136 theater programs for kids across all five boroughs of New York City, 7 of them free. Shows, puppets, acting classes. Includes Apollo Theater and Harlem Stage Kids Day.
Harlem's legendary performance hall offers reservation-only guided tours that take visitors backstage and through the history of the artists who launched careers on its stage. Families can also catch performances such as the famous Amateur Night, and school groups can book curriculum-based tours.
Harlem Stage opens its Gatehouse venue for a free Saturday of live children's music and performance by well-known kids' artists, paired with an outdoor book fair where families can pick up free books. During the school year the organization also runs student matinees with pre-show workshops and artist Q&As.
The youth program of the Atlantic Theater Company's acting school, offering acting classes for kids and teens using the same practical approach taught to adult conservatory students. Programs include fall and winter classes, a spring session, summer camps and a teen conservatory, with student productions.
A historic 1862 town hall turned arts center that brings kids in for multicultural performances, hands-on arts workshops and residencies, including a school performance series. Programs often spotlight Asian, Latin American and other global performing traditions.
The historic West Village acting studio founded by Herbert Berghof and Uta Hagen offers acting classes for young people alongside its adult programs. Kids and teens work on scene study and performance skills in the same building used by generations of professional actors.
A three-week summer program at the Neighborhood Playhouse where serious high-school actors train in the Meisner technique and related skills. It's designed for teens preparing for college theater programs or conservatory study.
New York's theater devoted entirely to kids and families, bringing in international and local productions of theater, circus, dance, puppetry and magic. Each show lists a recommended minimum age, and the theater also offers sensory-friendly performances.
A historic wooden cottage in Central Park where handmade marionettes perform short, updated takes on classic fairy tales. Shows run about 40–45 minutes, just right for preschool and early-elementary attention spans.
The Lee Strasberg Institute's youth program teaches kids and teens the fundamentals of Method acting, including concentration, sensory work, improvisation and scene work. Classes meet at the institute's Union Square-area building.
Home stage of New York City Ballet, where families can see full ballet performances, including the holiday Nutcracker. Seeing the company live is a popular first-ballet outing for kids who take dance.
Kids take theater, dance, music and creative movement classes that all feed into one movement-theater production. Students rehearse with working professional artists and can audition to perform in a December holiday show.
Symphony Space's family programming brings music, storytelling, dance and theater performances for kids to its Upper West Side stages. Check the Family filter on its calendar for current shows.
A Hell's Kitchen nonprofit that pairs neighborhood kids with professional theater artists to write and perform original plays, which are staged free for the public. Year-round programs also include design, stage combat, filmmaking, homework help and mentoring.
A 75-seat Tribeca theater presenting playful takes on classic fairy tales like Snow White, The Princess and the Pea and Cinderella, written by German playwright Johannes Galli. Actors invite children on stage to help the characters, sing and dance, and the theater also offers kids' acting classes and workshops.
Kids take small-group acting, singing and audition classes, from recreational beginners to young performers aiming at professional work. Park Slope classes run on Tuesday afternoons, split by age group.
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A long-running marionette company presenting classic fairy tales with handcrafted puppets and music, now in a theater at Industry City. Weekend shows run under an hour and suit preschoolers and early-grade kids.
A kids' musical theater studio where each class rehearses a themed show all year, from Fairytales for preschoolers to High School Musical for older kids, ending in a June performance. The Tribeca studio also offers improv and practical theater skills classes for ages 8 and up.
The Madison Avenue studio of Spotlight Kids runs year-long musical theater classes like Yellow Brick Road and Orphan Annie, plus improv and musical theatre repertoire for older kids. Classes build toward a full performance at the end of the year.
Spotlight Kids' newer Upper West Side studio near Lincoln Center runs weekly musical theater classes grouped by age, from Fairytales for 3.5-5 year olds to a Grease-themed class for ages 8 and up. Each class performs its show in the spring.
Disney's stage version of The Lion King, famous for its life-size animal puppets and masks that fill the theater during the opening number. A visually striking pick for families with school-age kids.
A Midtown aerial studio where kids 6-16 learn circus, acrobatics and aerial skills on silks, hammock, lyra and dance trapeze, in age groups with playful names like Big Tops and Ring Leaders. Classes are capped at six students.
A weekend afternoon magic show where magicians Jim Vines and Carl Mercurio mix sleight of hand, mind-reading, comedy and big illusions. It's a family-friendly way to see live magic near Times Square in about 90 minutes.
A musical theater training program where young performers take multi-week workshops, weekend master classes and summer intensives taught by Broadway professionals. Younger kids work on singing, dancing and acting together in Triple Threat, while teens focus on audition technique.
A nonprofit arts organization on Surf Avenue presents a classic ten-in-one style circus sideshow with performers like sword swallowers, fire eaters and contortionists. Shows run through the afternoon on summer weekends and some weekdays, a short walk from the boardwalk.
LittleGotham lists 136 theater programs for kids in New York City.
Yes. 7 of 136 are free to attend, including Harlem Stage Kids Day, The 52nd Street Project, All Stars Talent Show Network.
129 listings are indoors, such as Apollo Theater, Atlantic for Kids - Atlantic Acting School, Flushing Town Hall Family and Youth Programs.
Manhattan (81), Brooklyn (26), Queens (16).