It is said that there’s nothing like a show on Broadway, but Long Island has a tremendous performing arts community. From comedies to dramas, Long Island boasts great venues featuring world-class talent that proves you don’t really need to travel all the way into the city to enjoy an evening of fine entertainment. Here are the winners for Best Theater Arts Center on Long Island.
2025: Long Islanders Voted Long Island Children’s Museum Theater Best Theatre Arts Center!
Long Island Children’s Museum Theater
11 Davis Ave, Garden City
(516) 224-5800 – licm.org/programs/licm-theater
The Long Island Children’s Museum, a not-for-profit learning space, is dedicated to connecting children and their caregivers to a world filled with wonder, imagination, and exploration. Through its engaging exhibits, programs, and performances, the museum sparks creativity and collaboration, fostering countless moments of discovery. Here, children develop essential skills and uncover lifelong passions. The museum serves as a vibrant community hub where future artists, scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs can grow. It offers unique resources, such as 10,000 KEVA planks and global musical instruments, providing a judgment-free space for exploration. The museum’s open environment encourages independence and confidence in young visitors as they navigate interactive studios and workshops, enhancing problem-solving and creative thinking. It is a safe space that promotes interaction and celebrates children’s developmental strides.
2024: Long Islanders Voted Long Island Children’s Museum Theater Best Theatre Arts Center!
Long Island Children’s Museum Theater
11 Davis Avenue, Garden City
(516) 224-5800 – licm.org/programs/licm-theater
A professional theater that is at the heart of the Long Island Children’s Museum, they have had eighteen Grammy winners and nominees performing on their stage. The theater offers a range of performance styles for families and schools including musicals, plays, puppetry, dance and music. Their live performances encourage audience interactivity and are often literature-based. The theater has been running since 1993 and is the only year-round family theater. LICM theater features three long-running productions yearly, in addition to a schedule of music concerts, dance performances and puppet and circus productions. For any and all theater-related needs in your life, you’ll want to check out the Long Island Children’s Museum Theater.
2023: Long Islanders Voted Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Best Theatre Arts Center!
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
3974 Anne Dr, Brookville
(516) 299-3100 – tillescenter.org
There is something magical and memorable about watching live theater or listening to music performed in person. The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post (also known as Long Island University) is a concert hall that understands the magic of the performing arts. The venue has hosted more than 70 performances every season for the past 40 years and welcomed world-renowned artists in music, theater, and dance. The Tilles Center was the first to bring the New York Philharmonic to Long Island and Bruce Springsteen’s legendary “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” was recorded on-site! The venue makes an effort to keep performances affordable and accessible and programs for both adults and children have been welcomed on the premises.
2022: Long Islanders Voted Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Best Theater Arts Center!
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
720 Northern Blvd, Brookville
(516) 299-3100– tillescenter.org
For a truly unforgettable show, you need to head out to Brookville and go to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. Located on the LIU Post campus, Tilles Center has hosted so many performances from musicians, dancers, and more, and boasts being the first venue to bring the New York Philharmonic to Long Island. The venue has a full cash bar onsite so you can sip on some spirits during the performance, plus some light snacks available as well. Most shows also host pre-performances by local musicians in the Goldsmith Atrium before the ticketed event starts, so you can enjoy the fun before heading to your seat.
2021: Long Islanders Voted Tilles Center for the Performing Arts Best Theater Arts Center!
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
720 Northern Blvd, Brookville
(516) 299-3100– tillescenter.org
For a truly unforgettable show, you need to head out to Brookville and go to the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. Located on the LIU Post campus, Tilles Center has hosted more than 70 performances from musicians, dancers, and more, and boasts being the first venue to bring the New York Philharmonic to Long Island. The venue has a full cash bar onsite so you can sip on some spirits during the performance, plus some light snacks available as well. Most shows also host pre-performances by local musicians in the Goldsmith Atrium before the ticketed event starts, so you can enjoy the fun before heading to your seat.
2020: Long Islanders Voted Adelphi University Performing Arts Center Best Theater Arts Center!
Adelphi University Performing Arts Center
1 S Ave Performing Arts Center, 1st Fl, Garden City
(516) 877-4000– pac.adelphi.edu
Adelphi University’s Performing Arts Center has been gracing the campus with a number of different performances since it first opened in 2008. They offer five different theater spaces that each cater to all different types of performance: the Concert Hall, the recital hall, the Olmsted Theatre, the dance theatre and a black box theatre. The Performing Arts Center is easily accessible by all forms of transportation, so you’ll have no issues getting there. Plus, all of the spaces are available for rent, so if you need a cool space to put on a performance, Adelphi has got you covered!
2019: Long Islanders Voted Shining Studios Best Theater Arts Center!
Shining Studios
18 Haven Ave., Port Washington
(631) 334-9611- www.shiningstudios.org
Shining Studios is a Long Island based theatre school and community theatre providing education, enrichment, and entertainment, through the performing arts, to the Long Island community. With locations in both Nassau and Suffolk County, Shining Studios offers a variety of cultivating programs for children, teens, and adults alike. Whether you take an introductory musical theatre class, schedule a consultation with one of their acting coaches, enroll your organization in one of Shining Studios’ outreach programs, or audition for one of their community theatre productions, Shining Studios allows each and every one of its performers to learn, grow, and shine. Adventure, creativity, confidence, self-discovery, sense of belonging, encouragement, and teamwork are just some of the many benefits of being a part of the Shining Studios world.
