After a steamy month or two on the Miami stage, the inspiration for our local theater seems to have shifted from violent carnality to pop music. Starting tonight Mad Cat Theatre reprises Hialeah-boy-made-good’s play Broadsword, with actor/director Paul Tei returning from his star turn in Hollywood (California, that is) to join Mad Cat favorites Erik Fabregat, Eli Peck, Gregg Weiner, Sofia Citarella and Ken Clement. Get ready to work your fingers into devil horns during this heavy metal fantasy

Saturday Fundarte hosts a night of hip-hop theatre with excerpts from Rudi Goblen’s Insanity Isn’t; Summer Hill Seven’s Shakespeare N. Haarlem, and Meshaun Lebrone Arnold’s treatment of the tragic life of rapper Tupac Shakur, The Hate U Give. No matter what Mary J. says, hip-hop brings hella drama and our local spoken word artists and playwrights are ready to prove it.

Broadsword runs from April 29 through May 9 on Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 7pm, with an additional 10pm show on Saturdays; Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd; 305-949-6722; www.arshtcenter.org; Tickets cost $35. The Miami Hip-Hop Project starts at 8:00 pm on Saturday May 1 at the Byron Carlyle, 500 71st Street Miami Beach; tickets cost $15-$20; www.fundarte.us.