003 and designed by Kevin Roche. This contemporary venue on the New York University campus provides a rare larger-scale anchor for the arts in this part of town.

WEST VILLAGE

Readings and Lectures

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (208 W. 13th St., between 7th and 8th Aves., West Village | 10011 | 212/620–7310 | www.gaycenter.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, F, M to 14th St.; L to 8th Ave.) sponsors Second Tuesdays, Center Voices, and other series of engaging and topical talks (and occasional films, dance, or theatrical events), with themes ranging from out lawyers to Elaine Stritch.

Theater

A venerable neighborhood survivor, the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher St., between Hudson and Bleecker Sts., West Village | 10014 | 212/279–4200 tickets | www.lucillelorteltheatre.com | Subway: 1 to Christopher St.) became known in the 1950s for its influential interpretations of works by Brecht and Dos Passos. Previously known as the Theatre De Lys, this 299seater has forged on to become the home to 21st-century productions of the MCC Theater company (known for Neil LaBute’s challenging plays in the century’s first decade), the Atlantic Theater company, and free summer shows that appeal to both children and adults by Theatreworks/USA.

CHELSEA

Dance

Dance Theater Workshop (219 W. 19th St., between 7th and 8th Aves., Chelsea | 10011 | 212/691–6500 | www.dancetheaterworkshop.org | Subway: 1 to 18th St.; A, C, E, L to 14th St.–8th Ave.), an important venue for the dance world since its founding in 1965, serves as a laboratory for new choreographers; performances are often accompanied by enlightening post-show talks with the dance makers themselves. DTW is also known for its multimedia and kid-friendly Family Matters series.

In a former Art Deco movie house in Chelsea, the 472-seat

Joyce Theater (175 8th Ave., at W. 19th St., Chelsea | 10011 | 212/691–9740, 212/242–0800 tickets | www.joyce.org | Subway: A, C, E to 14th St.; L to 8th Ave.) has superb sight lines and presents a full spectrum of contemporary dance. Garth Fagan Dance

(garthfagandance.org), Ballet Hispanico (www.ballethispanico.org), and taut and athletic Parsons Dance (www.parsonsdance.org) are regulars on the Joyce’s always rewarding lineup.

The Joyce SoHo (155 Mercer St., between Houston and Prince Sts., SoHo | 10013 | 212/431–9233, 212/242–0800 tickets | www.joyce.org | Subway: R to Prince St.; B, D, F, M to Broadway–Lafayette St.), their satellite location, is a 74seat theater that shows smaller-scale, experimental work. Both offer $10 tickets for some performances.

Theater

The Kitchen (512 W. 19th St., between 10th and 11th Aves., Chelsea | 10011 | 212/255–5793 | www.thekitchen.org | Subway: C, E to 23rd St.) is the place for multimedia performance art, and has been a crucible for artists on the experimental edge—think Charles Atlas, Kiki Smith, Elizabeth Streb—since 1971. Literary events are often free; most others can be seen for as little as $10– $15.

TADA! (15 W. 28th St., between Broadway and 5th Ave., Chelsea | 10001 | 212/252–1619 | www.tadatheater.com |

Subway: 1, 6, R to 28th St.) presents vibrant musical theater pieces with all-kid casts.

MIDTOWN

Dance

The 299-seat Jerome Robbins Theater opened in 2010, and with it the first full season of the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) (37 Arts,450 W. 37 St., between 9th and 10th Aves., Midtown | 10018 | 646/731–3200 | www.bacnyc.org | Subway: A, C, E, to 34th St./Penn Station). Mikhail Baryshnikov’s longtime vision has come to fruition in this modern venue for contemporary performance dedicated to movement, which can be as much about theater as it is about dance.

The seminal Wooster Group (www.thewoostergroup.org) is now in residence, and their productions along with those of a roster of boundary-breaking international choreographers (George Stamos, Donna Uchizono, and Emmanuèle Phuon), co-productions with The Kitchen, and BAC Flicks (Mondays with Merce and more) are all part of the vibrant —and very well-priced—programming here.

