Nightlife in Norton Shores

Scores of dedicated volunteers fuel the nonprofit community Muskegon Civic Theatre, which has entertained western Michigan audiences with classic and contemporary shows since 1985. The catchy melodies, energetic cast, and colorful sets of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat resuscitate the Old Testament in the historic Frauenthal Center. Musical styles ranging from country-western to calypso drive the biblical story that follows Joseph and his kaleidoscopic coat from his enslavement to his eventual inception as the dream interpreter of the Pharaoh and number-one active-wear model in Egypt.

A nonprofit movie house, The Harbor Theater offers cinefiles a welcome reprieve from stale screen fillers by stocking its theater with rich, artistic, and fresh independent and foreign films. Sharpen subtitle-reading skills by catching an upcoming screening of The Illusionist (coming soon), an animated feature from the French filmmakers behind The Triplets of Belleville. Or brush up on American history with Made in Dageham, a period drama exploring sexual discrimination during a 1968 walkout at the Ford Dageham plant.

Since 1938, the West Michigan Symphony (formerly the West Shore Symphony) has brought together the region's most talented professional musicians, entertaining audiences by playing a stirring mix of timeless classics and contemporary favorites. With this deal, you get the best available seat for the upcoming Salute to John Williams concert, paying tribute to the iconic music of John Williams, a prolific movie soundtrack composer, rousing conductor, and wrangler of unchained and dangerous melodies. The West Michigan Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Scott Speck, will perform some of Williams' most recognizable music, including excerpts from Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, the Harry Potter films, Jurassic Park, and Superman. Instinctually scan the seats for roaming shark fins as the orchestra plays menacing music from Jaws, or look back on fun fishing trips to Tatooine and Endor with renditions of tunes from the Star Wars films.

At Handsome Hobo Pizzeria, the chefs put a local American twist on classic Italian cuisine. In the kitchen, they toss risottos with vegetables and seafood, and pastas with meats and sauce. They also prepare both Chicago-style deep-dish and New York-style thin-crust pizzas. At the bar, 16 wines pour from a refrigerated tap. The aromas of herbs and spices waft through an eclectic space created by interior designer and HGTV Star finalist Tylor Devereaux, conjuring an atmosphere that seems to fit the restaurant's name. Seats gather on the outside rims of striped banquettes, and against a brass-topped table curved around an open fire pit. The restaurant's walls, some painted and others covered with reclaimed wood, are hung with everything from vintage signs to typewriters.

Perfect Brow Bar was born in 2008, when the United States first started embracing eyebrow threading—an ancient method of removing unwanted hair with swift twists of a cotton thread. As the service’s popularity grew, so did Perfect Brow Bar: it now boasts more than 15 locations across the central states. Some patrons report that threading is less painful, causes less redness, and is more precise than waxing, and the method doesn't require any brutal candle killing. In addition to threading, the trained staff beautifies clients with services including facials, eyelash extensions, and henna tattoos.

The Venue Scottsdale is a chameleon of a building, as ready to effortlessly host an elegant wedding reception as it is to present a comedy show or concert. The 29,000 square-foot, multi-level confines feature an indoor cobblestone courtyard and leaf-covered balconies, offering an outdoorsy ambience without the worry of inclement weather. Upstairs, a ballroom and a VIP lounge welcome private event goers, while a comedy club inspires knock-knock jokes with its own private entrance.