The Week Ahead: May 10 to 16

Tuesday

Opening night of “The Color Purple” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; starting at $25; 561/832-7469 or www.kravis.org

Probably the most anticipated show of the Kravis Center’s Broadway series, “The Color Purple” is a grand-scale theatrical spectacular based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning novel and Stephen Spielberg’s film about black female life in the rural south in the 1930s. The musical, with its panoply of jazz, gospel and blues songs, earned 11 Tony nominations in 2006.

“Moviemaking in Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s” lecture at Cinema Paradiso, 503 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale; 6 p.m.; free; 954/525-3456 orwww.fliff.com

Local film historian and Cinema Paradiso board member Rob Davis offers this informative lecture on one of the most prolific decades of filmmaking in Fort Lauderdale — which included “Where the Boys Are,” “Safe at Home” and “Girl Crazy.” Coffee and snacks will be served at 6, and the lecture begins at 7. The event is presented by the Fort Lauderdale Culture Club.

Wednesday

Carolina Chocolate Drops at Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 8 p.m.; $15; 954/564-1074 or www.ticketmaster.com

This vintage string-band throwback is one of the most unique acts you’ll see on a rock club stage all year. Taking an egalitarian approach without a clear bandleader, the group regularly trades instruments and vocal duties throughout its shows, and the musical color includes guitar, fiddle, harmonica, jug and kazoo. Carolina Chocolate Drops’ 2010 album, “Genuine Negro Jig,” recently won a Grammy Award for Best Original Folk Album. The band scored a minor hit with its luminous cover of Blu Cantrell’s 2001 R&B single “Hit ‘Em Up Style.”

Thursday

Opening night of “Don Giovanni” at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale;

8 p.m.; $21 to $200; 954/462-0222 or www.browardcenter.org

Probably the weekend’s preeminent cultural event, “Don Giovanni” marries the area’s top opera company – Florida Grand Opera – with one of the most beloved works of all time (the website Operabase lists it as the seventh most-performed opera worldwide). David Pittsinger, last seen in FGO’s “Tosca,” returns to play the lead in Mozart and Da Ponte’s enduring combination of comedy, melodrama and supernatural drama. The production also plays on Saturday.

Depressed Buttons at Revolution Live, 200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 10 p.m.; $11; 954/727-0950 or www.ticketmaster.com

Techno nerds rejoice! Depressed Buttons is the new project formed by three-fifths of the beloved synth-punk outfit The Faint. These mixtape masters create textural, loopy, bouncy electronic music that one Internet commenter described as “overly trippy it puts acid to shame” [sic]. Depressed Buttons released its debut EP, the geekily titled “Qwerty,” last year. At 11 bucks, this show looks like a bargain.

Thursday and Friday

Reggie Watts at Light Box at Goldman Warehouse, 404 NW 26^th St., Miami; 8 p.m.; $15 general admission or $50

VIP; https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/822555

The soulful, large-Afroed vocal artist Reggie Watts uses minimalist instruments in his diverse concerts, mostly relying on his voice to create a compelling stew of hip-hop, classical opera, alternative and trip-hop music, mixed with some observational humor and his eloquent musings on life. Watts is an eclectic improv master, and he guarantees that no two shows are alike.

Friday

Arts Ballet Theatre’s International Ballet Concert at Aventura Arts and Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188^th St., Aventura; $25; 954/462-0222 or www.browardcenter.org

What better way to communicate different cultures than through the silent, universal medium of dance? As a special exchange program, Arts Ballet Theatre is presenting this one-night-only dance concert featuring groups from Denmark, Poland, Peru and the US. The troupes will perform folk dances, classical ballet and contemporary pieces, reflecting the varied styles and techniques across the globe.

Saturday

Opening night of “In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play” at GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables; 8 p.m.;  $37.50 to $47.50; 305/445-1119 orwww.gablestage.org

Playwright Sarah Ruhl is becoming a familiar name on South Florida playbills, with Caldwell producing “The Clean House” and Mosaic mounting “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” – two great productions of superlative existential works – over the past few years. Hopes are high for GableStage’s take on Ruhl’s most recent play “In the Next Room.” The play, which earned three Tony nominations on Broadway, punctures Victorian sexism by detailing the history of the vibrator and its origins as a treatment for “hysteria.” It runs through June 12.

Opening night of “The 39 Steps” at Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theater, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables; 8 p.m.; $44; 305/444-9293 orwww.actorsplayhouse.org

Actor’s Playhouse enjoys taking on expensive, Herculean tasks, and the theater is usually awarded for it come Carbonell season. Hopefully, its production of the Broadway favorite “The 39 Steps” will be no exception. The play features a cast of four players breathlessly portraying some 150 characters in a lightning-paced, Monty Pythonesque satire of Alfred Hitchcock movies and much more. Look out for an onstage plane crash! It runs through June 5.