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The Winspear Opera House

If you’ve ever wondered what the hell that big, red, round thing in the Arts District is, we’re here to inform you that it’s our world-renowned Winspear (not to be confused with Winstar that’s another behemoth of a structure, albeit a considerably less cultured one). A modern interpretation of the typical opera house, it’s home to both The Dallas Opera and the Texas Ballet Theater, and it’s pretty damned majestic. Not an opera fan? It has also hosted plenty of other events, like NPR’s Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! and standup from iconic comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Mesa Arts Center

Located in downtown Mesa, the Mesa Arts Center is the largest arts center in the state. It includes a total of four performance spaces including the Farnsworth Studio Theater, which seats 99 for an intimate setting, and on the other end of the spectrum the 1,600-seat Ikeda Theater. The complex also includes the Mesa Contemporary Arts, home to five different art galleries, as well as 14 visual and performing art classroom studios. Valley residents come from near and far to enjoy everything from live musical performances to impressive visual-art exhibits at the impressive arts center. Numerous Mesa-based arts organizations partner with the center and perform regularly at the center. For example resident companies include the East Valley Children's Theater, Mesa Encore Theater and the Symphony of the Southwest. Public tours are available on Wednesdays at noon from September to June, though reservations are required.

Orpheum Theatre

Originally opened in 1929 as a vaudeville house and saved for posterity by a preservation movement that began with the Orpheum's purchase by the City of Phoenix in 1984, this gracious facility reopened in early 1997 to great and warranted fanfare. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the building has a checkered past that includes stints as a member of the Paramount moviehouse chain, a Spanish-language cinema and a rock venue. The remodeled interior is lush and classic, a showy, almost campy, assuredly unlikely mix of Colonial Revival and Spanish baroque that somehow works. The ethereal-cloudscape-on-the-ceiling projection is pretty darned keen, too. The 1,400-capacity hall is home to a plethora of arts-slanted special events and touring shows.

Mesa Amphitheatre

You know you grew up in Phoenix if you attended a memorable rock concert at this deluxe, open-air venue. Even with general admission lawn seating, there was never—nor is there now—a bad seat in the place, because not one of the 4, 200 seats are further than 175 feet from the stage. And what a stage. Acoustically perfect, it’s played host to everyone from locals like the Mesa Symphony Orchestra and the Southwest Shakespeare Company to international acts like Roxy Music (which performed its farewell performance here in 1983) and Ben Folds Five. If live performance on a sloping green, grassy lawn under a starry sky is your idea of a good time, Mesa Amphitheatre is the place for you. As the saying goes, “4,200 people can’t be wrong!”