New York City is known as the top city for theater in the country, with numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters, plus the Tony Awards are held here annually. However, there are other cities that offer hot spots for theater if New York is not the place for you, or maybe you’re too far away. Here are some theater destinations to check out when you are deciding on that internship, move or weekend trip!
Washington D.C. is known as our nation’s capital, but also is one of many great theater towns. There is of course the Kennedy Center, widely known for holding a variety of fine art events throughout the year. Also the National Theatre, which holds many out of town previews for shows bound for Broadway, like the new musical If/Then starring Idina Menzel. There is also the Signature Theater, which has many classic shows and new works in their season each year.
Chicago is also a huge theater town, sprouting many big musicals premieres like The Addams Family, Big Fish, and the Tony Award-winning Kinky Boots. The Chicago Theater is probably the biggest venue for such premieres. The Cadillac Palace and Ford Oriental Theater are the places to go for many touring productions straight from Broadway. The Goodman and Steppenwolf Theater are great for original and classic plays, many like August: Osage County and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf that go straight to Broadway. There is also the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Drury Lane Theater with many more fantastic productions.
Seattle, like D.C., is well known for many out of town tryouts, like Shrek the Musical. The Seattle Theater Group (STG) owns the Paramount, Moore, and Neptune theaters. The Paramount holds many touring productions, The Moore is Seattle’s oldest theater, and the Neptune is a converted single screen cinema. The Fifth Avenue Theater is also home to its great productions and big seasons, soon hosting the premiere of Secondhand Lion. Also the Seattle Public and Seattle Repertory Theater are worth checking out.
This is only a brief overview of all the fantastic theater you can see across the country. Continue visiting these cities and New York City, plus look around your own hometown. You never what theater you will find outside your doorstep.
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