Film

Fodor’s Choice | The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

(11 W. 53rd St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/708–9400 | www.moma.org | Subway: E, M to 5th Ave./53rd St.; B, D, F, M to 47th–50th Sts./Rockefeller Center) has some of the most engaging international repertory you’ll find anywhere; it’s shown in the state-of-the- art Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters 1 and 2.

Movie tickets are available at the museum for same-day screenings (a limited number are released up to one week in advance for an extra fee); they’re free if you have purchased museum admission.

Adjacent to the Plaza Hotel sits the Paris (4 W. 58th St., between 5th and 6th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/688–3800 | www.theparistheatre.com | Subway: N, R to 5th Ave./59th St.; F to 57th St.)—a rare stately remnant of the single-screen era. Opened in 1948, it retains its wide screen (and its balcony) and is a fine showcase for new movies, often foreign and with a limited release.

SonyWonder Technology Lab (550 Madison Ave., between E. 55th and E. 56th Sts., Midtown East | 10022 | 212/833–8100, 212/833–7858 tickets | www.sonywondertechlab.com | Subway: E, M to 5th Ave.– 53rd St.), the kid-oriented hands-on extravaganza of hightech how-to for moviemaking and more, shows films as well on Thursday and Saturday.

Though mostly of the Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street genre, it’s worth checking their schedule for teen and adult options. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. You can reserve tickets—all free—by phone in the week of a screening.

Its vintage is late 1960s, but the Ziegfeld (141 W. 54th St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/307–1862 | www.clearviewcinemas.com| Subway: F to 57th St./6th Ave.; N, Q, R to 57th St./7th Ave.) is as close as you’ll come to a movie-palace experience in New York today. Its chandeliers and crimson decor, raised balcony, wide screen, some 1,200 seats, good sight lines, and solid sound system make the Ziegfeld a special place to view anything it serves up. Grand-opening red-carpet galas often take place here as well.

Music

Historic Town Hall (123 W. 43rd St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/840–2824 | www.the- townhall-nyc.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.) is where Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio show broadcasts from in December. It also hosts programs of jazz, cabaret, and rock, the Peoples Symphony Concert series, and a variety of international music, theater, and dance events.

Fodor’s Choice | Carnegie Hall (881 7th Ave., at W. 57th St., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/247–7800 | www.carnegiehall.org | Subway: N, Q, R to 57th St.; B, D, E to 7th Ave.) is, of course, one of the world’s most famous concert halls. Its incomparable acoustics make it one of the best venues—anywhere—to hear classical music, but its presentations of jazz, pop, cabaret, and folk music are superlative as well.

Since Tchaikovsky conducted the opening-night concert on May 5, 1891, virtually every important musician the world has known has performed in this Italian Renaissance–style building, often at the peak of his or her creative powers. Leonard Bernstein had his debut here; Vladimir Horowitz made his historic return to the concert stage here.

The world’s top orchestras perform in the grand and fabulously steep 2,804-seat Isaac Stern Auditorium, the 268-seat Weill Recital Hall often features young talents making their New York debuts, and the subterranean 644seat Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall attracts big-name artists such as the Kronos Quartet, Milton Nascimento, and Ravi Shankar to its modern and stylish space. A noted roster of family concerts is also part of Carnegie’s programming.

TIP The Carnegie box office offers $10 rush tickets on the day of performance, or you may buy partial-view seating in advance at 50% off the full ticket price.

Performance Centers

City Center (131 W. 55th St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/581–1212 CityTix | www.nycitycenter.org | Subway: N, Q, R to 57th St./7th Ave.; F to 57th St./6th Ave.) has a neo-Moorish look, built in 1923 for the Ancient and Accepted Order of the Mystic Shrine. Pause as you enter to admire the beautifully ornate tile work that plasters the lobby; a painstaking 2011 renovation makes the freshly refurbished detail hard to miss.

The 2,200-seat main stage is perfectly suited for its role as a showplace for dance and special theatrical events. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (www.alvinailey.org) and Paul Taylor Dance Company (www.ptdc.org) present their primary New York seasons here.

