Closing June 25 

‘Disney’s Newsies,’ Slow Burn Theatre Co. 

“Disney’s Newsies,” a 1999 live action film documenting the Newsboy Strike of 1899, got the Broadway treatment just over a decade ago, with a book by Harvey Fierstein, score by Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman. Slow Burn Theatre Co. at the Broward Center, the regional company to earn the trust of Disney for regional premieres, presents a high-flying, high energy production with stunning choreography by Artistic Director Patrick Fitzwater. The young men in the cast (there’s really only one female role) quickly captivate the audience, playing American ragamuffins who scrape together a living selling competing newspapers on the streets of New York. Don’t miss this show! Tickets start at $49 at BrowardCenter.org.

‘Summer Shorts,’ City Theatre 

City Theatre’s “Summer Shorts” festival, an always entertaining collection of short 10-minute plays that usually attracts new works from across the country gets a distinctively Miami voice in 2023. Titled “Homegrown Edition,” the company stages shorts written and performed by BIPOC and Latinx artists, reflecting the city’s diverse and multicultural community. Many of the eight plays are comedies and several explore LGBT themes or characters. True to previous years, the cast is versatile and the format exudes an improv vibe. If sitting through a two-act, two hour-long play can be a challenge, “Summer Shorts” might offer an engaging alternative for the attention span-challenged. Tickets start at $50 at ArshtCenter.org. 

‘Beetlejuice,’ Broadway in Fort Lauderdale 

If you loved the 1988 Tim Burton film, you might be wondering how could they turn it into a Broadway musical: you either stick closely to the original or you make big changes. The team behind this recent Broadway hit chose the latter. Boy, did they choose the latter! Beetlejuice is still crazy and creepy – and a little gay – and Lydia is a brooding teenage mess. Justin Collette is definitely up to the challenge as his Beetlejuice is now the narrator and the jokes frequently change to address the political issues of the day. And Isabella Esler’s Lydia may dress in black, but she shines with a soaring voice. Tickets start at $35.75 at BrowardCenter.org. 

Closing July 2 

‘Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,’ Empire Stage 

You have an extra weekend to catch the Artbuzz Theatrics production of “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” at the intimate Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale. In Richard Alfieri’s comedy/drama: Lily (Lory Reyes), an aging but formidable retiree, hires Michael (Larry Buzzeo), an acerbic dance instructor, to give her dance lessons in her condo in St. Petersburg Beach. Antagonism between a gay man and the wife of a Southern Baptist minister gives way to profound compatibility as they swing dance, tango, foxtrot and cha-cha while sharing barbs and intimacies along with the dance steps. During the sixth lesson, Lily reveals a closely guarded secret and Michael shares his greatest gifts. Tickets start at $30 at EmpireStage.com.