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DETROIT + MICHIGAN / Theaters / ¼

Where does the curtain go up tonight?

146 theaters and companies across Detroit and Michigan, from Broadway tours to basement stages. 302 performances to pick from in the next 30 days.

What’s on now? ↓Find a theater ↓

Quarter Detroit presents

  • 146theaters
  • 463shows on the bill
  • 24lost legends
Mosaic Youth Theatre of DetroitWilliamston TheatreGo Comedy! Improv TheaterAll-of-us Express Children's TheatreOpen Book Theatre CompanyPlowshares Theatre CompanyBay City PlayersTibbits Opera HouseThe Encore Musical Theatre CompanyMeadow Brook TheatreOld Town PlayhouseAvon Players TheatreUMS (University Musical Society)All The World's A Stage (ATWAS)Riverwalk TheatreCroswell Opera HouseTwin City PlayersPit & Balcony Community TheatreCircle TheatreDetroit Repertory TheatreDetroit Dance CollectiveFlint Community PlayersCenter Stage JacksonRiver City Improv

01 / Playbill

What should we see this week?

Straight from the theaters’ own calendars, refreshed several times a day. One card per show: the next performance and how long it runs.

All theater events ↗

02 / Theater finder

What kind of night are you after?

Broadway sparkle, an experimental basement stage, opera, or the next town’s big-hearted community players? Pick a type and a region.

146 matches

Opera & dance / Detroit

Detroit Dance Collective

A professional contemporary dance company since 1980, founded by four Wayne State dance grads. In its 47th season (2026–27) it dances fall, winter and spring concerts at the Marlene Boll Theatre downtown.

Since 1980

Broadway & big houses / Downtown

Fox Theatre

The splendor of a 1928 movie palace, now home to major concerts and stage productions.

5,048 seats

Campus stages / Detroit

Hilberry Gateway (Wayne State University Theatre and Dance)

Wayne State's $65 million performing arts complex at Cass and Forest: a proscenium STAGE and a black box STUDIO with about 20 shows a year. The 2026–27 season brings The Crucible, Blood at the Root, Scrooge! and HAIR.

Since 2023400 seats

Broadway & big houses / Cass Corridor

Masonic Temple

A Gothic-scale Detroit landmark with towers, performance spaces, and concert nights inside a vast complex.

4,404 seats

Community theaters / Detroit

The Players Playhouse (The Players)

A gentlemen's amateur theatre club founded in 1911, in its own East Jefferson playhouse since 1925: a Florentine Renaissance facade with Parducci gargoyles, Paul Honore murals, and men playing every role, Shakespeare-style.

Since 1925

Professional companies / Detroit

Plowshares Theatre Company

Plowshares calls itself Michigan's only professional African American theatre, out to preserve, present and produce African American experiences. It has no house of its own; in 2026 it staged a world premiere at the Marlene Boll Theatre.

Community theaters / Rochester Hills

Avon Players Theatre

A volunteer-run community theatre in Rochester Hills, in a historic A-frame playhouse on Washington Road. Its production history starts with the 1947–48 season, and 2026–27 brings Twelve Angry Men, August: Osage County and Dear Evan Hansen.

Professional companies / St. Clair

Boardwalk Theatre (Thumbcoast Live Theaters)

Thumbcoast Live Theaters' biggest venue: 370 seats in riverfront downtown St. Clair, built for big musicals. Fall 2026 brings Chicago and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

370 seats

Community theaters / Clarkston

Clarkston Village Players

Community theatre in an old train depot: Clarkston Village Players bought the town's former Grand Trunk station for $150 in 1962 and has played there since 1964. 2026–27 is its 65th season.

Since 1961

Community theaters / Wyandotte

Downriver Actors Guild at 2nd Street Performing Arts Center

Downtown Wyandotte's community theatre: the 2nd Street Performing Arts Center is home to Downriver Actors Guild, with a busy year-round season of musicals, plays and youth shows. 2026–27 is its 15th anniversary season.

Community theaters / Farmington Hills

Farmington Players Barn Theater

Community theatre in a real dairy barn on Twelve Mile Road in Farmington Hills. The all-volunteer Farmington Players have been at it since 1953, and 2026–27 is their 73rd season.

Improv & comedy / Ferndale

Go Comedy! Improv Theater

An improv and sketch comedy theatre in downtown Ferndale on 9 Mile: shows most nights Wednesday through Sunday, audience-driven games, an improvised murder mystery and its own improv school.

Professional companies / Rochester

Meadow Brook Theatre

A professional nonprofit theatre on Oakland University's Rochester campus since 1966, billing itself as Michigan's largest producing professional theatre. 2026–27 is Season 60, and the 44th A Christmas Carol opens November 20.

