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Greater Philadelphia’s venerable theaters and performing arts venues stage a wide variety of titillating productions all year long — regardless of the season.
Experiences for a variety of tastes and ages blanket the city with every flavor of performance and genre.
Broad Street’s Avenue of the Arts hosts top-tier stage, orchestral, dance, opera and comedy productions at venues like the Tony Award-winning Wilma Theater and the Ensemble Arts Philly campus. Traditional theater, local works, experimental ventures and children’s shows fill schedules at historic playhouses like Walnut Street Theater and off-the-beaten-path spaces such as FringeArts. And exciting engagements play out in the countryside at institutions like Bucks County Playhouse and Hedgerow Theatre as well.
Read on for a guide to the best performing arts venues in Greater Philadelphia and a sampling of can’t-miss shows for spring and summer 2025.
The gilded, crystal-chandeliered and velvet-curtained Academy of Music is a fixture of the Kimmel Cultural Campus, one of three venues now part of Ensemble Arts Philly. The 160-plus-year-old venue on Philly’s Avenue of the Arts plays host to Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Ballet (formerly The Pennsylvania Ballet), much of the annual Broadway Series and more.
Where: Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Noted for both world premieres and popular works, prominent regional Arden Theatre (and its eponymous theater company) presents diverse works on its main stage series for adults, as well as captivating productions for children. The troupe, established in 1988, has garnered much acclaim, including dozens of Barrymore Awards.
Where: Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
On the first level of the historic Drake building, two renovated theaters — the intimate Louis Bluver Theatre and larger Proscenium Theatre — serve as home to InterAct Theatre Company and several resident companies, including PlayPenn, Simpatico Theatre Project, Azuka Theatre and Inis Nua Theatre under the “At The Drake” performance banner.
Where: The Drake, 302 S. Hicks Street, Philadelphia, PA
The 220-seat waterfront FringeArts Theater — built inside a century-old former riverside pumping station — hosts contemporary out-of-the-mainstream Fringe performances, experimental concerts and other events throughout the year, including the annual Fringe Festival. Before or after a show, visit the onsite restaurant Fringe Bar and its verdant outdoor Haas Biergarten space.
Where: FringeArts, 140 N. Christopher Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA
One of just two Shubert Organization venues outside of New York City, the Forrest Theatre bears the name of Edwin Forrest, a 19th-century Shakespearean actor and Philadelphia native. One of the city’s premier venues for more than 90 years, the Forrest frequently hosts touring productions of Broadway shows.
Where: Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly designed Philly’s most renowned theater space, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, a gem along the Avenue of the Arts, which plays host to The Philadelphia Orchestra, regional productions and international masters of music and dance. Opened in 2001, the Kimmel is the cornerstone venue of Ensemble Arts Philly, previously known as Kimmel Cultural Campus. The building features two primary auditoriums: the Perelman Theater and Marian Anderson Hall, the former Verizon Hall recently renamed to honor the Philadelphia-born opera singer, humanitarian and Civil Rights icon.
Where: Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
For almost two decades, St. Stephen’s Theater — an intimate 150-seat performance space located in the rear of a Center City church — has been the home of local theatrical powerhouse Lantern Theater Company. Staging contemporary works, classic plays and original shows during its season, the theater company has racked up a number of Barrymore Awards over the years.
Where: Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen's Theater, 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA
The versatile 1,840-seat, circa-1918 Miller Theater (previously known as the Merriam Theater) on the Avenue of the Arts hosts stand-up comedians, celebrity chefs, dance troupes, theater acts and much more. Intimate and enthusiastic crowds add to performances at the venue, one of the three Kimmel Cultural Campus locations now part of Ensemble Arts Philly.
Where: Miller Theater, 250 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Founded in 1966 by John E. Allen, Jr., New Freedom Theatre in North Philadelphia is Pennsylvania’s oldest Black theatrical organization and one of the nation’s most honored Black professional theater companies. Occupying the former Philadelphia Cotillion Society building, the theater has staged productions from celebrated African American playwrights like James Baldwin, Ossie Davis and August Wilson. The program’s alumni include Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr., Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men, Living Single’s Erika Alexander and Tony Award nominee Samm-Art Williams.
Where: New Freedom Theatre, 1346 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania is one of the nation’s top urban collegiate performing arts centers. The institution offers nearly all genres of cultural performance including jazz, world music, contemporary dance and touring plays in three spaces: the Harold L. Zellerbach, Harold Prince and Bruce Montgomery theatres.
Where: Penn Live Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
One of the oldest continuously running theaters in the nation, the Plays & Players Theatre opened as The Little Theatre in 1913. Its location on quiet residential Delancey Place in Rittenhouse Square adds to its charm — as do the comedic antics of theater troupe 1812 Productions, whose annual romp This Is the Week That Is has been a Philly favorite for more than a decade. Upstairs, black box Skinner Studio offers additional dance, music and theater programming and access to members-only late-night bar Quig’s Pub.
