The Adrienne Arsht Center, home to Broadway musicals, opera, and tributes to Nat King Cole, might be an unlikely setting for a pop-up nightclub featuring specialty cocktails -- but then again, this is Miami, the land of fantasies, palm trees, sunsets, and glittery people. So why not have a club in an opera house? Short Order decided to check it out.
The doors haven't even opened yet at Club Oberon, Miami's liveliest new
hot spot, and already there's a scene. Mr. Oberon and his girlfriend,
Tytania, arrive with none other than Harry Wayne Casey, better known as
KC (of the Sunshine Band), and some disco diva
on a white horse.
Once the doors open, we're greeted by the hostess, Pepper, who welcomes us and asks if we might want to check our bags. All the better for dancing, she informs us. And yes. Everyone is expected to dance.
If we're going to dance, we need some liquid courage, so we head to one of the bars set up. Watch out, our bartender warns us -- you never know when a fairy might drop in.
The bars are fully stocked with beer ($7), wine ($10), and champagne splits ($19). House drinks are $10, but we opt for the two special nitro cocktails ($18). The Disco Fever is a classic cosmopolitan, and the Boogie Punch is made with rum. Both are finished with liquid nitrogen.
Popcorn ($6), brownies ($5), and water ($4) are available if you need a little energy for the dance floor.
A DJ plays '70s favorites that are still as fresh and fun today as they were three decades ago. Just try to stay still when "YMCA" or "Hot Stuff" comes on. It's impossible. Just then, a voice booms from the DJ booth high above the action. It's KC welcoming us to the Oberon, a place of "freaks, fairies, flesh, and fantasy." Then the show begins.
In case you didn't catch on yet, Club Oberon is a fictional club where The Donkey Show, the interactive musical now playing at the Arsht Center through August 12, is set. Ticket prices are $45 for dance-floor access and $60 for VIP tables.
The show itself is an interactive musical loosely (very, very loosely) based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. But don't get us wrong -- this is more than a show. Every evening, an entire nightclub is created, complete with crazy characters who dance with you, cocktails, and lots of glitter. This place could rival LIV for energy and body count (plus the costumes are better and the drinks are cheaper). If you missed Studio 54, pull your platforms and shiny tube top out of storage and check out Club Oberon for the drinks, the music, and, um, the fairies.
Oh, be sure to check out Sunshine Sundays -- when KC is in the house!
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