Theater is a valuable window onto the human condition, though if you look through it after sundown, the human condition might panic and phone the police. Enjoy world-class shows in your own backyard with today’s Groupon: for $36, you get four tickets ($18 each) to The Summer Fine Arts Festival at Howmet Playhouse in Whitehall (a $72 total value). This Groupon can be redeemed for performances on July 1, 14–16, and 21–23 and August 4–6, 18–20, and 25–27. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m.

The festival gifts theatergoers a diverse slate of award-winning plays that feature performers from across the country. Winner of a 1998 Tony Award for Best New Play, Art (August 4–6) documents the disintegration of a friendship among three men played by two professional actors from Chicago and San Francisco and Laurence Olivier's ghost. Alternately, take in the Central Michigan University Summer Theater Company's three nights of provocative performances (July 14–16), or opt for more farcy fare with Boeing-Boeing, about a French lothario juggling three stewardess fiancees (August 18–20).

Overlooking the sparkling waters of White Lake, the 95-year-old Howmet Playhouse seats 391 people and up to 16 ghosts. The four tickets you get with today's deal can be used to attend multiple shows, but Groupon holders must redeem for all four tickets at once—make your selections in advance by throwing darts at your show schedule.