City Center’s annual Fall for Dance festival is a must; all tickets are $10, the performances sell out very quickly. Another seasonal highlight—usually throughout January—is the lively productions of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (212/769–1000 | www.nygasp.org), which feature such G&S favorites as The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, plus rarities like Sullivan’s last completed work,

The Rose of Persia.

The popular Encores! musicals-in-concert series is staged here, as are—on the smaller City Center Stages I and II— a number of productions and programs of the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Pearl Theatre Company.

Radio City Music Hall (1260 6th Ave., between W. 50th and W. 51st Sts., Midtown West | 10020 | 212/247–4777 | www.radiocity.com | Subway: B, D, F to 47th– 50th/Rockefeller Center) is the famed home of the scissorkicking Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, but this stunning Art Deco showplace also packs its some 6,000 seats for spectacles like Cirque du Soleil, musical events, and the occasional film, set, perhaps, to a live orchestra.

Readings and Lectures

The nonprofit Municipal Art Society (MAS) (111 W. 57th St., between 6th and 7th Aves., Midtown West | 10019 | 212/935–3960, 212/453–0050 Tour Hotline | www.mas.org | Subway: F to 57th St.; D, E to 7th Ave./53rd St.) is a committed advocate for smart urban planning and the architectural treasures that define this metropolis.

Count on their walking tours—on weekends mostly, plus a downtown series that sets out at midday on Tuesday—to offer a fresh perspective and feature the rarely seen, from Dawn Powell’s Greenwich Village to a rolling tour of Grand Central Station to a visit to Little Syria in Manhattan’s lower west side. Their resource library has the corner on NYC arcana.

The New York Public Library (Celeste Bartos Forum,W. 42nd St. at 5th Ave., Midtown West | 10018 | 212/930– 0855, or 888/718-4253 | www.nypl.org/ | Subway: B, D, F,

M to 42nd St.) presents LIVE from the NYPL, a rich program of lectures and reading events at the famous main library and its branches elsewhere in the city.

Theater

The onetime Selwyn—the venerable home to the works of Coward, Kaufman, and Porter in their heyday—is now known as the American Airlines Theatre (227 W. 42nd St., between 7th and 8th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/719–1300 tickets | www.roundabouttheatre.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.; A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority). After incarnations as a burlesque hall and pornographic movie house, this splendidly restored 1918 Venetian-style playhouse is now home to the not-for-profit Roundabout Theatre Company, which is acclaimed for its revivals of classic musicals and plays, such as a Doug Hughes–directed production of A Man for All Seasons.

The Barrymore Theatre (243 W. 47th St., between Broadway and 8th Ave., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/239– 6200 tickets | www.shubertorganization.com | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.; C, E to 50th St.) was that rare Broadway house that stayed legit throughout the Depression and still honors its original namesake, Ethel Barrymore. The 1928 Elizabethan wonder greets theatergoers with two stone archways. Shows within have included David Rabe’s original Hurly Burly in 1984 and the innovative revival of Sondheim’s Company in 2006.

In 1997 Disney refurbished the elaborate 1903 Art Nouveau New Amsterdam Theater (214 W. 42nd St., between 7th and 8th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/282–2907 | www.newamsterdamtheatre.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.; A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority), where Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Fanny Brice, and the Ziegfeld Follies once drew crowds. The Lion King ruled here for the first nine years of its run; Mary Poppins has prevailed ever since.

In a magnificently restored century-old performance space, the New Victory Theater (209 W. 42nd St., between 7th and 8th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 646/223–3010 | www.newvictory.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, A, C, E, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.) presents an international roster of supremely kid-pleasing plays, music, and dance performances. Be dazzled by the likes of Canada’s Circus INcognitus; Mabou Mines’s Peter & Wendy—featuring Bunraku puppets and Celtic music; Mischief, a brilliant U.K.-based introduction to dance—with the inspired help of giant foam noodles; and Australian puppet madness, in The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy.

Count on reasonable ticket prices ($17 is the average), high-energy and high-class productions, and the opportunity for kids to chat with the artists after many performances.

