What are the odds that on a weekend devoted to high-volume St. Patrick’s Day revelry and dancing a jig, I require something quieter and more communal. We might call it a date night, but it also needs to feel sacrificial, with an “I’m sorry” vibe. (The details are not important, but I am in the wrong. I’ve been told.)
If you are similarly unlucky in the love department just now, well, these are your lucky days. Amid all the spilling of green beer this weekend, there happen to be plenty of statement-making outings that may help set things right with your partner. Here are a few ideas …
THURSDAY
Wearin’ o’ the rouge: A sexy and exuberant nationally touring production of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” opened to raves this week at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, a review in the South Florida Sun Sentinel calling it “an eye-popping original” with “spectacle at every turn.” Let’s call this potential Date Night No. 1. Performances continue at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $45+ at BrowardCenter.org.
Keep on burnin’: At the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach through Sunday, “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical” (Date Night No. 2) is a jukebox retrospective of the life of the dynamic singer, part of rock ‘n’ roll royalty, who died in May. A cautionary tale, to be sure, but there is no denying the joyous “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Let’s Stay Together” and “Proud Mary.” Performances continue at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. Remaining tickets start at $74+ at Kravis.org.
Take your shot: “Hamilton” (Date Night No. 3) is back in Miami and the Arsht Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House is the room where it happens. Wildly entertaining and compellingly relevant, the show has performances at 1 and 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $49+ at ArshtCenter.org.
Dinner date: At TRP Taste, the intimate 26-seat venue in downtown Fort Lauderdale, executive chef Lyndsey Waters will host a series of interactive pairing dinners called Hecho en Mexico & Patron Tequila (Date Night No. 4) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and March 28 to 30. Each course (they include Octopus & Mole and Seared Grouper) is paired with a Patron cocktail and prepared in view of the guests by the engaging Waters, who will encourage questions and conversation. The price for Thursday’s four-course dinner is $85+, while five-course dinners on Friday and Saturday cost $105+. Visit Facebook.com/TRPtaste.
Pi Day menu: Pi Day in South Florida is celebrated in many forms. There’s no umbrage my wife may feel that can’t be fixed with a slice of Key lime pie at Fireman Derek’s Bake Shop, which will be priced at $3.14 all day Thursday at locations in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Coconut Grove and Wynwood. Visit FiremanDereks.com. … The Wharf Fort Lauderdale will give you a token good for a free pizza (the good stuff from The Piefather) for every $15 you spend on drinks on Thursday, beginning at 4 p.m. Visit WharfFTL.com. … Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park will offer its Pie Flight Pairing on Thursday beginning at 3:14 p.m. The menu: Strawberry Shortcake Imperial Ale, with chocolate cream profiterole; Save Some Room For Later (German chocolate cake-inspired ale) and baklava; Key Lime Pie Tart Ale and piña colada mousse; and Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Caramel Apple Pie beer with an iced pecan cinnamon roll. Thursday also will bring can releases for Key Lime Pie Tart Ale and Strawberry Shortcake Imperial Ale. Visit FunkyBuddha.com.
A new beer: Cove Brewery in Deerfield Beach on Thursday will introduce a new beer collaboration with two neighbors, The Gathering Grounds Coffee Co. and Island Water Sports. The beer combines a blend of Brazilian coffee from Gathering Grounds and a Cove Brewery lager to create a dark Hazelnut Vanilla Coffee Schwarzbier called The Other Brunette. Beginning at 5 p.m., the celebration will include raffles to win prizes that include a surfboard from Island Water Sports. Visit Instagram.com/covebrewery.
FRIDAY
Step dancing in the street: The thing we like about the annual Irish Fest at O’Shea’s Irish Pub in downtown West Palm Beach is that there is no pretense of a parade. They close down the 500 block of Clematis not for floats and marching, but for beer trucks and celebratory carousing. Events warm up on Friday night at O’Shea’s, leading into the two-day, all-day block party on Saturday and Sunday with Irish bands, step dancers, vendors, food and drink, games and kids’ activities. Visit Facebook.com/osheaspubwpb.
Mavericks return: The Mavericks (Date Night No. 5) came up in the Miami rock scene before venturing into country and Latin music. Their sound has matured into one of the most lively and enjoyable shows I’ve witnessed in the last couple of years. Good times guaranteed. Led by the mellifluous Raul Malo, the Mavericks perform at 8 p.m. Friday at the Arsht Center, perhaps sharing some of their new album, “Moon & Stars,” set for release on May 17. Tickets start at $45+. Visit TheMavericksBand.com.
