A couple of Aruba's stages offer first-rate entertainment, although the quality of the shows has declined in recent years. You don't have to be a resort guest to see shows at the hotels, but you should make a reservation. Seats for the popular spectacles are likely to book up early in the day, especially during the high season.
Oranjestad
Still the island's biggest stage sensation, Let's Go Latin! at the Renaissance's Crystal Theatre, L. G. Smith Blvd. 82, Oranjestad (tel. 297/583-6000), is the Caribbean's largest stage production. This show features youthful performers from Cuba's premier dance studios and more than 180 colorful, outlandish, ornate, and, at times, somewhat-risqué costumes. Combining Latin rhythm, Las Vegas spectacle, and 1950s nostalgia, the show boasts impressive choreography and riveting vocals. Most of the dancers hail from one of Cuba's elite ballet companies, but their moves are more Bob Fosse than Bolshoi, although one number does feature an extremely flexible ballerina on toe shoes. Another gymnastic-acrobatic interlude requires Herculean strength and would make Cirque du Soleil proud. Showtime is 9pm, Monday through Saturday, and tickets at the first-class, 430-seat theater are $45 (children under 12, $23). An even better deal is the dinner and show package: For $75, you get the show and a buffet dinner at Aquarius, the Renaissance's very upscale buffet seafood restaurant in the lobby; for $89, you get a sit-down dinner at their steakhouse.
High-Rise Area
The Cabaret Royal Showroom at the Westin, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 77, Palm Beach (tel. 297/586-4466), usually offers "Havana Tropical Revue," a fiesta featuring the rhythms and salsa of Cuba. The performers -- all young, pretty, and from Havana -- dance in stoic synchronicity and change into ever-skimpier costumes with every new musical number. Other offerings include Flamenco shows and a Middle Eastern-style production. The comfortable dinner theater hosts the meal from 7 to 9pm, followed by the 1 1/2-hour show. Dinner and show total $81. Since the meal was rather uninspiring and the show a bit too burlesque, it may make sense to instead have dinner at one of the hotel's several quality restaurants and then return to the show lounge for the late night comedy act that features a solo comedian, perhaps from as far away as Brooklyn, who can carry off a full hour of monologue that is pretty darn funny.
The Occidental Grand's Las Palmas Showroom, J. E. Irausquin Blvd. 83, Palm Beach (tel. 297/586-4500), boasts the largest stage in Aruba. The theater's multinational performers present different spectacles each week. The shows include Moulin Rouge (based on the Nicole Kidman film) on Mondays, Latin Explosion (a celebration of Latin rhythms) on Wednesdays, Broadway (a revue of the Great White Way's best) on Thursdays, and Las Vegas (with costumes and themes not confined to Nevada) on Saturdays. The all-you-can-eat dinner buffet starts at 6:30pm, followed by the show at 8:30pm. The package is $53; the 45-minute shows alone are $20.