Playwrights Horizons (416 W. 42nd St., between 9th and 10th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/564–1235, 212/279–4200 tickets | www.playwrightshorizons.org | Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority) is known for its support of new work by American playwrights. The first home for eventual Broadway hits such as Grey Gardens and Wendy Wasserstein’s Heidi Chronicles, this is where you will find the latest work from Craig Lucas, Doug Wright, and Edward Albee.

Signature Theatre Company (Peter Norton Space,555 W. 42nd St., between 10th and 11th Aves., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/244–7529 info and tickets | www.signaturetheatre.org | Subway: A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority) devotes each season to works by a single playwright (August Wilson, Horton Foote, Sam Shepard, and Tony Kushner among them), or an entire tradition, such as the seminal works of the Negro Ensemble Company.

All tickets are $20 for a show’s first run. Come 2012, when, at this writing, the theater’s new Frank Gehry–designed digs one block east are expected to be complete, the same ticket policy will be in place.

Moorish Revival in style, the St. James (246 W. 44th St., between Broadway and 8th Ave., Midtown West | 10036 | 212/239–6200 tickets | www.jujamcyn.com| Subway: 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, S to 42nd St./Times Sq.; A, C, E to 42nd St./Port Authority) went up in 1927, and has been running legit at least since the late 1930s. Home of Mel Brooks’s juggernaut The Producers in its heyday, and where a Tonyladen revival of Gypsy held sway late in the first decade of the 21st century, the St. James is where Lauren Bacall was an usherette in the ’40s, and where a little show called Oklahoma! premiered, with a rousing score and choreography to match, and changed the musical forever.

UPPER EAST SIDE

Music

In its Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium (and occasionally in the Medieval Sculpture Hall and the Temple of Dendur) the

Upper West Side | 212/258–9800 | www.jalc.org | Subway: 1, A, B, C, D to 59th St./Columbus Circle) in 2004. Stages in Rafael Viñoly’s crisply modern Frederick P. Rose Hall feature the 1,100-seat Rose Theater (where a worthy Jazz for Young People series joins the buoyant adult programming a few times each year).

Also here is the Allen Room, an elegant and intimate 310– 460-seater, and the even more intimate 140-seat Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola.

Merkin Concert Hall (Kaufman Center,129 W. 67th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave., Upper West Side | 10023 | 212/501–3330 | www.kaufman-center.org | Subway: 1 to 66th St./Lincoln Center), which was freshly refurbished for the 2008–09 season with the artful touch of architect Robert A. M. Stern, is a lovely, acoustically advanced 450-seater that presents chamber pieces; it’s also a fine spot for jazz, world, and new music.

Adventurous programming of jazz, classical, early and modern music, and dance continues at the Miller Theatre

(Columbia University,2960 Broadway, at W. 116th St., Morningside Heights | 10027 | 212/854–1633, 212/854– 7799 box office | www.millertheatre.com | Subway: 1 to 116th St.). A well-designed 688-seater, this is a hall that rewards serious listeners.

Performance Centers

Fodor’s Choice | Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (W. 62nd to W. 66th Sts., Broadway/Columbus Ave. to Amsterdam Ave., Upper West Side | 10023 | 212/875– 5456 Customer Service daily 9–9, 212/721–6500 CenterCharge, 212/875–5375 for accessibility information | www.lincolncenter.org | Subway: 1 to 66th St./Lincoln Center) is the uncontested star of New York City’s performance universe. Just in time for its 50th anniversary—which coincided with the 2009–2010 season —the wraps came off most of the construction geared to improving and enhancing its timeless, elegant buildings. And from the moment you approach the main plaza and its exuberant centerpiece, the Revson Fountain, it’s clear the revitalization effort has more than succeeded.

Rising in stages from 1962 to 1969, the sprawling 16-acre campus was aptly built on the once gritty urban grounds that set the scene for the deeply energized music and dance in West Side Story. The predominantly white, travertine-clad buildings were originally designed by a host of “who”s in 20th-century architecture, all of whom applied a classical aesthetic to their cleanly modern structures.

