This is a (somewhat) comprehensive list of all of the venues in Manhattan that I’ve mentioned in The Big Red Apple. They are in alphabetical order and the links below each venue will take you to the posts in which it has been mentioned. I will continually update this list as I continue to keep you apprised of all the great goings on in our marvelous city!
3LD Art and Technology Center: Theater of the MOST questionable variety.
- They presented a modern version of Antigone, which included various dance and music together with other breaks from tradition.
- I reviewed the modern version of Antigone, includes pics.
59E59: This theater, marooned in Midtown East, provides the city with some awesome questionable theater in intimate spaces.
92Y: Runs classes, lecture and film series, theater, comedy and special events.
92Y Tribeca: This extension of the 92Y has a variety of programming including concerts, theater, Jewish events, comedy and lecture series.
- I saw Tiny Ninja Theater there and it changed my view of Shakespeare forever!
- I reviewed this crazy show that I saw there called ‘Creative Misuses of Technology’
- They had an awesome Purim party!
- I reviewed their Purim party.
- They hosted The Best of Craigslist: A Night of Monologues & Missed Connections.
American Museum of Natural History: From dinosaurs to the stars this is the place to learn about the universe past and present; they also host some awesome special events.
Anthology Film Archives: Dedicated to the study of American film, from the well known to the obscure.
- They showed a series of films that were about or filmed at or by residents of the Chelsea Hotel.
- They hosted the Migrating Forms Film Festival.
Antik: Lovely little lounge that hosts the Wit’s End Jazz Era parties.
APT: This super posh club in the Meatpacking District is generally a bit too cool for school, if you know what I mean, but now and then they have some awesome parties.
Banjo Jims: Live music 7 days a week.
Beauty Bar: Kitsch done right!
Botanica Bar: A nice neighborhood spot in the LES.
The Bowery Ballroom: This concert venue is owned by the same folks who own Mercury Lounge, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Terminal 5 and those venues together have some of the best live shows in the city.
- B and I saw Passion Pit play there.
- Plants and Animals played there.
- Asobi Seksu played there.
- The Dead Weather played there.
- Black Taxi played there.
The Bowery Electric: Burlesque and more.
Bowery Poetry Club: Sometimes there’s poetry but often enough there’s burlesque, music and madness of all sorts.
- Tiny Ninja Theater performed there!
- The Leonard Cohen Choir performed there.
- They hosted Little Banana Burlesque.
- They hosted an Urban Poetry Slam.
The Brick Theater: All sorts of theater, questionable and otherwise.
Cakeshop: A great little bar in the LES that hosts my favorite music and reading series- The Mixer Series, plus lots of great concerts and the best vegan cupcakes around.
- The Mixer Reading and Music Series included Dare Dukes.
- Jedediah Berry, Matthew Zapruder and Leni Zumas read there.
City Center: A marvelous theater that hosts a variety of performers, from dance comedy.
Classic Stage Company: Excellent classical and classically-inspired theater performed by truly amazing actors.
- G and I saw Uncle Vanya with Maggie Gyllenhaal!
- They presented staged readings based on Marcel Proust’s Remembrances of Things Past.
Crash Mansion: A great space for live concerts.
Dixon Place Theater: A “Laboratory for Performance”
DROM: A multipurpose performance space in the E. Village.
Duane Park: Somewhat overpriced restaurant with free burlesque on Fridays.
Enid’s: A lovely little bar hosting everything from apple pie bake-offs to dance parties.
Ensemble Studio Theater (EST): Small scale productions of new works.
Film Forum: Screens films of the indie variety, both new and old plus all sorts of classics.
Film Society of Lincoln Center: Screens new and old films and often collaborates with the IFC on larger themed festivals.
The Gagosian Gallery: They always have the best small-scale exhibits.
The Green Room: Underground comedy and questionable theater.
The Guggenheim: An amazing art museum housed in one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpieces.
- They screened a documentary film about their history.
- Their Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit was fantastic.
The Half King: Bar that hosts various events.
Happy Endings: A very chic and somewhat hard to find lounge that hosts the In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series.
The Highline Ballroom: A great space for concerts, etc.
Housing Works Bookstore and Cafe: This quiet coffee shop and bookstore is run by an organization that provides services to HIV positive people in the city so your coffee dollars go to a good cause, plus they host some lovely events.
Independent Film Center (IFC): Excellent theater that shows foreign and indie films, shorts, etc. and hosts talks with directors and such.
International Center of Photography (ICP): This small-ish museum is attached to a marvelous photography school and hosts some marvelous special exhibits.
- They showed some cool Tim Walker photographs.
- They had an exhibit of Richard Avedon’s fashion photography.
Japan Society: A lovely museum that has great special exhibits and events focusing on Japanese culture.
- They had an exhibit called “Krazy! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games.”
- Hiroaki Umedi performed there.
- They also had an awesome sake tasting.
Jewish Community Center (JCC): They have classes, lecture series, concerts and all sorts of other events.
Joe’s Pub: Owned by the Public Theater this venue brings you a different take on dinner theater with performances from gospel singers to burlesque.
- Eleni Mandell played there.
- They also hosted ‘Beat it Burlesque.’
- I reviewed ‘Beat it Burlesque’
- They hosted a tribute to Dolly Parton.
