Although downtown Phoenix claims the valley's greatest concentration of performance halls, including Symphony Hall, the Orpheum Theatre, and the Herberger Theater Center, there are major performing-arts venues scattered across the valley. No matter where you happen to be staying, you're likely to find performances being held somewhere nearby.

Calling these many valley venues home are such major companies as the Phoenix Symphony, Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Company, Ballet Arizona, Center Dance Ensemble, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, and Arizona Theatre Company. Adding to the performances held by these companies are the wide variety of touring companies that make stops here throughout the year.

While you'll find box-office phone numbers listed below, you can also purchase most performing-arts tickets through Ticketmaster (tel. 480/784-4444; www.ticketmaster.com). For sold-out shows, check with your hotel concierge, or try Western States Ticket Service (tel. 800/326-0331 or 602/254-3300; www.wstickets.com) or Tickets Unlimited (tel. 800/289-8497 or 602/840-2340; www.ticketsunlimitedinc.com).

Major Performing Arts Centers

Phoenix's premier performance venue is Symphony Hall, 225 E. Adams St. (tel. 602/262-7272), home to the Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Opera Company. It also hosts touring Broadway shows and various other concerts and theatrical productions.

The Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams St. (tel. 602/262-7272), is the most elegant hall in the valley. The historic Spanish-colonial baroque theater was built in 1929, and at the time was considered the most luxurious theater west of the Mississippi. Today, its ornately carved sandstone facade stands in striking contrast to the glass-and-steel City Hall building, with which the theater shares a common wall.

Although it isn't the largest performance venue in town, the Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St. (tel. 602/267-1600; www.celebritytheatre.com), seems to be booking lots of great acts these days. With its revolving stage and no seat farther than 75 feet from the performers, this is a great place to catch the likes of Brian Setzer, Bill Cosby, or Hootie and the Blowfish.

The Dodge Theatre, 400 W. Washington St. (tel. 602/379-2888; www.dodgetheatre.com), is another of Phoenix's major downtown performance halls and seats from 2,000 to 5,000 people. It books many top names in entertainment as well as Broadway shows and international touring companies.

The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium, Mill Avenue and Apache Boulevard, Tempe (tel. 480/965-3434; www.asugammage.com), on the Arizona State University campus, is at once massive and graceful. This 3,000-seat hall hosts everything from barbershop quartets to touring Broadway shows.

The Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale (tel. 480/994-ARTS; www.scottsdalearts.org), hosts a variety of performances and series, ranging from alternative dance to classical music. This center seems to get the best of the touring performers who come through the valley.

In Scottsdale, near the Borgata shopping center, you'll find ASU's Kerr Cultural Center, 6110 N. Scottsdale Rd. (tel. 480/596-2660; www.asukerr.com), a tiny venue in a historic home. It offers up an eclectic season that includes music from around the world.

Outdoor Venues & Series -- Given the weather, it should come as no surprise that Phoenicians like to attend performances under the stars.

The city's top outdoor venue is the Cricket Pavilion, a half mile north of I-10 between 79th and 83rd avenues (tel. 602/254-7200; http://cricket-pavilion.com). This 20,000-seat amphitheater is open year-round and hosts everything from Broadway musicals to rock concerts.

The Mesa Amphitheater, at University Drive and Center Road, Mesa (tel. 480/644-2560), is a much smaller amphitheater that holds a wide variety of concerts in spring and summer, and occasionally other times of year as well.

Throughout the year, the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, 7380 E. Second St., Scottsdale (tel. 480/994-ARTS; www.scottsdalearts.org), stages outdoor performances in the adjacent Scottsdale Amphitheater on the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall. The Sunday A'fair series runs from October to April, with free concerts from noon to 4:30pm on selected Sundays of each month. Performances range from acoustic blues to zydeco.

Two perennial favorites of valley residents take place in particularly attractive surroundings. The Music in the Garden concerts at the Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., in Papago Park (tel. 480/941-1225; www.dbg.org), are held on Sundays between September and March. The season always includes an eclectic array of musical styles. Tickets are $14 and include admission to the gardens. Sunday brunch is served for an additional charge. Up on the north side of the valley, just outside Carefree, El Pedregal Festival Marketplace, 34505 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale (tel. 480/488-1072; www.elpedregal.com) stages jazz, blues, and rock concerts on Thursday evenings in May, June, and July. Tickets are $10 to $15. Other times of year, there are also afternoon concerts on the first Sunday of the month here at El Pedregal.

