Last Days of a Great Play

The Culture Edit, February 17th-March 2nd

Author

Susan Bannon
February 16, 2025

Photo: Magnus Stark, as seen in miamiartzine’s review of Gablestage’s “Appropriate”, running through Sunday.

It’s always nice to see one of our local theater companies have a bonafide hit, and right now that would be Gablestage’s production of Appropriate, a darkly funny play by Pulitzer finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins that’s fresh off of a Tony Award-winning run on Broadway. The show closes this coming Sunday, and thanks to rave reviews by our local critics, seats have been selling out, despite some new performances Gablestage added to fill demand. As of this writing, there are still a few seats left for this weekend. So if you’re reading this and you want to see it, you should book those tickets right now.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are a surprising number of tickets left for this weekend’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s a good opportunity for those last-minute foodies out there that never manage to get a ticket to the Burger Bash. You can check out the events that are still available here.

Lastly, this Sunday is the next installment of the Progressive Art Brunch, one of my favorite art events in town. Part scavenger hunt, part bar crawl (thanks to all that complimentary prosecco), the PAB gives you five hours to see what’s up at 14 galleries sprinkled across Little River, Allapattah, and the Design District, plus a good excuse to grab lunch at Little River’s OFF SITE Nano Brewery or Allapattah’s Hometown BBQ.

Let’s get planning...

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Ongoing Theater

Appropriate - Final Week!

Gablestage presents “one helluva family reunion” with Appropriate, the Tony Award-winning play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The plot follows the estranged members of the Lafayette clan, who gather at the family’s crumbling homestead to argue over their recently deceased father’s effects. Turns out Daddy had some secrets, and once his collected possessions spill the beans, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive. Hailed as “a brilliant, blistering, outrageous play” by The New York Times, you don’t want to miss this one!

Performances through February 23rd, Gablestage at the Biltmore, $40-$60

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Jersey Boys - Final Week!

The “Iconic Season” at Actor’s Playhouse continues with Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, a juke box crowdpleaser that tracks the rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The story unfolds through each band member’s perspective, featuring their 1960’s hits “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Performances through February 23rd, Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, $85

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Wednesday, February 19th

New Music Miami Festival: Chen-Hui Jen

Florida International University celebrates the 28th anniversary of its New Music Miami ISCM Festival with a concert by award-winning Taiwanese composer, poet, and pianist Chen-Hui Jen. Chen-Hui’s compositions, for both traditional and electronic instruments, strive to create an imaginative, spiritual, and poetic space. Miami-based composer and computer musician Jacob David Sudol will also be on hand to collaborate with Chen-Hui for a night of musical innovation.

7pm Pre-Concert Discussion, 7:30pm Concert, Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, Free

Neighborhood: South Beach, South of Fifth

Also on February 19th:

Thursday, February 20th

Museum and a Movie at the Wolf

A panel from Harry Clarke’s Geneva Window (1930), now at FIU’s Wolfsonian Museum.

The Wolfsonian-FIU and the Consulate General of Ireland present a special evening spotlighting a controversial stained-glass masterpiece of the early 20th century, Harry Clarke’s Geneva Window. Commissioned by the Irish Department of Industry in 1925, the window depicted literary scenes from 15 of Ireland’s finest writers, selected with the help of Clarke’s friend William Butler Yeats. As Clarke’s health deteriorated, the window ran into trouble for the authors selected, which included scandal-prone James Joyce and banned author Liam O’Flaherty. The evening includes a screening of a documentary on the controversial work and Clarke’s untimely death, and a discussion with Irish fashion designer Jennifer Rothwell on Clarke’s influence on her designs, as well as a tour of the window itself.

7-9pm, The Wolfsonian-FIU, Free with RSVP

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Also on February 20th:

Friday, February 21st

Arms Around America

Award-winning performance artist Dan Froot started out compiling oral histories of families in South Florida, Southern California and Montana whose lives were shaped by guns in some way. Those histories became a podcast, and then a theater piece, Arms Around America. Staged as a live radio broadcast, complete with musical numbers and a three-piece band, the show narrates the experiences of six families with humor and compassion, aiming to open a space for dialogue around Americans’ relationship with guns. The show opened in LA in the fall to good reviews, and will travel to Montana after its Florida premier with Miami Light Project.