Since 1966

Professional companies / Trenton

Open Book Theatre Company

A professional theatre in Trenton that bills itself as Downriver Detroit's premier professional stage: contemporary plays and new work in an intimate, reconfigurable room where you're never far from the action.

Since 2014

Community theaters / Dearborn

Players Guild of Dearborn

Dearborn's community theatre has been at it since 1927 and in its own house on Madison Street since 1949. The 2026-27 season is its 99th, so the centennial is in sight.

Since 1949

Community theaters / Troy

Ridgedale Players

A community theatre on stage since 1931, named by mashing up Pleasant Ridge and Ferndale. Today it plays Long Lake Road in Troy with musicals, plays and kids' shows.

Professional companies / Ferndale

The Ringwald Theatre

Metro Detroit's queer-identified theater company, staging campy LGBTQ-forward shows alongside classic plays and musicals inside Affirmations.

Since 2007

Professional companies / Marine City

Riverbank Theatre (Thumbcoast Live Theaters)

A 180-seat theatre in downtown Marine City, inside the old Marine Savings Bank building with the bank vaults still in place. Tiered and box seating, right on the St. Clair River.

Since 2014180 seats

Broadway & big houses / Grosse Pointe Park

Schaap Center for the Performing Arts

A brand-new performing arts center on Jefferson Avenue in Grosse Pointe Park: a 424-seat, two-level theatre with a fly loft, an elevating orchestra pit and an LED projection wall, plus an art gallery.

Since 2025424 seats

Community theaters / Bloomfield Hills

St. Dunstan's Theatre

An all-volunteer theatre guild on the Cranbrook campus since 1932 that usually wraps its season with a June musical on the stone tiers of the outdoor Greek Theatre, 350 seats under the sky.

Since 1932350 seats

Professional companies / Northville

Tipping Point Theatre

A professional theatre in downtown Northville: 143 seats, a room rearranged for every show and five plays and musicals a year. It all started with an idea sketched on a napkin.

143 seats

Community theaters / Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor Civic Theatre

Ann Arbor's community theatre since 1929, built on the idea that anyone can join in: intimate shows in its own studio and big musicals at U-M's Arthur Miller Theatre.

Since 1929

Community theaters / Ann Arbor

Burns Park Players

An Ann Arbor neighborhood theatre that puts on one big musical a year with a cast of adult neighbors, Burns Park Elementary kids and featured youth roles. Every adult who auditions gets cast.

Community theaters / Clio

Clio Cast & Crew (Theatre 57)

A volunteer community theatre in Clio, north of Flint, with its own house, Theatre 57, on West Vienna Road. The season opens with The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Since 1978

Community theaters / Adrian

Croswell Opera House

Michigan's oldest theater, in downtown Adrian since 1866, and one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the country. It turns 160 in 2026: professional-caliber musicals with community casts.

Since 1866640 seats

Community theaters / Flint

Flint Community Players

Genesee County's oldest community theatre and, by its own account, the fourth oldest in Michigan: on stage since 1929, now in its own house on South Ballenger Highway.

Since 1929

Professional companies / Flint

Flint Repertory Theatre

Flint's professional not-for-profit theatre in the Flint Cultural Center: world premieres, new musicals and fresh takes on classics, opening 2026-27 with August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Since 2018

Campus stages / Lansing

Lansing Community College Performing Arts

Lansing Community College's theatre, dance and music programs put on more than 30 performances a year on the downtown campus, plus free shows under the stars every summer.

454 seats

Community theaters / Owosso

Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts

Downtown Owosso's 500-seat theater and the only performing arts venue serving Shiawassee County: opened as the Capitol Theater in 1926, rebuilt after a 2007 fire, and turning 100 in the 2026–27 season.

Since 1926500 seats

Community theaters / Marshall

Marshall Civic Players

Marshall's community theatre since 1949, which moved into a new home in 2025: the brand-new Marshall High School Auditorium for Performing Arts. Season 78 brings musicals and a kids' show.

Since 1949

Campus stages / East Lansing

Michigan State University Department of Theatre

MSU's theatre department runs a full public season across campus, from the Pasant Theatre inside Wharton Center to the MSU Auditorium Building, plus free outdoor theatre every June.

Professional companies / Ann Arbor

The Penny Seats Theatre Company

A professional nonprofit theater in downtown Ann Arbor staging dramas, comedies, musicals and new plays year-round, with a mission to keep tickets affordable.

Campus stages / University Center

Saginaw Valley State University Theatre

Saginaw Valley State University's theater department stages a public season in two venues on its campus between Saginaw, Bay City and Midland. Tickets are $15, free for SVSU students.

