4 Best Performing Arts Venues in Downtown, Providence

Formerly the Dunkin' Donuts Center, this 14,000-seat arena hosts major rock, R&B, country, and other musical acts, as well as Providence College basketball games and the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins.

The 3,100-seat center, which opened in 1928 as a Loew's State Theater, hosts concerts, national tours of hit Broadway shows, and other large-scale performances and events. Major renovations to this building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, restored the stage, lobby, and arcade to their original splendor. The mighty Wurlitzer organ is a particular source of pride.

This 1,900-seat auditorium has a proscenium stage and an exquisite interior; it hosts concerts, operas, and comedy and dance performances. From September to May, the Vets is the home of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra.

A past Tony Award winner for outstanding regional theater company, this troupe presents classic plays, intimate musicals, and new works by young playwrights, as well as an annual version of A Christmas Carol—all in a renovated former vaudeville house. Shows are presented on two separate stages: the 500-seat Elizabeth and Malcolm Chace Theater and the recently-renovated 250-seat Sarah and Joseph Dowling, Jr. Theater.