Laughs with friends: New York comedian, podcaster and actor Andrew Schulz will bring The Life Tour to Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood for shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets start at $49.50+. Visit MyHRL.com. Meanwhile, Schulz’s friend Akaash Singh (they created the podcast “Flagrant” together) is at the Dania Improv in Dania Beach on Saturday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets start at $30+. Visit DaniaImprov.com.
SATURDAY
Shamrocking Delray: The massive Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival takes place on Saturday, with floats and firefighters moving along Atlantic Avenue from noon to 2 p.m., and the festival on Old School Square from 1 to 5 p.m. Highlight: New York-based Irish rockers The Prodigals are an impressive get for Delray as festival headliners. Visit StPatsDelray.com.
Burgers and wine: We probably don’t need to explain the clandestine appeal of the patio at the historic Progresso Plaza building, just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale. And within that fashionable triangle, you’ll find a small storefront aglow with warm lights and, invariably, a cool crowd. That is the organic wine hangout known as Sidewalk Bottle Shop. On Saturday at 6 p.m. (Date Night No. 6), they’ll be hosting smash-burger pop-up Cowy Burger, winner of the Very Best Burger Award during Burger Bash at the 2024 South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Visit Instagram.com/sidewalk.bottleshop.
Kelley green: The Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade & Festival returns on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the parade beginning at noon at Huizenga Park and taking a new route east on Las Olas Boulevard to Southeast Ninth Avenue. Highlights: The festival will take place on Tunnel Top Plaza, the first formal test drive for the much-discussed public space on Las Olas. Also, the grand marshal of the parade is Kelley Shanley, recently retired president and CEO of the Broward Center, and one of the good guys. Visit Parks.FortLauderdale.gov.
Orchestral maneuvers: Michael Tilson Thomas, renowned artistic director laureate at New World Symphony, makes a rare return to the NWS podium on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Miami’s Arsht Center (Date Night No. 7) to conduct the company he founded. Accompanied by bass-baritone Dashon Burton, of the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, the orchestra will perform MTT’s jazzy “Agnegram,” Copland’s “Old American Songs” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.” Tickets start at $55+ at NWS.edu.
Buena vista: Legendary Cuban singer and guitarist Eliades Ochoa, best known for his time with the famed Buena Vista Social Club, brings irresistible rhythms to the beautiful Miami Beach Bandshell (Date Night No. 8) at 8 p.m. Saturday. As a meeting of artist and atmosphere, this evening may be unmatched. Tickets cost $50.47. Visit MiamiBeachBandshell.com.
Free beer: There will be free beer at Smorgasburg Miami this weekend, when the popular outdoor food fair celebrates two years in Wynwood with the Breweries and Bites Anniversary Celebration. Just stop at the bar when you get there to pick up a free ticket to enter the Beer Lounge, where you can sample away. Three breweries — La Tropical, Tripping Animals and J. Wakefield — will be pouring free samples from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Visit SmorgasburgMiami.com.
SUNDAY
A new party: Boca Raton will elevate its Irish festivities with the inaugural Proper St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on Sunday (the actual St. Patrick’s Day) from noon to 10 p.m. at Mizner Park Amphitheater. Created by the team behind the Sunset Tequila Festival, this family-friendly event will include authentic food and drink, vendors and a variety of kids’ activities. There will be music from Spred the Dub, the Adam David Band and Y100’s DJ GQ, plus Boca Raton Fire Department Pipes & Drums and Black Pearl Pipes & Drums. Admission is free with RSVP at Instagram.com/properstpatricksday. You can make it special, let’s call it Date Night No. 9, by springing for the tented Spirit Tasting Experience, a VIP space featuring more than a dozen whisky and spirits brands from 3 to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $75+. Visit ProperStPatricksDay.com.
Roxy music: Just up the street from O’Shea’s West Palm Beach block party, Roxy’s Pub will close the 300 block of Clematis for their own St. Patrick’s Day street party on Sunday. The pub will open at 7 a.m., and the block party begins at noon. The festivities will include a bank of outdoor bars and music from a steady parade of DJs, including local favorites Matte Black and Kid Karter. Visit Instagram.com/roxyspubwpb.
Sunday laughs: Comedian Tom Segura knows what I need to know. He and his wife, the equally funny Christina Pazsitzky, have been co-hosting the podcast “Your Mom’s House” since 2010. That’s gotta be some kind of record. Segura is at Hard Rock Live (Date Night No. 10) on Sunday at 7 p.m., with scattered tickets starting at $60+. Visit MyHRL.com.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.