Prague (Praha) Entertainment

To find info on Prague’s concerts and performances, consult The Prague Post, Threshold, Do mesta-Downtown, or The Pill (all free at many cafes and restaurants). Most performances start at 7pm and offer standby tickets 30min. before curtain. Between mid-May and early June, the Prague Spring Festival draws musicians from around the world. June brings all things avant-garde with the Prague Fringe Festival (☎224 935 183; www.praguefringe.com), featuring dancers, comedians, performance artists, and—everyone’s favorite—mimes. For tickets to the city’s shows, try Bohemia Ticket International, Malé nám. 13, next to Čedok. (☎224 227 832; www.ticketsbti.cz. Open M-F 9am-5pm, Sa 9am-1pm.)

The majority of Prague’s theaters close in July and August, but the selection is extensive during the rest of the year. The National Theater (Národní divadlo), Národní 2/4, stages ballet, drama, and opera. (☎224 901 487; www.narodni-divadlo.cz. Metro B: Národní třída. Box office open Sept.-June daily 10am-6pm and 45min. before performances. Tickets 50-1100Kč.) Every performance at the Image Theatre, Pařížská 4, is silent, conveying the message through dance, pantomime, and creative use of black light. (☎222 314 448; www.blacktheatreprague.cz. Performances daily 8pm. Box office open daily 9am-8pm. Tickets 440Kč, students 220Kč.) The Marionette Theater (Ríše loutek), Žatecká 1, stages a hilarious version of Don Giovanni, now in its 16th season. (☎224 819 322. Metro A: Staroměstská. Performances June-July M-Tu and Th-Su 8pm. Box office open June-July daily, 10am-8pm. 490-600Kč, students 390-590Kč.)

National Theater, Národní 2 (☎224 224 351; www.nationaltheatre.cz), B: Národní třída. From the metro, take Spálená north and then turn left on Národní. The place to go if you want to look like you know anything about Czech opera, ballet, or drama. The building itself is a neo-Renaissance masterpiece, topped by chariot-driven angels with an interior inspired by the work of Josef Mánes. Tickets 800-1200Kč. No dress code per-se, though you’ll probably look out of place in anything less than a cocktail dress for women or dress shirt and sweater for men. Box office open M-F 10am-5:30pm, Sa-Su 10am-12:30pm
Image Theater, Pařížská 4 (☎222 329 191; www.imagetheatre.cz), A: Staroměstská. From the metro, take Široká east, and then turn right on Pařížská. A fusion of music, pantomime, dance, and blacklight performed entirely without words. Rest assured that the native Czechs in the audience are just as confused by the strange, though strangely compelling, performances as you. Tickets 480Kč. Box office open daily 9am-8pm
National Marionette Theater, Žatecká 1 (☎224 819 322; www.mozart.cz), A: Staroměstská. From the metro, take Valentinská east and then turn right on Žatecká. The best place to see why marionette shops are such a big deal in Prague. Little-to-no spoken dialogue makes these performances ideal for travelers and the hard of hearing. The theater has also staged more than 3000 performances of its greatest hit, a hilarious rendition of Don Giovanni complete with period costumes, perfect for children and the short of attention. Tickets 590Kč. Box office open daily 10am-6pm
Municipal House, Náměstí Republiky 5 (☎222 002 101; www.obecni-dum.cz), B: Náměstí Republiky. Prague’s grandest (or most ostentatious, depending on your preferences) Art Nouveau building stages some of the city’s premier classical performances, with odd ballet thrown in for good measure. Look and feel fancy escorting your date to seats in the multi-storied, multi-statued Smetana Hall. Tickets 700-1300Kč. Casual dress expected for performances. Box office open daily 10am-7pm
Laterna Magicka, Národní 2 (☎224 931 482; www.laterna.cz), B: Národní třída. From the metro, take Spálená north, and then turn left on Národní. Shows consist of actors performing a mix of pantomime and ballet in front of enormous screens playing a conglomeration of video art and something reminiscent of a regrettable acid trip. Throw in clowns with cartoon-like costumes and you sort of have an idea of what’s going on. The theater seems to recognize that words wouldn’t help the performance make any more sense, so they generally dispense with spoken parts entirely. Performances take place in the Magic Lantern building, the enormous alien spaceship that appears to have touched down next to the National Theater. Tickets 680Kč. Wheelchair-accessible. Box office open M-Sa 10am-8pm
Rudolfinum, Alšovo nábřeží 12 (☎227 059 111; www.czechphilharmonic.cz), A: Staroměstská. Prague’s most elaborate Neo-Renaissance structure. Now home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the building once housed the Czechoslovak Parliament. Dvořák Hall, the finest performance space in the Czech Republic, pays tribute to the only Czech composer most people can name. Tickets from 520Kč. Casual dress expected. Box office open Tu-Su 10am-6pm