Professional companies / Ann Arbor

Theatre Nova

Ann Arbor's professional theater that only does new plays, including world premieres, in a building called the Yellow Barn. Every show has pay-what-you-can tickets.

Since 2015

Broadway & big houses / Ann Arbor

UMS (University Musical Society)

Since 1879, UMS has been bringing visiting musicians, dancers and theater companies to Ann Arbor, in venues from Hill Auditorium to the Power Center. It's already building toward its 150th season.

Professional companies / Williamston

Williamston Theatre

A fully professional Equity theater in downtown Williamston, about 20 miles east of Lansing. New plays, Michigan artists, intimate storytelling, and 2026-27 is its 20th season.

Since 2006

Kids’ & puppet theater / Ann Arbor

Young People's Theater

Ann Arbor's youth theater, where kids and teens both perform and crew full productions. The big one this season is Mary Poppins at the Power Center.

Summer & outdoor theater / Augusta

Barn Theatre (Augusta)

A former dairy barn in Augusta, between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, that grew into one of Michigan's best-known Equity summer stock theatres. 2026 is its 80th season, and after the show the night rolls on at the Rehearsal Shed bar.

Since 1946

Summer & outdoor theater / Grand Rapids

Circle Theatre

Grand Rapids' summer community theatre since 1953. It started in a hotel room, then played a park pavilion that housed the zoo's monkeys in winter. Today it's at Aquinas College's Performing Arts Center.

Broadway & big houses / Grand Rapids

DeVos Performance Hall (Broadway Grand Rapids)

Grand Rapids' big 2,404-seat stage, where the Broadway tours land and the Grand Rapids Symphony plays. This fall brings The Notebook and Maybe Happy Ending, and The Phantom of the Opera arrives in August 2027.

Since 19802,404 seats

Community theaters / Grand Rapids

Dog Story Theater

A small black-box stage on State Street SE in Grand Rapids that local companies, comedians and performers rent for their own shows. The new Dog Star Series adds three bigger productions a year.

Community theaters / Kalamazoo

Face Off Theatre Company

A Kalamazoo company staging plays by and about Black Americans since 2015. It moves between venues, including Kalamazoo College's Festival Playhouse.

Since 2015

Community theaters / Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

Michigan's largest community theatre celebrates its centennial in 2026-27 at the restored 1903 Meijer Majestic Theatre. Annie arrives in November, Dear Evan Hansen in February and Les Miserables in June.

Since 1903

Campus stages / Allendale

Grand Valley State University Theatre

Grand Valley State University's theatre on the Allendale campus. Every fall brings a Shakespeare festival: in 2026, A Midsummer Night's Dream on October 2-11, with music inspired by the 1950s and 1980s.

Since 1971

Summer & outdoor theater / Holland

Hope Repertory Theatre

Hope College's professional summer theatre in Holland, with more than 50 seasons under its belt. From June to August it plays in rotating repertory, so several shows take turns on the stage.

Community theaters / Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo Civic Theatre

One of America's leading community theatres since 1929, with three stages near Bronson Park. Season 98 brings a dozen productions, from The Wizard of Oz to Fences.

Since 1931503 seats

Improv & comedy / Grand Rapids

River City Improv

Grand Rapids' clean, all-ages improv troupe since 1993. Every scene is built from audience suggestions; the next public show is October 17 at Midtown at Studio Park.

Since 1993

Summer & outdoor theater / Coldwater

Tibbits Opera House

Coldwater's 1882 opera house, designed by Detroit architect Mortimer Smith. It calls itself the second oldest operating theatre in Michigan: pro summer theatre, plus concerts, films and kids' shows year-round.

Since 1882

Community theaters / Buchanan

Tin Shop Theatre

A small community theatre in downtown Buchanan, in an 1865-66 building that has been a furniture factory, a lumber business, a plant and, in the 1918 flu epidemic, a hospital. In November: Ladies First, about Jackie Kennedy.

Campus stages / Kalamazoo

Western Michigan University Theatre

WMU's Department of Theatre in Kalamazoo is known for conservatory-style music theatre and acting training, and it stages a full public season in the Gilmore Theatre Complex's three houses. Kinky Boots lands in fall 2026.

Community theaters / Petoskey

Little Traverse Civic Theatre

The volunteer community theater of Petoskey and the Little Traverse Bay area since 1945. Along with its season, it stages an annual Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast at local cinemas.

Since 1946

Professional companies / Detroit

Detroit Repertory Theatre

Michigan's longest-running professional nonprofit theatre: on the road since 1957, in its own 194-seat house on Woodrow Wilson Street since 1963. Four plays a year, race-transcendent casting and a 50-foot cocktail bar in the lobby.