8pm, Lehman Theatre at MDC North Campus, $20-$35

Neighborhood: Between North Miami and Hialeah

Nearby Eats: this is a good excuse to try places with great reviews that always seem too far north, like Edan Bistro, EntreNos, and Barra Callao | Drinks: head back to Little River for Bar Kaiju or Magie

Also on February 21st:

  • KDR Gallery celebrates the opening of Escapism, a solo show of new work by painter Johnny Defeo, with a reception from 6-8pm.

Saturday, February 22nd

De La Soul

The Arsht Center welcomes rap legends De La Soul for a one-night-only concert at Knight Concert Hall, with an opening set by globetrotting DJ Stretch Armstrong. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that De La revolutionized hip hop with its groundbreaking 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising, or that we couldn’t hear their music for about twenty years thanks to copyright issues. With the untimely passing of “Trugoy the Dove,” the trio is now a duo, but they’re still cranking that playful, intricate rap with wide-ranging samples that keeps the people happy.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $45-$125

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on February 22nd:

  • La Cometa Gallery celebrates the opening of The Eye in the Splinter, a show of new paintings by Colombian artist Carlos Castro Arias, with an opening reception from 2-5pm.

  • Andrew Reed Gallery celebrates the opening of Vanishing Point, a solo show of new paintings by Alexis Rockman, with a reception from 6-8pm.

  • Cake master Duff Goldman, in town for the SOBE Food & Wine Fest, throws a comedy and dessert party at the Miami Beach Bandshell, at 9pm.

Sunday, February 23rd

Bass Dialogues: Rachel Feinstein and Jack Pierson

The Bass Museum presents its first artist talk of 2025, with internationally renowned multi-media artists Rachel Feinstein and Jack Pierson, in conversation with Bass Chief Curator James Voorhies. Feinstein, a Miami native, currently has a major career retrospective at The Bass, including Panorama of Miami, a new 30-foot mirrored mural of 1980’s Miami landmarks. Pierson, best known for his intimate photographs, spent some of his early years working in Miami and took some of his first photos here.

12pm-1pm, The Bass Museum, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Nearby Eats: Blue Ribbon Sushi, Sweet Liberty, Bar Luca | Drinks: Greystone Bar, Water Lion at the Sagamore

Also on February 23rd:

  • The Progressive Art Brunch returns, giving you five hours to see what’s up at 14 different galleries across Allapattah, Little River, and the Design District, from 11am-4pm.

  • Physician and journalist Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran visits Books & Books to discuss her new book On Healing: Finding Wholeness Beyond the Limits of Medicine, at 11am.

  • Award-winning young Israeli piano sensation Ariel Lanyi plays Schubert and Bartok at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, at 5pm.

Happening NEXT Week:

Because maybe your friends are busy this week. Or you're busy this week. Or this week just seems too soon to pull your act together and make a plan.

Thursday, February 27th

Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival: The Romantic

Seraphic Fire, our stunningly-good vocal ensemble, continues its “Music History 101” season with a showcase of vocal compositions from the Romantic period. Director James K. Bass will lead the Seraphic Fire vocalists in pieces by Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Brahms - icons of the Romantic movement - as well as work by lesser-known composers, including Clara Schumann, an influential pianist and composer of the period. (She also happened to be married to the aforementioned Schumann, with whom she had eight children.)

7:30pm, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, $45-$65

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Krüs Kitchen, Bellini, Carbone Vino | Drinks: Sipsip at Mayfair, bartaco

Also on February 27th:

  • PAMM presents Act of Valor, a collective performance art piece lead by Curaçao-based artist Tirzo Martha, from 7-8pm.

Friday, February 28th

Ailey II: The Next Generation of Dance

For over 50 years, Ailey II has operated as a springboard for some of America’s most talented young dancers and a showcase for emerging and boundary-pushing choreographers. These young artists are bringing their “off-the-charts energy” (The New Yorker) and signature Ailey technique to Miami for a one-night-only performance you don’t want to miss.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $30-$75

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on February 28th:

  • Opening day for the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, with performances by Jon Batiste and Willow, at 5pm.

  • Orchestra Miami’s popular Beethoven on the Beach series of free concerts returns to the Miami Beach Bandshell, with guest cellist Thir Sigurdson, at 7pm.

