In Motown, the restored Theater District is second only to Broadway in its number of available seats, with performances ranging from cutting-edge productions to the classics. Queen of the venues is the 5,000-seat Fox Theatre, a gloriously gaudy 1920s-era theater that defied the odds to survive until its 1988 restoration by Little Caesars magnate Mike Ilitch. Other Theater District highlights include the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts; the intimate 450-seat Gem Theatre; and the restored Detroit Opera House. The towns north of Detroit offer their own impressive performance venues, most notably The Whiting in Flint. Even farther north, the historic Cheboygan Opera House was once a stop for luminaries such as Mary Pickford and Annie Oakley.

Detroit is one of the few large cities without a resident dance company. Ballets from around the world stop at the city’s restored opera house, which sells out regularly, but you’ll have a better chance of finding modern dance performances at university venues in Ann Arbor and East Lansing. Elsewhere in the state, dance events are held throughout the summer season.