Since 1963194 seats

Broadway & big houses / Detroit

Gem Theatre

Detroit's 1927 Gem Theatre, moved five blocks on wheels in 1997 in a Guinness world record; now an event and wedding venue.

Since 1927

Community theaters / Detroit

Marlene Boll Theatre (Boll Family YMCA)

The performance hall inside the downtown Boll Family YMCA near Grand Circus Park, a rented home stage for Detroit companies without a house of their own. Detroit Dance Collective dances here, and Plowshares staged a 2026 world premiere here.

Community theaters / Detroit

Matrix Theatre Company

A Southwest Detroit community theatre in Mexicantown where Lindy Hop Detroit holds a swing dance on the second Tuesday of every month.

Kids’ & puppet theater / Detroit

Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit

Detroit teens making theatre since 1992: Mosaic's youth ensembles create original plays and concerts and have performed everywhere from the White House to Carnegie Hall. Their own black box sits on Antietam Avenue near Eastern Market.

Since 1992

Professional companies / Brighton

A Wilde Theatre

Livingston County's newest professional theatre, by its own description: five years in downtown Brighton and now raising money for a home of its own. Come watch a young company grow up right in front of you.

Kids’ & puppet theater / Washington

All The World's A Stage (ATWAS)

An award-winning theatre-arts education program for young people in Macomb County, led by Lou Fazzini. The kids' musicals play the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts: Aladdin Jr., Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. and The Little Mermaid in 2026–27.

Broadway & big houses / Brighton

Brighton Center for the Performing Arts

A performing arts center on the Brighton Area Schools campus that bills itself as Livingston County's premier theatre. Besides school and community shows, it books a professional season, heavy on music and family fun this year.

Community theaters / Howell

Community Theatre of Howell

Livingston County's own theatre company in Howell: plays and musicals with adult and youth casts from fall to spring, plus a summer youth camp. The 2025-26 season marked its 40th anniversary.

Professional companies / Pinckney

The Dio - Dining & Entertainment

A dinner theatre on Pinckney's main street, inside a 19th-century building that started as a town hall hosting vaudeville and opera. Dinner and the show come on one ticket.

Since 2013

Community theaters / Port Huron

Enter Stage Right at The Citadel Stage

A nonprofit company in Port Huron's downtown theatre district that opens a new show almost every month in an intimate black-box space. The rows are stepped, so no seat is far from the stage.

Community theaters / Grosse Pointe Park

Grosse Pointe Theatre

Grosse Pointe's community theatre since 1947, with more than 300 volunteer members and over 336 main-stage productions. Since 2025 it plays the new Schaap Center, and the 2026–27 season opens with Les Misérables.

Since 1947

Campus stages / Livonia

James R. Hartman Theatre (Schoolcraft College)

Schoolcraft College's theatre in Livonia, where students and locals have shared the stage in classic and modern plays for more than 30 years. Tickets are $15, or $10 for students.

Community theaters / Livonia

Livonia Community Theatre

A volunteer community theatre in Livonia, playing the Fellowship Hall of Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church. The 2026–27 season brings Tales from the Scrypt, The Cake and Men on Boats, then Julius Caesar in the park in summer.

Broadway & big houses / Port Huron

McMorran Place

A city-owned entertainment complex in downtown Port Huron, open since 1960, with an arena and a 1,135-seat theater.

1,135 seats

Community theaters / Monroe

Monroe Community Players

An all-volunteer nonprofit community theatre that has brought live theatre to the Monroe area for more than 75 years. Casting is open to all, and fall 2026 brings a stage version of Stephen King's Misery.

Kids’ & puppet theater / Livonia

Motor City Youth Theatre (Motor City Theatre)

A Livonia youth theatre that's been teaching kids the stage since 1990, with its own playhouse on Grantland. There's an adult troupe too, plus a youth Shakespeare company called the Bard Bums.

Since 1990

Community theaters / Pinckney

Pinckney Players (Jane Tasch Performing Arts Center)

Pinckney's community theatre plays a 900-seat school hall named for Jane Tasch, the teacher who got local theatre going. At the end of every show, a single flower is left on the empty stage in her memory.

Since 1980900 seats

Improv & comedy / Hamtramck

Planet Ant Theatre

A Hamtramck arts collective founded in 1993 that grew into a black-box comedy and improv theater, with comedian Keegan-Michael Key among its early builders.

Since 1993

Community theaters / Port Huron

Port Huron Civic Theatre

Port Huron's all-volunteer community theatre has been putting on shows since 1956, back on the big stage at McMorran Place since 1983, with several productions a year plus a summer workshop and a gala.

