The inspiring story of an unlikely dream steals the stage at Wharton Center with Billy Elliot, winner of 10 Tony Awards. Based on the 2000 film, the show focuses on aspiring ballet dancer Billy, an eleven-year-old diamond in the rough.

Street art has been making headlines near and afar lately, from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles' groundbreaking exhibit to a few Gerald R. Ford stencils causing a rouse for Grand Rapids city officials.

More than half a century after its original debut, West Side Story returns, ready to dazzle audiences anew with the plight of star-crossed lovers trapped within a ranging feud. Directed by David Saint, the Miller Auditorium performance is based on the 2009-2011 revival.

As the second installment of a three-year, three-exhibition partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art, the GRAM opened its doors to Real/Surreal Oct. 19.

Visit the theater and the ballpark all in one night this September. Mitch Albom, bestselling author, playwright and journalist, is bringing his newest play, "Ernie," to Wealthy Theatre for a special 12-performance run from Sept. 12-23.

Each year, ArtPrize has been a catalyst for conversation and change and for its fourth competition, and in 2012, you can expect more of the same. This year, the contest hosts nearly the same number of artists and venues as the 2011 competition, but will operate minus the presence of former Executive Director Catherine Creamer.

Throughout the years, opera has fallen into a certain stereotype: Fancy, expensive, formal, elite and ritzy. But Opera Grand Rapids wants to show the community that opera is not just a fat lady in a helmet with horns; nor is it custom for attendees to wear Victorian wigs, top hats or spectacles.

Chris Danner is excited to bring the national tour of The Addams Family to Grand Rapids in May. That's in part because Danner has called Grand Rapids home for many years.

With 30 downtown venues and more than 350 artists, the event is one of West Michigan's largest studio hops and invites guests of all ages to explore photography, film, paintings, glasswork and a new SiTE:LAB event.

In the artist's first major Midwest show since 2007, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park hosts Essence: The Horses of Deborah Butterfield, an inquisitive look back on decades of Butterfield's work.