Where: Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA
Don’t be afraid Stephen King fans, that’s rūm as in “room.” One of Philly’s newest theaters and the brick-and-mortar home of Without A Cue Productions, Red Rūm Theater opened in early 2023. Focusing on interactive murder mystery dinner theater shows, the audience is just as involved in the production as the cast, tasked to figure out whodunit.
Where: Red Rūm Theater, 601 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
An iconic landmark in Philly’s Mt. Airy neighborhood, this former movie house has been home to Quintessence Theatre Group for 14 years. Known for reimagining the classics, the company has staged ambitious battles, heroic journeys and epic romances within this equally grand Art Deco-style theater. Now, the troupe has made things official-official by purchasing the historic building, transforming the company’s longtime host venue into its permanent home.
Where: Quintessence Theatre at the Sedgwick, 7137 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
The Suzanne Roberts Theatre along Philly’s Avenue of the Arts has been home to the half-century-old Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) since the venue opened in 2007. The theater — named for the actress, playwright, director and television host who is also matriarch of the Comcast-owning Roberts family — is a hotspot for contemporary plays and musicals for adult audiences from the PTC and organizations like Opera Philadelphia.
Where: Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
South Philly-based nonprofit company Theatre Exile explores the human condition through timely and thought-provoking productions meant to raise social well-being and community consciousness. Established in 1996, the theater focuses on contemporary works and new plays featuring local talent performing in an intimate setting.
Where: Theatre Exile, 1340-48 S. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Dating back to 1808, Philly’s Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest continuously operating theater in the entire English-speaking world. During its first years, the theater hosted a horse circus and horse dramas, with its first traditional performance an 1812 production of Rivals attended by President Thomas Jefferson. The first theater to offer air conditioning, gas footlights and electric chandeliers (as well as the term “curtain call”), the National Historic Landmark presents productions on three stages: the Mainstage, Independence Studio on 3 and Studio 5.
Where: Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Proud winner of the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award, Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater is an independent theater located along Philly’s Avenue of the Arts. The 50-year-old stagehouse is known for its intimate setting and adventurous live art that engages audiences in imaginative reflections on the complexities of contemporary life.
Where: The Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
Located in the Montgomery County borough of Ambler, vibrant and award-winning regional theater ACT II Playhouse regularly draws patrons from Philadelphia and beyond for its eclectic productions in an intimate setting. Founded in 1998, the venue — with dozens of Barrymore Awards nominations and wins in its coffers — churns out a broad range of performances including comedies, dramas, musicals and original works.
Where: Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Avenue, Ambler, PA
Housed in a former movie house overlooking the Delaware River, Bucks County’s 300-seat Bristol Riverside Theater stages hundreds of shows each year, including Mainstage productions, a summer music fest series, a Christmas show and special events. The theater is known for its commitment to inclusivity and fostering local talent.
Where: Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA
Historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope dates back to 1939, but previously housed an 18th-century gristmill dating back to 1751. Since then, the riverside theater has seen the likes of Grace Kelly, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Redford, Liza Minnelli and more grace its stage. Professional Broadway producers took over the venue in 2012, returning to its roots incubating soon-to-be Broadway hits and staying open year-round for local and touring productions, world premieres, original plays, musicals, live music and more. Make it a full night at the Playhouse Deck restaurant and bar.
Where: Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Main Street, New Hope, PA
Once a 19th-century grist mill, Hedgerow Theatre has staged ground-breaking, culturally enriching and entertaining productions in its 100-seat theatre since 1923. One of the first resident repertory theatre companies in America, the Hedgerow Theatre Company has produced work by some of theater’s most impactful artists like Eugene O’Neill and Langston Hughes, featuring nationally acclaimed actors like Richard Basehart and Keanu Reeves and top-notch local talent.
Where: Hedgerow Theatre, 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA
The 440-seat Media Theatre opened in 1927 as Media’s largest movie theater and vaudeville house. Fast forward 100 years, and the theater now produces musicals, comedy shows and kid-friendly performances as the largest professional regional theater employing equity actors in Delaware County.
Where: The Media Theatre, 104 E. State Street, Media, PA
Since 1974, professional, regional theater People’s Light has produced an eclectic mix of shows, from Macbeth and Pride & Prejudice to the world premieres of Such Things as Vampires and The Harassment of Iris Malloy. The theater in Malvern, Chester County, also hosts classes for kids and other community engagement and educational programs.
Where: People's Light, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA
Founded in 2005 in the heart of Norristown’s Arts Hill District, Theatre Horizon is a vibrant regional theater known for its intimate setting and bold, diverse productions. Home to the acclaimed Theatre Horizon company, the 123-seat black box regularly hosts a mix of musicals, plays, limited engagements and one-day events, with a strong focus on accessibility and community.
Where: Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb Street, Norristown, PA
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Which will you choose?