Since 1956

Community theaters / Richmond

Richmond Community Theatre

North Macomb County's community theatre has been on stage since 1965, in a former church turned auditorium. The 2026-27 season is already its 61st.

Since 1965

Campus stages / Farmington Hills

Smith Theatre (Oakland Community College)

Oakland Community College's biggest performance venue, on the Orchard Ridge Campus in Farmington Hills, with 420 stadium seats. Theatre, music, film, dance and lectures all share the stage.

420 seats

Community theaters / Warren

Warren Civic Theatre

A Warren community theatre that started in a rec-center gym in 1990 with about a dozen kids, where many shows use open casting: everyone who auditions gets a role.

Since 1990

Kids’ & puppet theater / Lansing

All-of-us Express Children's Theatre

A Lansing youth theatre where kids and teens ages 6 to 18 perform for the community: four main productions a year, with meet-and-greets after the show.

Since 1989

Community theaters / Bay City

Bay City Players

It calls itself the oldest continuously operating community theatre in Michigan: 2026-27 is its 109th season, in its own house on Columbus Avenue.

Community theaters / Jackson

Center Stage Jackson

Jackson's volunteer-run community theatre, born in 2000 from the merger of two older groups, performing at Jackson College's Potter Center in the Baughman Theater.

Since 2000

Campus stages / Mount Pleasant

Central Michigan University Theatre

Central Michigan University's student theatre in Mount Pleasant: three stages around one box office, plus free studio shows. This season runs from a Greek myth retold to a full-on musical.

Community theaters / Chelsea

Chelsea Area Players

Chelsea's volunteer community theatre since 1972: junior shows, a winter murder-mystery dinner theatre and a summer musical, every year.

Since 1972

Community theaters / Dexter

Dexter Community Players

Dexter's community theatre has been entertaining the town since 1981, with youth and adult casts. Next on their announced lineup is Lauren Gunderson's Silent Sky.

Since 1981

Kids’ & puppet theater / Ypsilanti

Dreamland Theater

A tiny artist-run storefront theater in downtown Ypsilanti with original puppet shows, experimental theater, open mics and small live-music shows.

Professional companies / Dexter

The Encore Musical Theatre Company

A professional Actors' Equity musical theater in Dexter, housed in the town's original 1800s school, now the Maas Theatre. Season 18 brings five musicals, from Sister Act to A Chorus Line, plus tribute concerts.

Since 2008

Broadway & big houses / Flint

FIM Capitol Theatre

A 1928 John Eberson movie palace in downtown Flint, now a concert and performance venue run by the Flint Institute of Music.

2,000 seats

Broadway & big houses / Flint

FIM Whiting Auditorium

Flint's main concert hall on the Flint Cultural Center campus, home of the Flint Symphony Orchestra.

2,043 seats

Professional companies / Lansing

Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

A Lansing company staging classic and contemporary plays about social issues since 1995. The 2026-27 season plays at the new Stage One Performing Arts Center.

Since 1995

Community theaters / Saginaw

Pit & Balcony Community Theatre

Saginaw's community theater since 1932, in a house its own members helped build. The name is a joke: there's no orchestra pit and no balcony, so everyone shares one room.

Since 1949

Professional companies / Chelsea

The Purple Rose Theatre Company

Jeff Daniels' theater in Chelsea: new American plays, mostly world premieres, in a 168-seat house where no seat is more than 20 feet from the stage.

Since 1991168 seats

Community theaters / Lansing

Riverwalk Theatre

Lansing's all-volunteer community theater lives in a converted bus garage on the Grand River. Two stages, improv and radio plays: Season 38 runs from Come From Away to Mean Girls.

Since 1989

Community theaters / Jonesville

The Sauk

Hillsdale County's community theater in Jonesville: comedy classics, three musicals including Frozen, a holiday play and summer shows in the park.

Community theaters / Lansing

Starlight Dinner Theatre

Lansing's community dinner theater: dinner or dessert first, then a comedy, mystery or musical. Season 20 opens in fall 2026 with the comedy murder mystery The Butler Did It.

Since 2006

Broadway & big houses / Saginaw

Temple Theatre

A 1927 theater in downtown Saginaw, now part of the Shaheen Performing Arts Center, hosting touring concerts, symphony nights and comedy.

2,300 seats

Campus stages / Flint

University of Michigan-Flint Theatre

Student productions from the University of Michigan-Flint at the UM-Flint Theatre downtown. This season brings Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cellphone in October and The Lightning Thief musical in March.

