62 Best Performing Arts in Florida, USA

One of the best theater troupes in Sarasota stages productions year-round in varying venues, which include the Historic Asolo Theater on the Ringling estate.

When this stunning, state-of-the-art venue opened in the heart of Downtown, it elevated the arts for Orlando. Encompassing three unique stages, it's where major Broadway productions found a home; where musicians such as Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Elvis Costello have performed; and where opera, symphonies, ballet, and comedy shows fill the calendar year-round.

This nonprofit arthouse is a cinematic treasure. First-run, quirky independent films are shown in this intimate theater, where locally sourced food is brought right to your table (yes, there are tables). Home to the acclaimed Florida Film Festival—as well as Jewish, South Asian, and Reel Short Teen film fests—the cinema also houses the very popular outdoor Eden Bar.

The theater complex has four stages, where a typical season includes 11 plays covering classics (including Shakespeare, of course), contemporary, musicals, comedies, and family shows. The theater also hosts the very popular Orlando International Fringe Festival, the oldest in America. The season runs June through April, with the Fringe Festival in May. PlayFest! The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays offers world-premiere and staged-reading opportunities for new playwrights. The theater is in Loch Haven Cultural Park, just a few minutes north of Downtown, where the Orlando Science Center and the Museum of Art also stand.

This is the crown jewel amid a treasury of local arts attractions, and its marquee star is the 2,195-seat Dreyfoos Hall, a glass, copper, and marble showcase just steps from the restaurants and shops of Rosemary Square. The center also boasts the 289-seat Rinker Playhouse, 170-seat Persson Hall, and the Gosman Amphitheatre, which holds 1,400 total in seats and on the lawn. A packed year-round schedule features a blockbuster lineup of Broadway's biggest touring productions, concerts, dance, dramas, and musicals; the Miami City Ballet, Palm Beach Opera, and the Palm Beach Pops perform here.

This is the crown jewel amid a treasury of local arts attractions, and its marquee star is the 2,195-seat Dreyfoos Hall, a glass, copper, and marble showcase just steps from the restaurants and shops of The Square. The center also boasts the 289-seat Rinker Playhouse, 170-seat Persson Hall, and the Gosman Amphitheatre, which holds 1,400 total in seats and on the lawn. A packed year-round schedule features a blockbuster lineup of Broadway's biggest touring productions, concerts, dance shows, dramas, and musicals; the Miami City Ballet, Palm Beach Opera, and the Palm Beach Pops perform here.

If Sherlock Holmes has always intrigued you, head to this long-running show for a four-course meal served with a healthy dose of conspiracy. Sleuths is a hotbed of local acting talent, with several totally different whodunit performances staged throughout the week. The comedy-mystery show begins during your appetizer. You'll discuss clues and question still-living characters over dinner and then solve the crime during dessert. Prizes go to top sleuths.

Many major events take place at this conveniently located arena, which sits near Downtown Tampa in the Channelside district. The Tampa Bay Lightning call this spot home, but the 670,000-square-foot venue hosts at least 150 special events each year—mostly musical ones.

The most prestigious art show in the United States is held every December, with plenty of fabulous parties to go along with the pricey art. This is a who's who of the art world where collectors, emerging artists, renowned artists, curators, gallerists, and art aficionados convene alongside novices, trendsetters, and glitterati. Although the main exhibition is held at the Miami Beach Convention Center, dozens of smaller exhibitions are set up on the beach, Downtown, and in the Wynwood District at galleries and in event spaces and hotel lobbies. The exquisite art and sensational people-watching more than soften the blow of exorbitant hotel prices, heavy traffic, and long waits.

Plan ahead to make the most of Art Basel, which includes purchasing tickets or securing your name on guest lists in advance.

This annual weekend of all things art deco was started by the Miami Design Preservation League in the 1970s to draw attention to and celebrate Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District. Tours, lectures, film screenings, and dozens of other 1930s-theme events are on tap over this January weekend. Festivities—many of them free—begin on Friday, followed by a car show and street fair (with over 140 vendors) on Saturday and Sunday. More than a quarter of a million people join in the action, which centers on Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Streets.

Built in 1922, this historic downtown theater fell into disrepair and was closed for decades before being brought back to life with a $12-million restoration project. Today, it's a busy hub with a packed schedule of musicals and concerts produced in-house.

This is the place to see Broadway musicals, concerts, symphony performances, and comedy shows.

In existence for just over a century and affiliated with the Ruth Eckerd Hall, this theater brings local, regional, and national musicians to downtown Clearwater. In addition to a stylish, 750-seat auditorium it has a rooftop terrace and bar.

Here, buffet dinners accompany some of Broadway’s best musicals. There’s also a 100-seat Off Broadway Palm Theatre that hosts smaller-scale comedies and musicals.

