Magic Mike Live has made it to Miami. Here’s a sneak peek (Insert fire emoji here)
Loved “Magic Mike” on the big screen? Now you can experience a male revue quite literally in the flesh in the Magic City.
The first stop of the North American tour hit a site near Miami Marine Stadium in Virginia Key last Thursday night and runs through April 2023.
The plot? You really need a plot? OK, this show is nothing like the 2012 Steven Soderbergh directed classic flick starring Channing Tatum as a professional stripper in Tampa, Florida, and loosely based on his former vocation.
Apologies: Tatum won’t appear in this production, performed at a flashy custom-built 600-seat theater in a giant tent in front of the closed stadium, but the actor co-directed this girls’ night out fave and also provides the voice of one of the characters.
MML actually stars a somewhat prudish woman (played alternately by two comedians, Crystal Powell and Nikki Lowe) who becomes sexually enlightened by these lithe, half-naked hunks jumping around for 90 minutes (there’s no intermission, but you won’t want one).
South African actor and dancer Kalon Badenhorst plays Mike, who shows the young lady the ropes.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Lowe at the MML premiere. “It really doesn’t feel like work.”
Um, where do we sign up as an understudy?
Fans of the original movie and its sequel, “Magic Mike XXL,” may recognize some familiar moves from the ridiculously fit guys.
Alison Faulk, the choreographer for the two flicks and the upcoming third one called “Last Dance,” was on board for this production as well.
The Pembroke Pines native is impressed by the cast members and how, um, flexible and agile, they all are. Spoiler alert: Expect major, mind-numbing acrobatics that defy gravity.
“My team has just been blown away throughout this entire process by their excitement and willingness to try new things outside of their comfort zone,” Faulk said. “Without a doubt, we have one of the most gifted casts of dancers and performers in this show than anywhere in the world.”
We really don’t disagree.
As for your comfort zone, guests sit around small cafe tables that are already outfitted with play money you can throw at anyone who catches your eye. Warning: If a gentleman catches your eye, too, a lap dance is more than highly likely.
When the show’s over and if you are still in control of all your senses, there’s a party out back with food stations from Meat N’ Bone pop-up Wildfire, live music, a retail station with MML merch and potent cocktails that carry such names as Permission and Suavamente.
Fortunately, the theater also serves coffee to jolt you back to a reality that doesn’t include greased up gorgeous men dancing seductively for your pleasure.
Magic Mike Live
Where: Marine Stadium site, 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key in Miami, 305-960-5140.
Info: Tickets from $49. Start times are at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with additional performances at 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and midnight on Saturday. The show is dark on both Monday and Tuesday. For more information, visit MMLTour.com or call 833-624-4265.