Community theaters / Grand Rapids

Actors' Theatre Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids' contemporary theatre company since 1980, performing in GRCC's 250-seat Spectrum Theater. If you like your plays fresh, this season is all Michigan premieres.

Since 1980250 seats

Community theaters / Dowagiac

Beckwith Theatre Company

Dowagiac's community theatre since 1990, started by residents who wanted to bring the town's stage heritage back. Every event is $15, and fall brings Wait Until Dark and A Christmas Carol.

Since 1990

Campus stages / Grand Rapids

Calvin Theatre Company

Calvin University's student theatre in Grand Rapids, with three main-stage shows and three lab-series shows a season. One Bye Bye Birdie cast its lead with two actors at once: one signing in ASL, one speaking and singing.

Professional companies / Kalamazoo

Farmers Alley Theatre

Kalamazoo's professional theatre since 2008: musicals, dramas and new comedies. Season 19 plays temporarily at Kalamazoo College's Festival Playhouse, with Come From Away in November.

Since 2008

Opera & dance / Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids Ballet

Michigan's only professional ballet company, dancing since 1971. It lives in a converted bus garage with its own 300-seat theatre next door, and takes big shows like The Nutcracker to DeVos Performance Hall.

Since 2007300 seats

Campus stages / Holland

Hope College Theatre

Hope College's theatre department stages its academic-year season at the DeWitt Student and Cultural Center in Holland. This fall: Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone.

Community theaters / Grand Rapids

Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids

Plays and musicals on Jewish themes, for everyone, since 1992. An idea born over coffee has turned into 87 productions; in December it's Jason Robert Brown's Parade.

Since 1992

Community theaters / Grand Rapids

Master Arts Theatre

A Christian community theatre on the south side of Grand Rapids, with its own house and family-friendly scripts. The Time Machine comes in October, It's A Wonderful Life for the holidays.

Broadway & big houses / Kalamazoo

Miller Auditorium

Western Michigan University's performing arts hall in Kalamazoo, with roughly 3,500 seats.

Community theaters / Muskegon

Muskegon Civic Theatre

Muskegon's community theatre, in residence at the downtown Frauenthal Center. Sondheim's Company opens the season in October, and Matilda closes it in spring.

Opera & dance / Grand Rapids

Opera Grand Rapids

West Michigan's professional opera company since 1966. Chamber operas at its own East Fulton Street home, grand opera at DeVos Performance Hall; Carmen arrives April 30, 2027.

Since 1966

Community theaters / Kalamazoo

Queer Theatre Kalamazoo

A Kalamazoo theater company devoted to queer plays and queer artists, now in its 13th season.

Community theaters / St. Joseph

Twin City Players

St. Joseph and Benton Harbor's volunteer community theatre has been putting on shows since 1932, now in its own playhouse on West Glenlord Road. Expect six main-stage productions a season, plus youth programs.

Since 1932

Broadway & big houses / Cheboygan

Cheboygan Opera House

A historic opera house in downtown Cheboygan, nicknamed the 'Jewel of the North', presenting concerts, cabaret, musicals and films year-round.

582 seats

Broadway & big houses / Traverse City

City Opera House

An 1891 Victorian opera house in downtown Traverse City with about 680 seats, presenting singer-songwriter, roots, bluegrass and jazz concerts.

680 seats

Community theaters / Traverse City

Old Town Playhouse

Traverse City's community theater, in a 1903 church that became a playhouse in 1975. A 277-seat MainStage, a Studio Theatre, youth and senior companies, and about 160 volunteer ushers.

Since 1975277 seats

Summer & outdoor theater / Calumet

Calumet Theatre

A historic opera house opened in 1900 in the copper-mining town of Calumet on the Keweenaw Peninsula, hosting concerts, theater and tours.

1,200 seats

Broadway & big houses / Ironwood

Historic Ironwood Theatre

A restored downtown movie palace in Ironwood marking its centennial in 2026 and the western Upper Peninsula's main stage for touring concerts.

732 seats

Campus stages / Marquette

Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance

NMU's Department of Theatre and Dance in Marquette plays a public season on two stages and runs a 'Theatre For All' accessibility initiative. The Rocky Horror Show hits the stage in October.

Community theaters / Escanaba

Players de Noc

Escanaba's community theatre, performing at the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center. It opens the season with a world premiere: Stag Light, a winner of AACT's national NewPlayFest 2026.

Broadway & big houses / Houghton

Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

Michigan Technological University's performing arts center in Houghton, home to the largest concert hall in the Keweenaw.

1,067 seats

Community theaters / Sault Ste. Marie

Soo Theatre

A historic theater on Ashmun Street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, now the Eastern Upper Peninsula's public performance space and arts school.

