Miami Performing Arts Guide October 13–20: Best Theater, Plays, Dance & Live Shows
Miami Living’s picks for performing arts from October 13–20, featuring live performances including comedy, music, musicals and more across the Miami metro area.
Buena Vista Social Club: The Musical — October 13
Buena Vista Social Club arrives at the Broward Center’s Au-Rene Theater in Fort Lauderdale on October 13 at 7:30 p.m., with performances continuing through October 18. Inspired by real events, the musical brings the Grammy-winning album to the stage through the stories of the Cuban musicians behind it, connecting Havana’s musical heritage with the lives that shaped its sound.
GableStage: Weather Girl — October 14–18
GableStage presents the final week of Weather Girl at its theater in the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Written by Brian Watkins and directed by Nicole Stodard, the dark comedy stars Ella Olesen as a California weather presenter trying to maintain a sunny outlook while reporting on a planet in crisis. Evening performances run Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with matinees Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and an additional Saturday matinee on October 17.
Slow Burn Theatre Co.: Come From Away — October 15
Slow Burn Theatre Company presents Come From Away at the Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater in Fort Lauderdale on October 15 at 7:45 p.m. Based on the true story of passengers diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001, the musical follows the unexpected friendships formed between stranded travelers and the residents who welcomed them.
FIU Music Festival: Amernet Performs Bach and Mendelssohn — October 15
The FIU Music Festival opens at Wertheim Concert Hall in Miami on October 15 at 7:30 p.m. The Amernet String Quartet joins Wertheim alumni and current students for Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and Mendelssohn’s Octet, marking the performing arts center and music school’s 30th anniversary with a program spanning generations of musicians.
Miami City Ballet: American Rhythms — October 16–18
Miami City Ballet opens its season with American Rhythms at the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House in Miami, with performances October 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and October 18 at 1 p.m. The program pairs George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante with a world premiere by Patricia Delgado and the company premiere of Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, moving between classical ballet and jazz-inspired choreography.
Will Burkart — October 16
Comedian Will Burkart takes the stage at the Fort Lauderdale Improv in Dania Beach on October 16, with performances at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Known for stand-up clips and crowd work that have built an online following, the Los Angeles-based performer brings his comedy to a live club setting, with additional shows on October 17.
Diva Royale Drag Queen Show — October 16
Diva Royale brings celebrity impersonations, elaborate costumes and audience interaction to Revenge Nightclub in Miami Beach on October 16. The Friday show begins at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m., combining theatrical drag performance with a South Beach club atmosphere.
New World Symphony: Cosmic Myths — October 16
New World Symphony explores the possibilities of percussion in Cosmic Myths at the New World Center in Miami Beach on October 16 at 7:30 p.m. NWS Fellows join alumnus Sergio Carreno for music by Andy Akiho, Amy Beth Kirsten and Iannis Xenakis, using instruments and unexpected sound sources, including metal pipes, tuning forks and the specially designed sixxen.
Seraphic Fire: Serenade to Music — October 16
Seraphic Fire opens its season under new Artistic Director James K. Bass at First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables on October 16 at 7:30 p.m. The program brings together Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, Eric Whitacre’s When David Heard, Buxtehude’s Ad Manus and Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands, connecting centuries of choral writing through contrasting approaches to voice, emotion and instrumental accompaniment.
Bassem Youssef — October 17
Bassem Youssef brings The Belly of the Beast Tour to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on October 17 at 7 p.m. The former host of the Egyptian political satire show Al Bernameg presents an English-language stand-up performance recommended for audiences 18 and older.
FIU Music Festival: Arias and American Voices — October 17
Soprano Laura León and pianist Robert Koenig perform at Wertheim Concert Hall in Miami on October 17 at 7:30 p.m. The recital moves from operatic arias to American song, with selections by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Margaret Bonds and Douglas Moore connecting opera, Broadway, spirituals and folk traditions.
Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler — October 17
The 16th annual Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler brings seven South Florida dance companies and ensembles to the New World Dance Theater in downtown Miami on October 17 at 8 p.m. Featuring Dance NOW! Miami, Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami, Karen Peterson & Dancers, Pioneer Winter Collective and others, the program presents short works and excerpts spanning ballet, modern, contemporary and physically integrated dance.
Thiago Arancam — October 17
Brazilian tenor Thiago Arancam performs at Sanctuary of the Arts in Coral Gables on October 17 at 8 p.m. His program moves between opera, Broadway and popular standards, bringing the vocal approach of an opera-house performer to a concert built around several musical traditions.
Disco Lines at Club Space — October 17
For a late-night extension to the weekend, Disco Lines joins a III Points Satellite party at Club Space in downtown Miami on October 17, listed for 11 p.m. The 21-and-over event also features Four Tet, Floating Points and Daphni in a back-to-back set, alongside other electronic artists, bringing the festival’s programming onto the club floor.
New World Symphony: The Baroque + Neo-Baroque — October 18
New World Symphony Fellows and alumni explore the enduring influence of Baroque music at the New World Center in Miami Beach on October 18 at 2 p.m. The chamber program includes works by Matthias Weckmann, C.P.E. Bach, Ernest Bloch, Alban Berg and Thomas Adès, with guest alumni Erik Rynearson on viola and Miles Haskins on basset clarinet.
Mackenzie Melemed: Keys Across America — October 18
Pianist Mackenzie Melemed performs Keys Across America at Newman Recital Hall in the University of Miami’s Knight Center for Music Innovation on October 18 at 4 p.m. The Coral Gables recital surveys nearly two centuries of American piano music, placing works by Aaron Copland, Amy Beach and Florence Price alongside newer compositions.
Two Piano Extravaganza: Six Pianists, Two Pianos — October 18
The Miami International Piano Festival presents Two Piano Extravaganza at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center on October 18 at 5 p.m. Six pianists perform in pairs across a program featuring Mozart, Debussy, Barber, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff and Ravel, offering an afternoon built around the interplay of two instruments and distinct musical voices.
FIU Music Festival: Toomai String Quintet — October 18
The Toomai String Quintet performs at Wertheim Concert Hall in Miami on October 18 at 5 p.m., following a preconcert conversation at 4:30 p.m. The program includes a suite from Carlos Rafael Rivera’s score for The Queen’s Gambit and Orlando Jacinto García’s prohibido, which combines music, dance, video and spoken text with dancers from Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami.
The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA — October 20
The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA comes to The Parker in Fort Lauderdale on October 20 at 7:30 p.m. The tribute production revisits the Swedish group’s catalog, including favorites such as “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia” and “Waterloo,” for an evening centered on familiar melodies and disco-era pop.
