What Is The Best City In The USA (New York excluded) For Theater?- Page 3

[sanda]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 10:17am

Washington DC should be in the list. For classic play, there's Shakespeare and Folger. For contemporary play, there's Woolly Mammoth. For musical, there's Signature. For a bit of everything, there are Studio, Arena Stage,Theater J,Warner's, etc. For tour, there are Kennedy Center and National. Not to mention many many more regional theaters like Everyman, Olney, Toby's, Synetic,etc.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 1:56pm

I'd also say that DC is a very vibrant theater city. We get some out of town tryouts, though not as much as Chicago. The Kennedy Center turns out many theater productions (as well as concerts, dance performances, symphonic performances, operas, etc.) and there are upwards of 70 theaters and theater companies in DC and its surrounding area. Also, DC has a rich theater history, particularly with the National Theater, which has been running for nearly 300 years, housed the tryouts for West Side Story and Show Boat (among other shows), and the last 37 presidents have seen shows there. With so many theaters around, there are a diverse collection of shows of all scales.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 2:01pm

I think Southern California is best viewed as a whole, in which case, I would add Palm Springs and the Desert to the LA/SD megalopolis. We have several terrific local theaters, some of which get some big stars because so many live out here at least part-time. Coachella Valley Repertory premiered a new play as a reading, "Happy Hour," that starred Gavin McLeod. I hear CVRep hopes to produce a fully staged version.

Also, there is a city in North America that should be on the list in terms of having great theater, but it's not in the United States: Toronto.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 2:09pm

The theatre if western springs in the suburbs of Chicago is brilliant!
Come see me in Ramona Quimby!!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 2:52pm

"Why is it that Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Houston all like to claim the "second-largest theater district/scene?" I've heard this in other cities, too, and I've learned to just smile and nod."

Back in the early 2000s, once the restorations of the Hanna Theatre and the Allen Theatre were completed, Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland had the largest seating capacity behind Lincoln Center that was operating under one organization and in one centralized district (the Palace, State, Ohio, and Allen are all lined up next to each other on Euclid Ave and it is possible to get to each one without having to go outside; the Hanna is just around the corner). Now that the Allen has been chopped up into several smaller spaces and Great Lakes Theater Festival added the thrust to the Hanna I'm not sure where that puts their overall capacity.

[DeafScribbler]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 5:36pm

Chicago and Minneapolis-St.Paul.

I've heard (I'm a former local here) that MSP actually has the most theater per capita after NYC - but has the best in terms of accessibility (ASL interpreting, Captioning, Audio Description, etc) that actually beats NYC's level of accessibility at the theater.

Don't believe me? Compare the calendars at handson.org (NYC) and vsamn.org (MSP). One can see that, for the month of March, NYC has 14 and MSP has 70+. (Yes NYC has five theaters with the handheld captioning system but it's unreliable, so I only count "live" captioning and ASL interpreted performances).

Maybe that's the reason Minneapolis is often referred as the "Mini Apple" compared to the "Big Apple"? :)

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 6:36pm

Cory, for years the Denver Center was like one seat short of the size of Lincolñ Center. Not sure what that status is now with the Ellie Caulkins Theater. Formally the Auditorium Theater.

[jbm2]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 7:01pm

Other than the large house (Steppenwolf, Goodman, ect...) which are the best theaters in Chicago to check out?

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 7:18pm

How long of an answer do you want? First, you have the top-tier equity theatres, led by the 5 Tony-winning ones: Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, and Victory Gardens. Then you have mid-size equity theaters like Court and American Theatre Company, or Writers Theatre in the north suburbs. And then there's also Timeline, which does great, incredibly intimate equity work. The suburbs also have a few really great musical houses--Drury Lane Oakbrook, Marriott Lincolnshire, and Paramount in Aurora. All of those places are the more "name" theatres that typically do really strong work.

And then there are the reputable itinerant and storefront companies. Some of the ones that have lasted a while and proven themselves frequently are Strawdog, Mary Arrchie, Redtwist, Steep, Profiles and Griffin. Some frequently do big musicals in small spaces, like Bailiwick, Porchlight, BoHo, and Theo Ubique. Mostly this scene is non-equity, but a few from this list are equity. In this city, there's not a big distinction in quality between equity and non-equity.

And that's really just a crash-course. There's also The House and The Hypocrites, and, well, I'll just leave it here. There are more than 200 companies in the city.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 7:49pm

I'm curious if this thread is more considering where is good to see theater, or where is good for artists? I just was accepted into an MFA program for dramatic writing, and when I've finished my degree, I really would like to find somewhere with a vibrant theater scene for up-and-comers. Are Chicago, Seattle, DC, etc. strong for that as well?

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 3/13/15 at 8:01pm

I've see everything here in L.A. since January 2013 when I started attending musicals & plays. I'm a college student who also lives here. All the theatres are a 40-60 minute (cause of traffic) public bus ride away from where I live. (or 15-30 minute by car) The Pantages (Hollywood/subscriber), Ahmanson, Mark Taper Forum, Dorthy Chandler (Downtown), Kirk Douglas (Culver City), & Geffen Playhouse (L.A.) I've seen over 50 productions here. There's no competition. For the people like me who don't live anywhere near Broadway, and have a touring house.. VERY GRATEFUL.

[jbm2]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 2:37pm

I travel to San Fransisco often and wish they had more theater. Is anyone familiar with the San Fransisco Playhouse?
Are they in equity house? What is the quality of their shows? Is it worth checking out?

[TorontoBroadwayFan]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 1:29pm

I would have to agree with AHLiebross, Toronto is a fantastic theatre town. I know its not in the USA, but it is in North America and extremely close to NYC.

I can think of at least 15 theatre companies off the top of my head, and we get some great broadway tryouts like just recently Aladdin, and the upcoming The Heart of Robin Hood. There is a lot of professional, regional, and community theatre companies. I am personally a subscriber for 4 theatre companies: Mirvish, Soulpepper, Tarragon, and Canstage. Great prices too. Lots of tickets for $5 for the under 30s and when you subscribe, tickets can be had for $10-$25 for some very professional theatre productions! And no I don't work for the City of Toronto, I'm just a dedicated theatre fan.

Oh and with our failing dollar, you Americans can get all this theatre for 30% less.