Kids’ & puppet theater / Detroit

PuppetART Detroit Puppet Theater

A Detroit puppet theater since 1995, founded by European-trained puppet artists: world folktales told with hand, rod, shadow and marionette puppets. These days it mostly tours schools, libraries and community spaces.

Since 1995Being checked

Professional companies / Alpena

Thunder Bay Theatre

Downtown Alpena's theater, which calls itself Northeast Michigan's only year-round professional theater. After two fires and a six-year hiatus, it's wrapping up a roughly $2 million renovation.

Since 1983Being checked

Professional companies / Detroit

Black and Brown Theatre

A Detroit nonprofit theatre founded in 2016 to put the voices of people of color onstage, backstage and beyond. There's no home stage: it plays schools and community spaces in Northwest Detroit and Hamtramck.

Since 2016Being checked

Summer & outdoor theater / Detroit

Shakespeare in Detroit

It bills itself as Detroit's first professional theatre company devoted to Shakespeare and the classics. In 2013 it staged the city's first Shakespeare in the park, and it has played parks, theatres and non-traditional venues ever since.

Since 2013Being checked

Summer & outdoor theater / Royal Oak

Shakespeare Royal Oak (Water Works Theatre Company)

A professional outdoor Shakespeare festival in Royal Oak's Starr Jaycee Park every summer, produced by the Water Works Theatre Company, founded in 2001. Shakespeare under the open sky in a city park.

Since 2001Being checked

Community theaters / Canton

Spotlight Players

A nonprofit community theatre in Canton that rehearses and performs at The Village Theater at Cherry Hill, with a youth wing, Spotlight Jr. Players.

Being checked

Community theaters / St. Clair Shores

The St. Clair Shores Players

A volunteer, not-for-profit civic theatre in St. Clair Shores, putting on community shows since 1959. In summer 2026 their venue said it couldn't host the fall show, so they're hunting for a new stage.

Since 1959Being checked

Summer & outdoor theater / Marquette

Lake Superior Theatre

A summer theatre on the Lake Superior shore in Marquette whose motto is 'presenting and preserving our past since 1998.' It plays to locals and visitors alike.

Since 1998Being checked

03 / Legends

Where the applause used to be

Closed, demolished or converted theaters. We keep their stories and their old contact details, because they’re Detroit too.

1900192019401960198020002020 Avenue Theatre · 1880–1950Avenue TheatreDetroit Opera House (Campus Martius) · 1880–1966Detroit Opera House (Campus Martius)Garrick Theatre · 1887–1928Garrick TheatreTemple Theatre · 1901–1930Temple TheatreBonstelle Theatre · 1902–2020Bonstelle TheatreTheatre Comique · 1905–1928Theatre ComiqueMiles Theatre · 1910–1927Miles TheatreNational Theatre · 1911–1975National TheatreCircle Theatre · 1912–1936Circle TheatreGayety Theatre · 1912–1958Gayety TheatreFine Arts Theatre · 1914–1998Fine Arts TheatrePalace Theatre (Monroe Avenue) · 1914–1931Palace Theatre (M…Shubert-Lafayette Theatre · 1914–1964Shubert-Lafayette TheatreCass Theatre · 1926–1975Cass TheatreCherry County Playhouse · 1955–2003Cherry County PlayhouseHilberry Theatre · 1964–2022Hilberry TheatreBoarsHead Theater · 1966–2009BoarsHead TheaterPerformance Network Theatre · 1981–2015Performance Network TheatreJewish Ensemble Theatre (JET) · 1989–2022Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET)The Second City Detroit (Novi) · 1993–2009The Second City …Kickshaw Theatre · 2015–2020
Each bar is one building’s life, from opening night to the last show. Click one for its story.

1911–1975

National Theatre

Detroit

The last survivor of Detroit's first theatre district on Monroe Street and Albert Kahn's last known theatre, with twin domed towers and a great arched window. It went from vaudeville to movies to the city's last live burlesque house.

1981–2015

Performance Network Theatre

Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor's professional Equity theater started in 1981 as an arts collective, played the 139-seat Shure Theater near Kerrytown from 2000 with plenty of premieres, and closed at the end of 2015.

1859–1950

Avenue Theatre

Detroit

It opened in 1859 as a lecture hall, hosted an 1886 art show that helped lead to the DIA, then spent most of the 20th century as one of downtown's best-known burlesque houses. It came down in 1950.

1902–2020

Bonstelle Theatre

Detroit

A 1902 synagogue turned Broadway-style theatre on Woodward Avenue, home to Rabbi Leo M. Franklin's congregation and later Wayne State's theatre program, now an event space inside a new hotel.