This old-timey, four-screen movie house is one of the few places in the region where you can catch indie and foreign films. It's on the edge of downtown, less than a block from Burns Square's many stylish yet low-key dining offerings, and, unlike your average corporate movie theater, admission doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Beer and wine are also available.

This musical dramedy transports you to gangland Chicago of the 1930s, when mobsters and their molls were the height of underworld society. You'll meet "Al Capone" and learn that you can become a member of the "family," but you've got to help take care of a rat in the organization. Flashy costumes and musical numbers are accompanied by a four-course American and Italian dinner that includes beer, wine, and cocktails, as well as nonalcoholic drinks for kids. Check the website for a 50% off coupon.

The Caribbean and Latin America know how to celebrate the annual carnival in style, so it's only natural their tropical stepsister does, too! Each year, Miami's pre-Lentan celebrations in February and/or March climax during Carnaval Miami. One of the main celebrations is held every year on Calle 8. The wild and fun street festival in the heart of Little Havana is the last blowout before Lent begins. This Sunday street party attracts over a million people, who dance in the streets and enjoy more than two dozen stages of DJs and live music.

Connected to TIAA Bank Stadium, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Daily's Place is a 5,500-seat, covered amphitheater. Since opening in 2017, the venue has hosted big names such as Kenny Chesney, the Dave Matthews Band, Rod Stewart, and Sting.

This venue at the south end of the Downtown waterfront is one of the few places in St. Petersburg to see big-ticket national acts as well as the Florida Orchestra, which plays here quite often.

A long-running Disney tradition, this floating parade of illuminated sea creatures on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake rolls past several Magic Kingdom–area resorts. Backed by an electronic score featuring Handel's Water Music, the low-key but always-pleasing show leads up to a stirring finale. Watch it from a resort bar like Narcoossee's, the campgrounds at Fort Wilderness, or the pier at the Grand Floridian.

After several programming changes over the past few years, Fantasmic! is back. The nighttime spectacular features fireworks; music; mist projection screens; and appearances by Mulan, Aladdin, Moana and, of course, Mickey. Dinner or dessert packages that include Fantasmic! can be booked by phone or online, in person at a Disney hotel, or at the park's Guest Relations.

In downtown's restored, circa-1915 Arcade Theatre, this top professional company stages Tony- and Pulitzer-winning productions. There's also an adjacent, more intimate space for edgier works and a Lunchbox Theatre Series for children.

If you're too shy to crash a frat party, FSU might just offer a more civilized evening out. It hosts more than 500 concerts and recitals annually (many of them free) in year-round performances by its College of Music, as well as many productions by its School of Theatre, including operas.

One of the last remaining movie palaces of the 1920s—and listed on the National Register of Historic Places—this theater was totally restored in the 1980s to preserve its Spanish-style courtyard, grand balconies, ornate and colorful proscenium arch, and coffered ceiling. The theater was designed by New York City's R.E. Hall, who was responsible for building dozens of these now rare extravaganzas across the country. Today, the theater, which has seen hundreds of luminaries—from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello—perform on its stage, hosts concerts, dance productions, and special events, as well as a classic-movie series each summer.

The city hosts the world's largest in-water boat show in the fall. FLIBS has been the end-all, be-all of marine envy since 1960, with more than $2 billion in boats, yachts, superyachts, and accessories from every major manufacturer and builder worldwide. The city buzzes with parties to celebrate, while the official show takes place at several locations along the Intracoastal and A1A. Tickets are required.

Founded in 1986, this annual festival is a celebration of independent cinema, showcasing more than 100 American and international feature, documentary, and short films at various locations across Broward County. Cinema Paradiso in downtown Fort Lauderdale is the base camp. In addition to more than two weeks of screenings, seminars, events, and parties fill the calendar, but don't expect the pomp of a big-city film festival. With that said, the Florida Arts Council refers to FLIFF as the highest-rated film festival in the state of Florida and it's the only film festival in the South to receive four major grants from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Northeast Florida's major presenter of professional, national, and international touring attractions is responsible for bringing Broadway shows—among other things—to the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts. The 2023 season will mark the 57th year of programming by the FSCJ Artists Series.

Touring Broadway shows, performances by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, ballet productions, operas, and other events are held at this beautiful riverfront complex with three performance halls.

Featuring national performing acts and local jazz musicians, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has brought music lovers together for over 40 years. Taking place over Memorial Day weekend, this three-day, outdoor festival is known to be one of the largest free jazz festivals in the country. While the event is free, preferred seating and VIP packages are available for purchase.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this 1925 movie house has been revived for live performances ranging from Lily Tomlin's one-woman show to orchestra performances to jazz concerts. With 500 seats, the theater feels intimate.