Entertainment in New York City

New York City is a paradise garden for entertainment. You can catch foreign and independent films that may be screening at only a handful of screens around the country. You can watch big budget Broadway shows. You can witness what a bunch of talented rising stars can do with little money, lots of imagination and a willingness to be different. There are comedy clubs, jazz clubs, television shows... really something for everyone.

Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway Theater Resources

Most "Broadway" theaters are not actually on Broadway! You will find them between 6th and 8th Avenues from 41st St to 54th St. An exception is the Vivian Beaumont which is a bit further uptown in Lincoln Center. Currently, there are 39 Broadway theater houses. Officially, a Broadway theater house has 500 or more seats; an off Broadway house has 100-499; under 100 is off-off Broadway. The off- and off-off Broadway theaters can be located anywhere, even the outer boroughs. While the Broadway productions attract the stars, glamour and big audiences, they have more pressure to appeal to large numbers of people and to make money. Many shows do not recoup the original investment, which can be several million dollars. Off-off broadway shows don't have much money to begin with, and are free to take theatrical risks. Sometimes you will find these theaters in the basement of a worn looking building. Don't be afraid! There's good stuff going on...

Live Broadway (Official site for Broadway Theater)
Theater Development Fund - TKTS Booth (discount tickets)

Midtown Location: Duffy Square, 47th St/Broadway-7th

Downtown Location: Front St/John St (near South Street Seaport)

Brooklyn Location: 1 Metrotech Center at Jay St/Myrtle Ave Promenade

Recent TKTS offerings on Entertainment-Link.com
Playbill On-Line

Tip: Look for the link to Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies on Playbill's web site for useful information on getting cheap tickets
I Love New York Theater (presented by The Broadway League)
Alliance of Resident Theatres New York (Official site for Off-Broadway Theater)
Off Broadway Theater Information Center
Off-Off Online
Broadway.com
NYtheatre.com
Theatermania
Time Out NY
Organizations that give out free tickets to shows needing "extra audience"

Audience Extras

Play-By-Play

Theatremania - Gold Club

Classical Music, Opera, and Ballet

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Avery Fisher Hall - New York Philharmonic Orchestra

Metropolitan Opera House - The Metropolitan Opera

New York State Theater

Vivian Beaumont Theater - Lincoln Center Theater

Alice Tully Hall - Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

The Julliard School

Walter Reade Theater - Film Society of Lincoln Center

Jazz at Lincoln Center (Located in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle)

Special Festivals and Events at Lincoln

Mostly Mozart Festival (summers only)
Great Performers at Lincoln Center (click on Great Performers link)
Lincoln Center Out of Doors (click on Out of Doors link)

Carnegie Hall
Merkin Hall
Radio City Music Hall

Independent and Foreign Film Houses

IFC Film Center (6th Ave/3rd St)
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas (Broadway/62nd-63rd Sts)
Film Forum (209 W. Houston between 6th/7th Avenues)
Angelika Film Center (18 W. Houston St between Broadway/Mercer)
Landmark Sunshine Cinemas (E. Houston St between 1st/2nd Aves)
Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th/5th-6th Aves)
Brooklyn Academy of Music Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Avenue between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn)
Millenium Film (66 E. 4th St between Bowery and 2nd Ave)
New York Film Academy (100 E 17th St./Park Ave South)
Ocularis at Galapagos Art Space (70 N. 6th St between Kent and Wythe, Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Comedy Clubs

Boston Comedy Club (82 W 3rd St between Thompson and Sullivan Streets)
Caroline's (1626 Broadway at 50th St)
Comedy Cellar (117 MacDougal between W 3rd and Bleecker)
Comic Strip Live (1568 2nd Ave between 81st and 82nd Streets)
Dangerfield's (1st Ave/61st St)
Gotham Comedy Club (208 W. 23rd St bet 7th/8th)
New York Comedy Club (241 E. 24th St. bet 2nd/3rd)
Stand Up NY (236 W. 78th bet Broadway/Amsterdam)
Upright Citizens Brigade (307 W. 26th St at 8th Ave)
Rififi Comedy Series (332 E. 11th St between 1st/2nd Avenues)
National Comedy Theatre (347 W 36th bet 8th-9th)