Spots Are the New Plaid

This is the time of year when animal gift-giving is at an all-time high. When kids ask, “How much is that doggy in the window?” and parents across the country bend to their offspring’s transparent hinting and purchase said canine. Hell, Paris Hilton probably opened a couple of brightly wrapped boxes and found dozens of baby farm animals mewing softly inside. But unfortunately, once the tinsel has lost its luster and the eggnog has curdled, many gifted pets end up in shelters. And Dalmatians, those cute spotted pups that coordinate so beautifully with a black-and-white coiffure but are very hard to train, are one of those breeds that end up there more often than others.

The producers of 101 Dalmatians — playing at the Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House this Wednesday at 8 p.m. — are putting several of those pups to work for this reincarnation of a Disney classic. You’ll have Mr. and Mrs. Pongo and Cruella de Vil, but the real show-stealers will be 15 headlining Dalmatians, most of them rescued from shelters nationwide. They’ll dance, play, and show you what a little time and love can do for a so-called unruly canine. We’re just glad they have a job. Tickets start at $25.
Wed., Dec. 30, 8 p.m., 2009