Dance: Sergei Prokofiev went through a great deal of trouble over Romeo and Juliet, and originally wrote it with a happy ending in which the star-cross’d lovers survive and dance off into the sunset. But the composer’s Soviet overlords didn’t think much of that idea, and forced him to reinstate Shakespeare’s original tragic outcome. Whatever the ending, he created a matchless score, and Miami City Ballet is taking up its challenge for only the second time in its history, drawing on the choreography of the great John Cranko. Performances continue today at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and at 1 p.m. Sunday, at the Kravis Center. Tickets are $20 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.
Film: If you are interested in seeing a can’t-miss Oscar nominated performance, check out Eddie Redmayne as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. He makes an astonishing physical transformation as the young Hawking develops motor neuron disease and shrivels up before our eyes. It is a remarkable piece of acting, in extreme contrast to the strapping student Marius he played in Les Misérables, and featuring the sort of disability (i.e. My Left Foot) that the Academy loves to recognize. Opening this weekend at various locales in the area.
Theater: The stage musical The Phantom of the Opera may not be one of the great shows, but it has proven so popular with audiences that it has become the longest-running production ever on Broadway. It has generated so much income for producer Cameron Mackintosh that he has commissioned an entire new physical design for the already lavish beauty-and-the-beast tale and is touring it around the colonies. It opens this weekend at the Broward Center, and the director Laurence Connor promises that he has finally made the crashing chandelier truly frightening. Hmm, we’ll see. Through Nov. 30. Call: (800) 764-0700.
Art: The Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens has a variety of well-curated exhibitions throughout the season, including one that closes this weekend, In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. The great conqueror’s empire was a big one, and he took art with him as he took over places from Egypt to modern-day Pakistan. The Ann Norton exhibit features a collection of classical antiquities from all over the Alexandrian world, one of the rare times so many truly old works are gathered in one place. The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday. Tickets are $10; call 832-5238 for more information.