1926–1975

Cass Theatre

Detroit

A Shubert-era playhouse on Lafayette Boulevard, across from the Free Press Building, that opened with an operetta in 1926 and later helped bring Cinerama to Detroit. It was torn down in 1977–78 for a parking lot.

1912–1936

Circle Theatre

Detroit

A Hastings Street house from 1912 to 1936: first the showplace of Detroit's Jewish community, staging Yiddish-language plays from 1921, then, as the Dunbar, a movie house in the heart of Black Bottom.

1962

Concept East Theatre

Detroit

Detroit's first Black theater company, founded in 1960 and based from 1962 at 401 East Adams Avenue, which launched Ernie Hudson and others to fame.

1869–1966

Detroit Opera House (Campus Martius)

Detroit

A 19th-century theater on Campus Martius, not the same building as today's Detroit Opera House, that hosted touring stars until its 1966 demolition.

1914–1998

Fine Arts Theatre

Detroit

C. Howard Crane's little house on Woodward opened as a playhouse in 1914, spent decades as a movie theatre and in the 1990s ran on and off as a jazz, rap and comedy club. The building has stood largely empty since.

1887–1928

Garrick Theatre

Detroit

Downtown theater where Budapest-born Harry Houdini gave his last performance on October 24, 1926; closed in 1928 and razed in 1929.

1912–1958

Gayety Theatre

Detroit

Forty-six years of nothing but burlesque: the 1,362-seat Gayety on Cadillac Square ran from 1912 to 1958 and became the Detroit home of the Mutual Burlesque circuit in 1929.

1964–2022

Hilberry Theatre

Detroit

Wayne State University's graduate repertory theater in a converted 1917 church, where actor Jeffrey Tambor trained in the 1960s, closed in 2022 and reopened in 2024 as the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center.

1910–1927

Miles Theatre

Detroit

Griswold Street's 2,000-seat vaudeville house from 1910 to 1927, a rival of the Temple and the Garrick. The Griswold Building that replaced it still stands as The Albert.

1914–1931

Palace Theatre (Monroe Avenue)

Detroit

The last and largest vaudeville house built on Monroe Avenue, opened in 1914: C. Howard Crane called it the acme of his work so far, and with 23 exits it was billed as the safest theater in the world.

1914–1964

Shubert-Lafayette Theatre

Detroit

A vaudeville-turned-Broadway house on West Lafayette that Joseph Z. Nederlander helped run in its final decades, demolished in 1964 for a parking structure.

1901–1930

Temple Theatre

Detroit

Vaudeville house on Monroe Street opened in 1901 as part of the Wonderland entertainment complex, Harry Houdini's most frequent Detroit stage, later demolished for downtown redevelopment.

1905–1928

Theatre Comique

Detroit

One of C. Howard Crane's earliest theatres, near the Gratiot triangle: it opened in 1905 as a ten-cent vaudeville house and became the Theatre Comique in 1908, with an electric sign billed as the largest on any building in America.

2014

Broadway OnStage Live Theatre

Eastpointe

A small theater on Kelly Road in Eastpointe and the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, which put on 33 seasons of local professional theater before bowing out in 2014 with the comedy Breaking Legs.

1989–2022

Jewish Ensemble Theatre (JET)

Walled Lake

It called itself the longest continuously running Jewish professional theater in North America: from 1989 to 2022 it staged four or five plays a year from a Jewish perspective, in its last years in downtown Walled Lake.

1993–2009

The Second City Detroit (Novi)

Novi

The Detroit outpost of the famed improv theatre opened near the Fox in 1993, then moved to a 200-seat cabaret in Novi in 2004. The Novi stage closed in 2009, and several of its cast members went on to TV and film.

1966–2009

BoarsHead Theater

Lansing

Mid-Michigan's oldest professional resident theatre: a 250-seat Actors' Equity house in downtown Lansing from 1966 to 2009. It started in a barn and bowed out with a play written by two of its interns.

1955–2003

Cherry County Playhouse

Traverse City / Muskegon

One of Michigan's first professional theaters started in 1955 in a red-and-white striped tent in Traverse City with Hollywood stars, moved to Muskegon for big musicals and went quiet after 2003.

2015–2020

Kickshaw Theatre

Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor's nonprofit professional theater from 2015 to 2020: five seasons of contemporary plays in borrowed spaces around town, under an agreement with Actors' Equity.

Parallel 45 Theatre

Traverse City

Traverse City's professional theater company, best known for its summer festival of rotating plays and musicals on its own outdoor stage in Civic Center Park, with food vendors, a bar and live music.

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