  • A second performance for Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival: The Romantic, this time at St. Philips Episcopal in the Gables, at 7:30pm.

  • Dance NOW! Miami presents Program II of their season, featuring Blue Pencil, a new work choreographed by artistic directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini, at 8pm.

Saturday, March 1st

Montreux Jazz Festival Miami

Since 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has taken place for two weeks every summer in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva, now drawing 250,000 music lovers each year. Last year, they chose Miami and the Hangar in Coconut Grove as the site of their first stateside festival, and it was a smashing success, selling out weeks in advance (which is pretty impressive given the ticket prices). Now the MJT is back for a second year, with a star-studded lineup including Jon Batiste, Chaka Khan, Cimafunk, Willow, and Janelle Monáe.

5pm until late, The Hangar in Coconut Grove, tickets from $199 (single day) to $799 (all-access VIP)

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Carbone Vino, Krüs Kitchen, Bayshore Club | Drinks: pretty sure the festival will have you covered here, but if you want something different, head to Regatta Grove or Sipsip rooftop at the Mayfair.

Also on March 1st:

  • The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine, currently touring the world, stops in Miami for a one-night-only performance of Swan Lake at the Fillmore Miami Beach, accompanied by the Space Coast Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, at 7pm.

  • Stéphane Denève leads the New World Symphony in a performance of Mussorgsky’s virtuosic piano masterpiece Pictures at an Exhibition, with a simultaneous free WALLCAST in adjacent Soundscape Park, at 7:30pm.

  • Groundbreaking choreographer Twyla Tharpe and her dance troupe celebrate 60 years of dancemaking with the first of two performances at The Moss Center, at 8pm.

  • As part of its annual Global Cuba Fest celebrating the music of Cuba, Miami Light Project presents Alain Pérez y La Orquesta at the Miami Beach Bandshell, at 8pm.

Sunday, March 2nd

Twyla Tharpe’s 60th Anniversary Tour

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Twyla Tharpe Dance and the visionary choreographer who founded it, are touring the country, with two performances in Miami at the Moss Center. At 83, Tharpe continues to make new dances, including SLACKTIDE, a piece set to Philip Glass’s iconic Águas da Amazônia. The other work on the program, a revival of 1998’s Olivier Award-winning Diabelli, strips down a traditional partner waltz to illuminate Beethoven’s intricate compositions.

3pm, The Moss Center, $25-$68

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby(ish) Eats: Platea, Golden Rule Seafood, Ghee Indian Kitchen | Drinks: Fox’s Lounge, Ivy Rooftop at the THesis Hotel

Also on March 2nd:

  • Stéphane Denève leads the New World Symphony in a second performance of Mussorgsky’s virtuosic piano masterpiece Pictures at an Exhibition, at 2pm.

  • The London Symphony Orchestra makes its Knight Concert Hall debut in this one-night-only performance, featuring renowned violinist Janine Jansen, at 7pm.

Planning Ahead:

Miami's most anticipated events sell out and those new restaurants you want to try book up. Here are a couple of upcoming events to get on your calendar now…

Friday, March 7th

K-Pop Band KARD at the Bandshell

The mission of the Miami Beach Bandshell is to bring the music of the world to the citizens of Miami, and if world music is your thing, you really should just check out their entire lineup. On this evening, the Bandshell presents co-ed K-Pop sensation KARD, a band replete with the stunning vocals and dance swagger that K-Pop is famous for. You don’t even need to worry about being trampled by tweens, because this concert is strictly 18+.

7pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $57

Neighborhood: North Beach

March 29th-30th

Michael Tilson Thomas Conducts Beethoven’s Fifth

Widely considered to be one of the greatest living conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas is technically retired - from being Founding Artistic Director of the New World Symphony as well as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony. But he continues to make time for exciting performances with the New World Fellows when he can, and one of those is coming up at the end of March, when he will lead the NWS in a performance of Beethoven’s sublime Fifth Symphony, and welcome international superstar pianist Yefim Bronfman for Schumann’s beloved Piano Concerto. Tickets are very limited for the Saturday performance, but fortunately you can catch the free WALLCAST in adjacent Soundscape Park.

8pm Saturday, 2pm Sunday, New World Center, $155-$235 or Free WALLCAST Saturday night

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Tropezón, Mimi Chinese, Paya | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Greystone Bar

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