Formal and U-shaped, the massive Avery Fisher Hall

(Columbus Ave., at W. 65th St. | 212/875–5030) opened in 1962. Then known as Philharmonic Hall, the 2,738seater’s original design, by Max Abramovitz, was given an overhaul in 1976 by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, resulting in the much-improved acoustics that draw the world’s greatest musicians today.

Avery Fisher is home to the stellar New York Philharmonic (212/875–5656 | nyphil.org), which Alan Gilbert conducts to great acclaim from late September to early June. Orchestra rehearsals at 9:45 am are open to the public on selected weekday mornings (usually Wednesday or Thursday) for $18. A popular Young People’s Concert series is offered on Saturday afternoon, four times throughout the season. In August, Lincoln Center’s longest-running classical series, the Mostly Mozart Festival (212/875–5399), captures the crowds.

A handful of Mozart festival events are held at Alice Tully Hall (1941 Broadway, at W. 65th St. | 212/671–4050), but its primary resident is the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (212/875–5788 | www.chambermusicsociety.org). The hall is considered to be as acoustically perfect as a concert hall can get. It was designed in 1969 by Pietro Belluschi for a music and film audience of 1,100, and was an instant success.

When it reopened for the spring 2009 season, after a hiatus for an aesthetic (and acoustic) transformation by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, it’s fair to say event goers were utterly transfixed with its new transparency. The once rather subdued facade has become an angular glass beacon, with an illuminated indoor rehearsal space and lobby.

Just down the street is the lovely 250-seat Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse (165 W. 65th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave.),a high-rise space for intimate chamber ensembles.

The 3,800-seat Metropolitan Opera House(30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Columbus Ave., between W. 62nd and W. 65th Sts. | 212/362–6000) with its suitably luxe Austriancrystal chandeliers and immense, multistory Marc Chagall paintings, premiered in 1966.

The titan of American opera companies and an institution since its founding in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera

(212/362–6000 | www.metfamilyopera.org) brings the world’s leading singers to the vast stage here from October

to April. The company’s music director and principal conductor, James Levine, despite ongoing health challenges, ensures that the Met’s orchestra rivals the world’s finest symphonies; its programming eagerly embraces the 21st century. From a controversial new Tosca in 2009 to a senses-defying staging for Das Rheingold in 2010, all performances, including those sung in English, are unobtrusively subtitled on small screens on the back of the seat in front of you.

Also resident at the Met is American Ballet Theatre (ABT) (212/477–3030 | www.abt.org), which is renowned for its gorgeous full-program renditions of the 19th-century classics (Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty) with choreography reenvisioned by 20th-century masters. Since its founding in 1940, the company has nurtured the likes of Baryshnikov, Makarova, and Gregory, and 21st-century principal dancers Gillian Murphy, David Hallberg, and Herman Cornejo. ABT has two New York seasons: eight weeks of performances begin in May here at the Met, and starting with the 2010 holiday season, their Nutcracker is staged at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

Now known as the David H. Koch Theater (Columbus Ave., at W. 62nd St. | 212/870–5570), the Philip Johnson– designed former New York State Theater opened its doors here in 1964. Although perhaps not as famous as the Met next door, here at the spruced-up Koch the New York City Opera (212/870–5570 | www.nycopera.com) is distinguished by its own vibrant personality. Founded in 1943, the company is known for its diverse repertory and its soft spot for American composers—a theme that has only been strengthened with the 2009 appointment of George Steel as artistic director.

Ever more innovative, and often rarely staged, productions (Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, Richard Strauss’s Intermezzo) provide fine vehicles for this company’s great voices, which follow in the footsteps of Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills, who began their careers here. City Opera performs October to November and March to April. Supertitles—the opera’s libretto, line-by-line—are displayed above the stage.

