The Town Hall

Profile

From the beginning, The Town Hall has been more focused on ideas than grandiosity, and it carries on that legacy by acting as a hub for performance. The Spring Series offers world music, jazz, gospel, blues, folk, show tunes, political humor, and dance, and the Broadway by the Year program invites audience members to indulge in some show tune nostalgia. The building itself has quite a history of its own as well. As the former headquarters for The League for Political Education, a suffragist group dedicated to educating women about socio-economic issues, the Georgian-Colonial-style Town Hall, designed by McKim, Mead and White, was unveiled five months after the 19th Amendment was ratified, on January 12, 1921. To honor its political genesis, the Hall was designed to be democratic, providing both acoustic clarity and unobstructed sightlines from every seat in the house. As a nod to those egalitarian roots, the workaday exterior is reminiscent of a school building, composed of simple brick with only a few theatrical flourishes such as arches above the windows. Inside, the space feels like an elegant community center�much in keeping with its programming. — Rebecca Amato

For New York City's public school students grades K through 12, free Morning Performances are offered free of charge. Contests and curricula in art, music, theater and dance are linked up with the program to keep teachers and students alike involved.

Student Discounts
Full-time students with a valid ID may purchase (with cash only) half-price tickets a half-hour before Spring Series events.