Citizens Opera House

Citizens Opera House gives a night at the ballet or a touring Broadway show a grand setting before anyone steps onstage. Designed by Thomas White Lamb, the former vaudeville palace combines French and Italian architectural influences, with an elaborate interior worth arriving early to see. Boston Ballet and Broadway in Boston both present productions here, so the calendar can take you from dance to a full-scale musical. The building was created as a memorial to vaudeville impresario Benjamin Franklin Keith, which helps explain the extravagance. If you want to spend more time looking at the theater itself, scheduled historical tours offer that chance without having to divide your attention between the room and the performance.