Sharing the Koch is the equally formidable New York City Ballet (NYCB) (212/870–5570 | www.nycballet.com), with its unmatched repertoire of 20th-century works, predominantly by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Peter Martins. The NYCB’s 90 dancers—Jock Soto, Kyra Nichols, and Wendy Whelan have all graced this stage—are superb in the short-form programs this company has excelled in since its first performances, in 1948.

Its fall season starts in September and early October, then returns in late November through December for their beloved annual production of Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Its winter repertory program runs in January and February, and a spring season runs from May into June.

Housed in Eero Saarinen’s finely scaled 1965 Lincoln Center Theater complex, and home to a rich tradition of plays and musicals, the 1,047-seat Vivian Beaumont and the 334-seat Mitzi E. Newhouse theaters are being joined in 2012 by the rooftop Claire Tow Theater.

With 131 seats and a small grassy terrace for attendees, this Hugh Hardy–designed add-on has been created to offer full stagings of works by the newest directors, playwrights, and designers.

The comfy 268-seat auditorium of the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave. | 212/875–5600 | www.filmlinc.com) has what may be the best sight lines in town. It presents series devoted to “the best in world cinema” that run the gamut from silents (with occasional live organ accompaniment) and documentaries to retrospectives and recent releases, often on the same theme or from the same country. And here’s where to come on certain Saturdays to catch The Met: Live in HD screenings.

Tucked under the Illuminated Lawn on the main campus, across the street, the Elinor Bunin-Monroe Film Center, which opened in 2011, offers two small screening rooms (a 150-seater and a 90-seater), a café, and an archive that encourages further immersion into NYC’s film arts. (165 W. 65th St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Ave. | 212/875–5610 | www.filmlinc.com)

TIP Discounted day-of-show tickets for most Lincoln Center venues may be purchased in person at the David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway between W. 62nd and W. 63rd; www.lincolncenter.org/live/index.php/atrium), which also functions as a lounge with a cafe and free Wi-Fi. For programs Monday–Thursday, a limited number of same-day $20 rush orchestra-seat tickets are available at the Met box office two hours before curtain.

Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, at W. 95th St., Upper West Side | 10025 | 212/864–5400 | www.symphonyspace.org | Subway: 1, 2, 3 to 96th St.)

presents an energetic roster of music (including its famed Wall to Wall composer programs), from world to classical. On the literary front, its two halls—the Peter Jay Sharpe Theatre and the Leonard Nimoy Thalia host a celebrated roster of literary events, including Bloomsday and the famed Selected Shorts series of stories read by prominent actors and broadcast live on National Public Radio. Opera on film and Thalia Film Sundays (usually a true-to-its-roots art-house screening) round out the adult programming.

For the family, turn to their hugely popular Just Kidding lineup for a nonstop parade of zany plays, sing-alongs, midday Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) movies, and animations, like the Gustafer Yellowgold Show.

HARLEM

Music

Apollo Theater.

If the Apollo’s famed Amateur Night doesn’t get you off the couch, keep in mind its more intimate Apollo Music Cafe events on Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights, featuring some of the finest artists in jazz and other music traditions —and some right on the edge of fame.

The Apollo’s notable weeklong Harlem Jazz Shrines festival in May is held in venerable nearby venues Lenox Lounge, Minton’s Playhouse, and Showman’s Cafe. | 253 W. 125th St., at 8th Ave./Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem | 10027 | 212/531–5300, 800/745–3000 tickets (Ticketmaster) | www.apollotheater.org | Subway: A, B, C, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to 125th St.

The Gatehouse (Harlem Stage,150 Convent Ave.at W. 135th St., Hamilton Heights | 10031 | 212/281–9240 | www.harlemstage.org | Subway: 1 to 137th St.) is a cozy 196-seat uptown venue—in a perfectly restored 1890 Croton Aqueduct facility—for jazz, world music, and dance.

St. Ann’s Warehouse (38 Water St., between Main and Dock Sts., DUMBO | 11201 | 718/254–8779, 866/911– 4111 tickets | stannswarehouse.org | Subway: A, C to High St.; F to York St.) has hosted everything from the boundarystretching 2009 opera La Didone to award-winning performances from the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival, all in a onetime spice-milling factory.

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