Walnut Street Theatre

At 200-plus years old and 1,000 seats, Walnut Street Theatre is Philadelphia’s oldest and largest theater. While it boasts a distinguished history including premiere productions of major works, today the focus is on lavishly produced musicals. These crowd-pleasing shows usually follow a traditional template, and are often good family fare. Walnut is generally not the place for more experimental or edgy work, but the season always includes some straight plays. The Independence Studio upstairs focuses on more intimate productions and musicals.