What a lovely venue! I had never heard of it before, and only went because a friend had asked me to go to a NPR Planet Money event there. The event was delightful and so was the audience (mostly much much older white people - just saying). It seems that this place fosters a community and family sort of atmosphere. You could tell that the people who go there are mostly regulars. It was quite nice. Yes yes, I will definitely be returning. read more

Symphony Space has consistently great stuff going on. Tickets are reasonably priced and events are always an interesting combination of stimulating, entertaining and well received (if sometimes a bit off beat).They have fabulous movies at the Thalia, cool concerts and so much more. They even host a church on Sundays and are very much engaged in the life of their neighborhood. I have one criticism. They have a huge series of family/children's programming which is again high quality, well received, and popular in the neighborhood and beyond. And it is all on Saturday. Situated in a neighborhood that has a high density of Jews...well, makes one think. They miss out on a lot of business from folks who won't attend on a Saturday. It just seems like a miss. I very much wish that they'd have more offerings on Sunday afternoons...there are huge numbers of people who would love to attend. read more

I visited Symphony Space last night to see Mexican percussion ensemble, Tambuco. I had never heard of them before yesterday, but was looking for a fun date event and this sounded interesting and, even better, just around the corner from my apartment. So, after D and I enjoyed another fantastic meal at Buceo 95, we headed to Symphony Space. I suspect that the actual performance was a little off the wall for D's taste, but I loved it! The limited attendance numbers were a little disappointing, but I wonder if people just aren't aware of this place yet? So, now to the actual venue! Well, needless to say, I'm really excited to have an art house movie theatre and intimate performance spot literally on my doorstep. The venue is no Carnegie Hall - it's simple, functional and betrays its roots as a movie house. That's not a problem for me, particularly when you take into account the reasonable ticket prices (just $35 for a live music performance is a good deal to me) One little niggle was the champagne we ordered. Served in plastic cups ala airline service. Guess I can't be too picky as I believe it was their first night serving alcohol. So, hopefully glasses are on their shopping list. All in all, a neat little spot with some intriguing shows lined up already. I will be going back :-) read more

I've visited Symphony Space on two occasions. The first time, a few years ago, in the larger Sharp Theater, just after it was announced from the stage that "*flash* photography" was not permitted during the show, one of the ushers yelled (no, he didn't ask, he didn't request, he didn't tell, he yelled) at me for merely holding a camera, which I had on the non-flash setting. Welcome to New York! I would have explained to him what was actually going on (he apparently missed the announcement), but the show was about to begin. Much more recently, I attended a concert in the Nimoy Thalia Theater, and apparently the blower for the AC was so close to the stage and audible that one of the musicians requested that it be turned off during the performance - during that 90 minutes without intermission the temperature rose to an unbearably toasty level. This venue is host to many fine performers, so it's unfortunate that my personal record with them is 0-2. And be forewarned, it's a rental venue, so there's no guarantee that performances here meet any level of artistic or technical competence. I take it they don't do any in-house curation of programming. So if you take a chance on seeing someone you don't already know about, keep fingers crossed. read more

What a gem in this neighborhood! I had no idea such a place existed until I went to a Benefit Concert this past week. The size of the theater was nothing compared to my impression of it online and that's a good thing! I thought we got mediocre seats but really, our seats were great and pretty close to the stage. It's probably a third of the size of Radio City Music Hall. Unpretentious, unimposing and very welcoming, this is a lovely space to watch any performance. Those on a budget will be happy to know that their experience will not be compromised by price. Foursquare users can take advantage of the half off drinks special at the bar downstairs. read more

They issued a Groupon for the upcoming Manhattan Film Festival, which included a $12 ticket for $6. So I figured I would give it a try. After trying to buy a ticket to one of the shows (with my Groupon), I was hit with $5.75 in 'convenience & processing' charges on top of a $14 ticket price. So, the total was $6 Groupon + $2 more for the ticket + $5.75 in charges) = $13.75. Meaning, the Groupon was essentially worthless (.25) and a scam to get people to buy tickets to the shows earlier. $13.75 for a movie is a deal??? on what world??? If I'm providing you with my money a full month in advance (just like a theatre would want) then why am I being charged convenience fees? They act as though there will be any tickets left if you try to buy it at the door......ughhh not happy. To make matter worse. The Groupon code will not work on their website. It says "coupon invalid." I am seriously not happy with how I have been treated as a first time customer of Symphony Space. read more

I came for the 2012 Bamf Film Festival. If you don't know what it is, it's an annual event where independent film makers showcase their films on adventure. Films as in stuff that has been produced not unedited videos. It's a small theater seating around 300 people and while the screen and seats were fairly comfortable, I wondered if it had surround sound as all the films we saw only had sound coming from the front of the theater. The seating is also not as pitched, so people in the back might have hard time seeing. Sorry Leonard Nimoy. read more