Outdoor concerts are also held at various parks and plazas around the valley during the warmer months. Check local papers for listings.

Literary Lunch Break -- At downtown Phoenix's Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St. (tel. 602/254-7399, ext. 106), lunch break means the actors hit the stage while the audience grabs sandwiches. Between October and early June, 30- to 45-minute plays are staged at noon. Tickets are only $5, as are sandwiches.

Classical Music, Opera & Dance -- The Phoenix Symphony (tel. 800/776-9080 or 602/495-1999; www.phoenixsymphony.org), the Southwest's leading symphony orchestra, performs at Symphony Hall (tickets run $20-$48), while the Scottsdale Symphony Orchestra (tel. 480/945-8071; www.scotsymph.org) performs at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts (tickets go for $17-$20).

Opera buffs may want to see what the Arizona Opera Company (tel. 602/266-7464; www.azopera.com) has scheduled. This company stages up to five operas, both familiar and more obscure, and splits its time between Phoenix and Tucson. Tickets cost $25 to $110. Performances are held at Symphony Hall.

Ballet Arizona (tel. 602/381-1096; www.balletaz.org) performs at Symphony Hall and the Orpheum and stages both classical and contemporary ballets; tickets run $12 to $43. The Center Dance Ensemble (tel. 602/252-8497; www.centerdance.com), the city's contemporary dance company, stages several productions a year at the Herberger Theater Center. Tickets cost $20. Between September and April, Southwest Arts & Entertainment (tel. 602/482-6410) brings acclaimed dance companies and music acts from around the world to Phoenix, with performances staged primarily at the Orpheum. Ticket ranges from $18 to $45.

Theater -- With nearly a dozen professional companies and the same number of nonprofessional companies taking to the boards throughout the year, there is always some play being staged somewhere in the valley.

The Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St. (tel. 602/252-8497; www.herbergertheater.org), which is located downtown and vaguely resembles a Spanish colonial church, is the city's main venue for live theater. Its two Broadway-style theaters together host hundreds of performances each year, including productions by the Actors Theatre of Phoenix (ATP) and the Arizona Theatre Company (ATC). ATP (tel. 602/253-6701; www.atphx.org) tends to stage smaller, lesser-known off-Broadway-type works, with musicals, dramas, and comedies equally represented; tickets go for $20 to $44. The annual production of A Christmas Carol is always a big hit. ATC (tel. 602/256-6995; www.aztheatreco.org) is the state theater company of Arizona and splits its performances between Phoenix and Tucson. Founded in 1967, it's the major force on the Arizona thespian scene. Productions range from world premieres to recent Tony award-winners to classics. Tickets run $26 to $51.

The Phoenix Theatre, 100 E. McDowell Rd. (tel. 602/254-2151; www.phoenixtheatre.net), has been around for almost 80 years and stages a wide variety of productions; tickets are $28 to $32. If your interest lies in Broadway plays, see what Broadway in Arizona (tel. 480/965-3434; www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/tempe) has scheduled. The series, focusing mostly on comedies and musicals, is held at the Gammage Auditorium in Tempe; tickets cost about $20 to $70. The Theater League (tel. 602/952-2881; www.theaterleague.com) is another series that brings in Broadway musicals. Performances are held in the Orpheum Theatre, and tickets range from $34 to $43.

Scottsdale's small Stagebrush Theatre, 7020 E. Second St. (tel. 480/990-7405; www.stagebrush.com), is a community theater that features tried-and-true comedies and musicals (plus children's theater), with the occasional drama thrown in. Tickets are about $10 for children's theater performances and $18 to $20 for other productions. For more daring new works and children's theater, check the schedule of PlayWright's Theatre (tel. 602/253-5151), which stages its performances at various venues around the valley. Tickets are around $20. The Arizona Jewish Theatre Co. (tel. 602/264-0402; www.azjewishtheatre.org), which stages plays by Jewish playwrights and with Jewish themes, performs at Playhouse on the Park, in the Viad Corporate Center, 1850 N. Central Ave. (at Palm Lane). Tickets range from $26 to $28.