Center Stage: Raising the Curtain on Burlington Performing Arts Spaces 

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• Diane Sullivan
• Flynn MainStage

Flynn MainStage

153 Main St., Burlington, flynncenter.org

Patti LaBelle, Jay Leno, Joe Biden, Ballet Hispánico and Cirque Éloize are just a handful of the names that have appeared on the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts' Main Street marquee in the last year. The art-deco theater opened in 1930 as a place to see vaudeville acts and newfangled "talkie" motion pictures. Today, the beautifully restored MainStage is the heart and soul of Burlington's performing arts landscape. The 1,411-seat proscenium auditorium hosts local groups like the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Theatre, plus world-class touring artists. Locally, there's no better example of that old theater adage: "The show must go on."

FlynnSpace

153 Main St., Burlington, flynncenter.org

Adjacent to the Flynn MainStage, the smaller FlynnSpace has an equally exciting lineup of emerging and established artists from Vermont and beyond. Head here for jazz trios, local cabaret and Shakespearean theater straight from London.

Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center

60 Lake St., Burlington, mainstreetlanding.com

By Waterfront Park, Main Street Landing comprises a black-box theater, an art gallery, a film house and more. The new home of the Vermont Stage theater company, the venue has also hosted screenings of early French cinema and Weimar-era spectaculars by Burlington's Spielpalast Cabaret.

Off Center for the Dramatic Arts

294 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, offcentervt.com

The Old North End's Off Center moved to brand-new digs this year. But the host of the Burlington Fringe Festival continues its nearly decade-long mission of delivering cutting-edge entertainment — think local drag revues and naughty-meets-nice holiday shows.

Revelry Theater

4 Howard St., Burlington, revelrytheater.com

Find exceptionally intimate performances — mostly in the comedy realm — in this 500-square-foot South End black box. From Boom City improv sets to hilarious roast battles, Revelry fosters fearless performers and up-for-anything audiences.

University of Vermont Recital Hall

384 S. Prospect St., Burlington, uvm.edu/laneseries

The UVM Lane Series is a lineup of classical, jazz, folk, chamber and traditional music, with some film and dance thrown in. Its home is an acoustically excellent recital hall on the Redstone Campus. Acclaimed cellists and Ghanaian dance troupes have performed here, as have student ensembles.

Vermont Comedy Club

101 Main St., Burlington, vermontcomedyclub.com

For major LOLs, follow the "unicow" mascot to the Vermont Comedy Club for standup and improv shows five nights a week. Grab a drink at the bar and tune in for established and rising comics such as Tim Meadows, Michelle Wolf and Rhea Butcher. Think you're pretty funny? Take a comedy class.