The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is awesome because you can literally sit ANYWHERE and still have a GREAT view of the stage! I have come to see different shows here and have completely enjoyed them! But ushers: please wait until an act has finished to sit people who come in late, do not sit them while we in the audience are sitting, watching the show. Thank you! read more

Great place for alternative movies and I appreciate that they played an international movie. I just wish that they would have a better ticketing team with a concern for spelling of the movies. The name of the movie is ELIS, not ELLIS. I bet they would never misspell an English titled movie. Pay attention to forms. Ask people to double check spelling. It's just sends a message of disregard that doesn't sit well. read more

Symphony Space - Misspelling of the movie name! - Performing Arts Near Me - New York, New York

This venue is one of the reasons and spaces that epitomizes my hometown, NYC - as extraordinary and special. Living in Orlando now for some 13 years, I still crave the cultural infusion of all that NYC has to offer. As a graduate of Columbia U, friends and I took advantage of these unique cultural venues - like Symphony Space - to experience cultural productions at affordable prices (even cheaper in the 1980s during my hey day as a young 20-something culture vulture): some very unique some not so unique but still special. Orlando is very quaint by comparison. I love NYC and venues like Symphony Space. I'm on the elist only to torture myself about all the good stuff that I am unable to experience in sleepy Orlando. Long live Symphony Space - yes, I donated a token amount in support of their missions. read more

The Warren Miller show last night was a clusterf*ck. None of the employees knew where to get the voucher, or where to find the promoter(s), people were starting to get mad and 1 employee says sorry but it's not my problem lol reason 357897642567 why New York is the most overrated city on earth, utter disorganization and sh*t people. Theatre was pretty clean, poor visibility from the upper deck seats unless you hang over the railing or you're 6'4". Easy to get to from West Side Highway. read more

Went to see the transmission from Russian Theatre (The Seagull) and National Theatre of London (Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf?). Extremely excited that Symphony Space has these offerings and plan to visit regularly from now on. read more

My first time at Symphony Space was Wed 2/20/13 for the Selected Shorts Series and I thought the reading event was well worth the price ($28 ticket plus fees, total $32 per ticket). I went because I saw Sherman Alexie (who I saw read a few years ago) and Lorrie Moore (one of my favorite writers) were on the list. I thought they would be reading, but the actual event was more interesting. BD Wong hosted; he kept the event flowing with humor and wit. Each of the three short stories were introduced by its author and then read by an actress. All of the actresses, Jill Eikenberry, Cynthia Nixon, and Amber Tamblyn were fantastic readers. Fiction readings can be boring at times, but this event was so well organized that the chosen stories were perfect for the oral format. The actresses read the stories with appropriate nuance and passion, without over performing. The final portion was an unrehearsed conversation between Mr. Alexie and Ms. Moore, which had the potential to become awkward but they managed to make it interesting. I would definitely go to another Selected Shorts event if I see an author I'm interested in. The format seems ideal for short fiction enthusiasts who would like to go to a well-organized reading. It also fulfilled its purpose in making me more interested in the careers of the professionals listed above. read more

Symphony Space has wonderful performances. My only complaint is that the seating is so tightly packed together that it can be uncomfortable if you are sitting next to someone who is built like a linebacker. Also, I find that the seats in each row are practically right in front of each other. I had a ten year old sitting in front of me. She was very slight in build but when she sat up straight I could see nothing but the back of her head!! I had to move my head from side to side in order to try to get a glimpse of the stage. I overheard a few patrons saying that they had a problem viewing the stage. My suggestion is to sit upper level and look down upon the stage for an unobstructed view. read more

Terrible. There is no excuse for the woman in the box office to gaslight me and tell me I don't know what concert I am buying a ticket for. Really? After 5 minutes of challenging back-and-forth and me literally spelling out the name of the artist, she found it. Then she demanded fees without so much of an apology or eye contact. This interaction (remember I'm *buying* tickets, therefore paying her salary) was tinged with an undercurrent of racism and microaggression which I am sad to report. I expect more from a venue that claims to be a "uniquely warm and welcoming environment..." Try harder or don't lie. read more

A great place to see a show. Clean, air conditioned and has staff who specialize in customer service, not excuses.

I was here for the first time a couple of nights ago to hear the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra and was very impressed with this performance space. It's well maintained and has great sound. I looked at their webpage and found a number of interesting performances on the schedule. I'll definitely be back! read more

Getting the "what's a black girl like you doing in our upper west side space" looks --ugh. No reflection in the staff just the other opera enthusiasts here to watch the Royal Opera Performance. Beautiful space! Comfy seats. Excellent acoustics. read more

This place was excellent. Very classy and very modern. The help was terrific they were very professional and very welcoming and assisted you with any dispute or problems you had. The seats were very comfortable and the arrangement of the seats make it perfect for a person of almost any height. The tickets are priced excellently nothing too high, and nothing low just centered. Excellent sound system and standard lighting technique and visuals. The color scheme and the environment of the Symphony Space make almost any show seem like an intimate session. If ever deciding on whether you should attend a show here or not I give it a very pleasant two thumbs up I really enjoyed this place. read more

