Carnival Studio Theater

I’ve seen musicals at the Kravitz Center in West Palm Beach…
And broadway productions at the Jackie Gleason Theatre here in Miami…
Dance ensembles at the Broward Center of Performance Art…
And off-​broadway shows all over New York City…
But the closest I’ve been to the Adrienne Arsht Center is driving by on my way here or there.
Not as majestic as many other performance art centers; but certainly impressive in size and the balcony levels are dramatic, as seen from outside the center through the massive windows.
When I scored some tickets to the latest production of the holiday classic Nutcracker, I was ecstatic.
Day of the show arrives, my tickets are to be picked up at the ticket window. I don’t even know where my seats are… balcony? mezzanine? orchestra?
BUMMER… did I really get General admission tickets? No assigned seating? That’s odd; musical production at a theatre of this immense size clearly would need to assign seats.
OH NO… that little door leads us into the huge theater that famous opera singers have sung and prima ballerinas have performed? How can that tiny entrance lead us into the showroom with multiple balcony levels and mezzanines flying high enough to require a 90 degree head tilt?
Enter… the… CARNIVAL STUDIO THEATER.
Have I been robbed? Or better yet, has the Adrienne Arsht Center robbed? Those glamourous pictures of glitzy balconies and furnishings are not here.
CLARIFICATION… it turns out the Adrienne Arsht Center houses TWO major showrooms (Ziff Ballet Opera House and Knight Concert Hall), PLUS there are a couple considerably smaller auditoriums (Peacock Rehearsal Studio and Carnival Studio Theater). The Carnival Studio resembles more of a television studio (black walls and ceilings with exposed lighting and a small control/​engineering booth).
Tonights show is in the Carnival Studio Theater. No balconies, no bright lights and lacks gaudiness. This room is UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL and it’s absolutely PERFECT. You’re welcomed into the theatre by the performers themselves. They mingle around getting to know the patrons until showtime. There is no stage; instead small bleachers are placed in a circle around the center area (tastefully done and limited to about 5 rows each).
Because of the small size, they managed to include some audience participation during the show: inviting a couple theater guests to dance with performers during a scene of the show where everyone was joyously celebrating and they shared cookies the mother was baking in the show with some of the kids in the audience.
I do love the glitz and glam of traditional opera houses but this small and intimate setting was special and something I see myself returning to.