2018: Long Islanders Voted Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts Best Theater Arts Center!
Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts
71 East Main Street
Patchogue, N.Y. 11772
patchoguetheatre.org
Fun for the whole family, Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts is Suffolk County’s largest theater boasting nearly 1,200 seats in a beautiful setting with amazing sound. The Theatre offers a variety of events including live musicals, rock concerts, comedy shows, and much more. Their mission is to serve Long Island as a cultural hub, highlighting amazing talent and performing arts for a wide-ranging audience at budget conscious prices. Originally opened in 1923, this gem of a Theatre is part of Long Island’s history. Although it has gone through a series of renovations since its purchase in 1998, a lot of its original decor has been preserved.
2017: Long Islanders Voted Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) Best Local Live Theater on Long Island
Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC)
1 South Ave., Garden City. 516-877-4000. aupac.adelphi.edu
The Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) has quickly earned a reputation as one of the top venues on the island to witness local live theater! This exceptional and intimate venue invites talented performers to the stage to express themselves through the power of art. The performing arts center’s Black Box Theatre, for example, can be customized to each performance, allowing artists to get creative with each and every show. Bravo! Bravo, indeed!
2016: Long Islanders Voted Bare Bones Theater Company Best Local Live Theater on Long Island
Bare Bones Theater Company
57 Main St., Northport. 631-606-0026. barebonestheater.org
Sometimes the best shows are the ones that go back to the basics, focusing more on the relationship between the audience and performer rather than creating huge productions with over-the-top sets and costumes. The Bare Bones Theater Company has been doing just that since 1998. Besides putting on powerful performances, with past shows including ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ ‘Brooklyn Boy,’ and ‘Play it Again, Sam,’ the Bare Bones Theater Company offers acting classes as well. So next time you’re in Northport, be sure to check out this astonishing venue and experience for yourself why it’s The Best!
2015: Long Islanders Voted Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts Best Local Live Theater on Long Island!
Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
71 E. Main St., Patchogue. 631-207-1300. patchoguetheatre.org
With a plethora of theatrical venues across the Island, the top spot in the Bethpage Best Of L.I. competition must undoubtedly go to a place set apart from all the others, somewhere extremely special, where both the purveyors of these timeless crafts as well as its audience can truly be at home. A place that’s inviting, nurturing, inspiring. Voters have resoundingly chosen Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts as just that spot. Offering a full calendar of events that range from show-stopping live musical performances to childrens theater and beyond, the theater is a literal incubator of creativity that exudes the finest imaginative interpretations punctuated by lively and thought-provoking living-art masterpieces. With more than 1,100 seats and a rich history of excellence that spans more than 80 years, Patchogue Theatre is so much more than just a live venue hall; it is an integral part of the very fabric of Long Island!
2014: Long Islanders Voted Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts in Patchogue Best Local Live Theater on Long Island!
1. Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts
71 E. Main St., Patchogue. 631-207-1300. patchoguetheatre.org
2. NYCB Theater at Westbury
960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury. 516-334-0800. venue.thetheatreatwestbury.com
3. Paramount
370 New York Ave., Huntington. 631-673-7300. paramountny.com
2013: Long Islanders Voted Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in Patchogue Best Local Live Theater on Long Island!
1. Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
71 E. Main St., Patchogue. 631-207-1313. www.patchoguetheatre.org
2. Knock ‘Em Dead Comedy
Multiple Locations. 631-987-0820 www.knockemdeadcomedy.com
3. The Paramount
370 New York Ave., Huntington. 631-673-7300. www.paramountny.com
2012: Long Islanders Voted Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in Patchogue Best Live Theater on Long Island!
1 Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
71 E. Main St., Patchogue. 631-207-1313. www.patchoguetheatre.org
2 Gateway Playhouse
215 S. Country Rd.. Bellport. 631-286-1133. www.gatewayplayhouse.com
3 John W. Engeman Theater
250 Main St., Northport. 631-261-2900.
2011: Long Islanders Voted John W. Engeman Theater Best Local Live Theater on Long Island!
1. John W. Engeman Theater
250 Main St., Northport. 631-261-2900. www.johnwengemantheater.com
2. Tilles Center
720 Northern Blvd., Greenvale. 516-299-2752. www.tillescenter.org
3. NYCB Theatre @ Westbury
960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury. 877-598-8694. westbury-theatre.com
2010: Long Islanders Voted John W. Engeman Theater in Northport the Best Local Live Theater on Long Island!
1. John W. Engeman Theater
250 Main St., Northport 631-261-2900 www.johnwengemantheater.com
2. Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts
71 E. Main St., Patchogue. 631-207-1313. www.patchoguetheatre.org
3. Theatre Three
412 Main St., Port Jefferson. 631-928-9100. www.theatrethree.com