- Naomi Shelton sang gospel there.
- I reviewed The Wet Spots’ show there.
Joyce Theater: This marvelous little space hosts all sorts of dance performances from contemporary ballet to ‘interpretive dance.’
- Evidence performed their African-inspired dance there.
- The Umbilical Brothers did absurd things there.
Kemia Bar: A dark overly trendy club/hookah bar/restaurant.
KGB Bar: “Something of a literary institution” in the The Big Apple; this bar serves all sorts of obscure Russian beer and hosts excellent book readings and lecture series.
- They hosted a reading with with Jonathan Baumbach and Paul Mamont.
- Daphne Uviller and Eric Kraft read there as part of Sunday Night Fiction.
- Mickey Hess and Ben Greenman read as part of their Nonfiction Series.
Le Poisson Rouge: This artsy venue hosts all sorts of madness, from concerts to burlesque to poetry readings.
- They host the InDigest Reading Series.
- Glass Candy performed there.
- I reviewed the InDigest Reading Series, which I attended with G, Kate1 and F. We really liked Jibade-Khalil Huffman.
- N.A.S.A. performed there.
- Emilie Simon played there.
Lincoln Center Theater: They put on excellent musicals and straight plays.
- Their wonderful revival of South Pacific was a hit with my grandmother, who saw the original production!
- I reviewed South Pacific, which I saw with G.
- I saw a new musical there called Happiness with my grandmother.
The Living Room: A nice space for concerts.
Madame X: A very sexy bar and lounge (think red velvet everywhere).
Manhattan Theater Source: This theater does all sorts of small experimental theater, including some awesome series that feature work by new playwrights and directors.
Mercury Lounge: This concert venue is owned by the same folks who own The Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Terminal 5 and those venues together have some of the best live shows in the city.
- A and I saw Nous Non Plus play there.
- I reviewed the Nous Non Plus concert with pics and included one of their great music videos.
- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin played there.
- Art Brut played there.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met): The biggest art museum in the city with a wide ranging collection, from Medieval armor to Jackson Pollock, and some of the most exciting special exhibits on this side of the Atlantic.
- The Walker Evans exhibit they had was pretty neat.
- Roxy Paine’s installation on the roof was gorgeous.
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA): One of the premier modern and contemporary art museums in the world and my favorite museum in the city. They have stellar exhibits and all sorts of amazing events.
- I loved the Marlene Dumas exhibit they had in the spring of 2009.
- The New Directors/New Films Series is an annual showcase for new works.
New Victory Theater: Questionable theater big and small.
New York Botanical Garden: This amazing botanical garden is easily accessible by Metro North and has all sorts of special events including the amazing annual orchid show.
New York City Ballet: One of the two ballet companies located in Lincoln Center, this was Balanchine’s company and it is still heavily influenced by his distinctive style.
The Palace Theater: One of the big Broadway theaters.
PDT: One of The Big Apple’s many ‘secret bars;’ you must first make a reservation (day of only!) and then enter the bar through a phone booth located inside Crif Dogs.
Pete’s Candy Store: Nice little bar with live music, comedy shows, etc.
Pianos: This LES hotspot is primarily a concert venue but also has dance parties, film screenings and pretty yummy burgers.
- A and I hung out there before seeing Nous Non Plus.
- The Raspberry Brothers made fun of Snakes on a Plane in their upstairs lounge.
- The Raspberry Bros also added their comic asides to Footloose.
- Brit Boras and the Cavalry played there.
- They hosted a “literary deathmatch”
The Public Theater: They run Shakespeare in the Park and have a variety of fantastic theater throughout the year.
Santos Party House: Giant dance parties and other shenanigans.
The Slipper Room: This rowdy bar hosts some of the dirtiest burlesque in The Big Apple 4 times a week! Expect a raunchy good time!
- I took a bunch of burlesque virgins to Hot Box Burlesque at The Slipper Room.
- I reviewed Hot Box Burlesque w/pics!
- They held a Polyamory Party.
Solas: A nice little bar that hosts the St. Marks Bookshop Reading Series.
- Junot Diaz read there as part of the series.
- Tom Raworth read there.
- Andrei Codrescu did a reading there.
- I reviewed his reading.
Studio B: Awesome dance parties, etc.
The Sullivan Room: Great big dance parties.
Swing46 Jazz and Supper Club: Exactly that.
Symphony Space: A wonderful UWS institution presenting film, dance and theater.
The Tank Theater: They nurture up and coming performers, often puppets are involved.
Tenement Museum: They run tours, lecture series and other programs focused on the history of the LES.
Terminal 5: This concert venue is owned by the same folks who own The Bowery Ballroom, Music Hall of Williamsburg and Mercury Lounge and those venues together have some of the best live shows in the city.
Theater for a New Audience: They’ve had many critically acclaimed productions both of new work and classical plays.
Trapeze School New York (TSNY): You can take a trapeze lesson or check out the amazing aerial acrobatics on display at their shows!
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater: Improv done by the pros.
Webster Hall: This massive club can be full of guidos and other undesirables but once and awhile there’s a party worth going to.
Whitney Museum of American Art: A beautiful museum with a great permanent collection and a number of interesting special exhibits.
York Theater: Musical Theater, questionable and otherwise.