The school I work at held their winter concert here tonight. The seating is comfortable and abundant and I thought the acoustics great. It was my first visit and I enjoyed both playing in and watching the show! Backstage you can see the place is old and will soon need refurbishing. read more

They charge a $5 per ticket "service charge" per movie ticket. Enough said. One star. I'll never see a film here now. If you order 10 tickets online they will charge $50 on top of your already high total. They want $29 for a HD screening of Angels in America. Yet they advertised it as $24, non member price. The whole system smacks of pure crap. Sorry. Next. read more

Good shows. Be careful when you are buying tickets online - they add all kinds of random extra fees, it's a total ripoff

Not a bad little space. I'd go back. Especially because I get in for free when my roommate is working there. hee hee!

Artist Kyan Khojandi was running late. Instead of just letting us into the empty air conditioned theater to sit while we waited they kept us standing in line in the hot hallway for an hour, and yelled at people who didn't listen to instructions precisely. All in all, a logistical nightmare that could have been solved with some basic competence. (Not artist's fault his flight landed late) read more

Superb National Theatre Live films of London plays: just saw OTHELLO! YES!

What a great performance space! Staff are also very helpful.

I came for a Venezuelan event, I loved this venue is spacious and it seem like every seat is a good seat, easy access by subway

Cool little space. Went to a nice wine tasting event here. Very friendly and neighborhood-y. Lots of locals listening to Irish poetry reading when we left. Only in New York... read more

Very nice venue to see an event. Seats are little tight, but otherwise fun destination.

I went here for the first time the other night to see one of my favorite authors, Margaret Atwood, do a reading from her new book. The venue was not filled to capacity, unfortunately, due to poor promoting on the part of her manager. This misfortune on her part, led to a great experience on mine. The venue is intimate and I sat in the 4th row. The leg room is cramped, so it will be very uncomfortable for someone in the six foot height range. After the reading, I was able to get a book signed by the author. Slight wait, but it would have been longer had the place been sold out. Great evening. Intimate space. Will definitely enjoy coming back! read more

We bought tickets for a show at Symphony Space (Upper West side) for a show titled "Flowers are Sleeping". The tickets were bought from Play-by-Play, an online discount ticket site for a reduced price. When we arrived at Symphony Space, we stood in line for about fifteen minutes, when we got up to the ticket agent to pick-up our tickets, the ticket agent couldn't find our tickets. I noticed he removed several envelopes from a shelf and started rummaging through them, then he said" he couldn't find our tickets", he asked me where I bought the tickets from and I told him, Play-by-Play . He said that we were supposed to be there thirty-minutes before the show. I admit that we were there fifteen minutes before the show but at the same time for the courtesy of their patrons Symphony Space should not of resold our tickets for full price in such a short time. Were the producers that desperate for money? read more

Best thing about Symphony Space is the amazing Annual John Lennon Tribute concert. I love going there for that every year. Always a wonderful time. read more

Intimate and great for shows as there are no bad seats but as aforementioned by other reviewers, the acoustics are surely lacking to match the branded "symphony quality." read more

bought tickets under impression it was live. live it was not. that could be blamed on goldstar but the ticket agent at symphony space was quite eager to note that the ticket clearly stated that it was not live (nowhere was this noted at all.) that said, the recorded performance was enjoyable. people right behind us chomped on popcorn like it was oxygen. would be nice if they would turn the volume up so the chomping wasn't such a distraction. 95 percent jews, 5 percent asians. read more

Great space and easy access via public transportation

I am so glad SS is here. I see amazing films, plays and music right here in my neighborhood. The staff are always superb and the bar is a great place to hang. read more

I came here for the first time to see reading of EB white selected books. It is such a good space that no seat is a bad seat. The show was great with David Hyde Pierce stealing the show. Only problem is we came on time and it started late read more

An oasis of culture that expresses the best in literature especially. Last night was a tribute to James Joyce for Bloomsday on Broadway. A very gifted set of actors presented a play based on Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which was extremely well done. Following that, was a tribute to the 1916 Easter Uprising. Lastly, a "whirlwind tour through all 18 episodes of Ulysses." I don't know why Symphony Space tries to cram so much Joyce into one evening. We would appreciate pacing and surely over one and a half hours for Part I is quite onerous without giving the audience a water/bathroom break. All three could each be presented in an evening with music (sans the screaming Lisa Flanagan who forgot there was a mike three inches from her mouth). Please Symphony Space...pace yourself...this isn't the first time you overdid June 16th. Joyce was honored, and his fans were exhausted, but he probably would have been amused by such poor planning. read more

Saw a movie here last night. The sound system was a bit off, the seats were comfy and the bathrooms was very clean. I would give it another shot one day. read more

beautiful, simple space, diverse events and great sound. the staff were helpful, the events are affordable, and the space is easily accessible. there's really not much more to ask for in a venue. read more