Arts & Entertainment

Stage Capsules

Current shows.

By Brandon K. Thorp  and  Mara Leventhal

Love Is Good: An Evening with Christine Andreas: If it weren't for the marketeers who fill store aisles with red hearts, we might forget the buy-chocolate-for-the-person-you-sleep-with holiday is approaching! Before cynicism has taken all the fun out of a fancy dinner and a dozen roses, remember that romance and beauty make the world go 'round, with or without a price tag. You might have seen the lovely Tony-nominated songstress Christine Andreas in Miami last year in The Light in the Piazza. Musical director Martin Silvestri will provide piano accompaniment for love songs from Billy Joel to Rodgers and Hammerstein in a cozy jazz club setting. — Mara Leventhal Through February 2. Carnival Studio Theater Cabaret, The Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722, www.arshtcenter.org.

A Little Bit Naughty, A Little Bit Nice: With a few notable exceptions, musicals are loved for the music, not the insipid dialogue that connects it. That is the purity of cabaret — just let them sing! Yes, there will be bursts of banter between songs, in shows like Cabaret, Chicago, and Ain't Misbehavin', but mostly a troupe of local talents will sing and dance in Arts at St. John's A Little Bit Naughty, A Little Bit Nice. The European-style cabaret (hotter and darker than its glamorous American cousin) combines an eclectic range of musical styles and promises flashy costumes, colorful makeup, and a few racy numbers (at least by church standards) in one of Miami's most progressive and inclusive places of worship. — Mara Leventhal February 2 at 8 p.m. and February 3 at 6 p.m. Arts at St. John's, St. John's on the Lake, 4760 Pine Tree Dr., Miami Beach; 305-613-2325, www.artsatstjohns.com.

The Pearl Catchers: The closest Georges Bizet ever got to Sri Lanka was Rome, where he studied for three years in his twenties. Naturally this didn't stop him from using it as the locale for his opera Le Pecheurs de Perles (The Pearl Catchers). Romantic-era European composers loved to write for foreign places about which they knew nothing. Le Pecheurs is rarely performed and even more rarely recorded. Even most opera people have never heard it, save the duet "Au Fond du Temple Saint." It's a regrettable situation. "Au Fond" is lovely, and despite a poor public reception upon its first performance, Le Pecheurs has since met with glowing reviews from the few who've experienced it. — Brandon K. Thorp Through February 10. The Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722, www.arshtcenter.org.

Altar Boyz: The hit off-Broadway musical about a fictional Catholic boy band brims with delightful sacrilege. The show is set up like a concert, with songs and between-song banter, and is moving in the flashy, exuberant manner of feel-good musical theater. It is the Boyz' mission to save us all. To do so, they sing about the group's genesis (it happened in a rectory); about the universal brotherhood of Christ; about the importance of confession; about how wonderful it is to not have sex with your girlfriend (especially one you love: the song's hook hangs on the line "There's something about you, baby/You make me want to wait"); about the importance of coming out to your family as, you know, a Catholic; and about how much Satan sucks. It's joy as much as mirth that gives Altar Boyz its punch. — Brandon K. Thorp Through February 10. Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables; 305-44-9293, www.actorsplayhouse.org.