The Long Hot Summer

The Culture Edit, June 10th-June 23rd

Author

Susan Bannon
June 09, 2024

The “summer break” for Miami’s cultural institutions doesn’t exactly match what most of us experience as summertime. Once we get past Memorial Day, many Miamians head for the exits, but there are still productions running almost to the end of June. On the back end, most of us are back at our posts by mid-August, but the cultural season doesn’t really start up again until October.

Since I’m literally running out of things to write about, this will be my last newsletter in the usual weekly format for a while. Next week, I’ll give you highlights for July, and then do the same for August a month later. By September, I’ll be back with a special “Highlights of the Fall” issue so you can get the must-see’s on your calendar. (I can tell you already that Zoetic Stage’s production of Pillowman and Miami City Ballet’s Midsummer Night’s Dream will be on that list.)

This week, we still have two great local theater productions to see and an exciting collaboration between South Florida Symphony Orchestra and an internationally renowned flamenco company.

Let’s get planning...

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Tuesday, June 11th

An Evening with Author Lisa Barr

Books & Books presents an evening with Lisa Barr, bestselling author of Woman on Fire, to discuss her new historical thriller, The Goddess of Warsaw, about an aging Hollywood icon and her secret past. Lisa will be in conversation with Rochelle Weinstein, co-host of Miami’s BookTalk and author of seven women’s fiction novels. Rsvp required.

7pm, Books & Books, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Thursday, June 13th

Bass Art After Hours: Book Club

As part of its “Art After Hours” series, The Bass Museum is hosting a book club to discuss Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, a post-apocalyptic bestseller from 1993 that has since been adapted into an opera and a graphic novel, and deals with the theme of climate change. (Chillingly, the novel’s story begins in 2024.) The book will be discussed after a tour of Anne Duk Hee Jordan’s I will always weather with you, an immersive exhibit that explores the relationship between technology and nature. Rsvp required.

6:30-8pm, The Bass Museum, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Also on June 13th: Bestselling City on Fire author Garth Risk Hallberg speaks at Books & Books, a special Pride celebration at PAMM, plus performances of Summer Shorts at the Arsht and Laughs in Spanish at GableStage.

Friday, June 14th

Laughs in Spanish

GableStage caps off its 2023-24 season with Laughs in Spanish, a cafecito-fueled romp through Miami’s art scene. The plot centers around Mariana, a young woman trying to keep her art gallery ready for Art Basel when it’s suddenly become a crime scene, and her movie-star mother, who tries to save the day but just makes everything more complicado.

7:30pm, GableStage at the Biltmore, $25-$60

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on June 14th: a performance of Summer Shorts at the Arsht.

Saturday, June 15th

Siudy Flamenco: Amor Brujo

A collaboration between Siudy Garrido Flamenco Company and the South Florida Symphony Orchestra, Amor Brujo is a mesmerizing dance-theater production set to a timeless masterpiece by Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. The story, based on Spanish folktales, follows a grieving young widow as she deals with the presence of her husband’s ghost, yet discovers passionate new love (of course it’s passionate, this is flamenco!).

8pm, Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht Center, $50-$170

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on June 15th: performances of Summer Shorts at the Arsht and Laughs in Spanish at GableStage.

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.

Wednesday, June 19th

Jazz Series at Faena: Michael Mayo

Talented newcomer Michael Mayo plays the final date of Faena Theater’s 6th Annual Jazz Series. Fresh off of standout solo performances at the Detroit Jazz Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival, Mayo has recently performed with Herbie Hancock and Josh Groban. Seating at Faena is two by two, and you can upgrade with fancy bottle service and even caviar, so this is definitely a date night booking.

8pm, Faena Theater, $65-$95

Neighborhood: Mid Beach

Nearby Eats: Los Fuegos at Faena, also 27 Restaurant and Cecconi's  | Drinks: Choose from three great bars at the Faena - Tree of Life, Living Room, and The Saxony Bar, or head to WunderBar for a change of scenery.

Thursday, June 20th

Summer Shorts: Flipping the Script

A Miami tradition for 27 years, City Theatre Miami’s Summer Shorts has been dubbed “Miami's equivalent to Saturday Night Live” (Broadway World). This year’s edition, presented in partnership with Adrienne Arsht Center, stages eight funny and provocative ten-minute plays, four of which are new plays by local Miami playwrights.

7:30pm, Carnival Studio Theater at the Arsht Center, $50 or $75 VIP (includes upfront cabaret-style seating and a free drink!)

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on June 20th: South Florida Symphony’s piano trio performs Rachmaninoff at Coral Gables Congregational Church, the Biscayne Poet visits Books & Books in Coconut Grove, the Wolfsonian hosts a book binding workshop, and Laughs in Spanish begins its final weekend.

Friday, June 21st

Two Solo Exhibit Openings at Pan American

Pan American Art Projects celebrates the opening of two new solo exhibits in its Design District space. Juan Carlos Alom: Postales del Abismo showcases the photographs of Cuban artist Alom, examining the body as a form of resistance. Sandra Ramos: Impossible Dialogues - Sumerian Disputations reimagines the gallery as an Apple store of sorts, with the products being clay tablets, that juxtaposes our online debates today with the 3rd millennium BC Sumerian Disputations, some of the oldest arguments recorded.

6-9pm, Pan American Design District, Free

Neighborhood: Design District

Also on June 21st: a red carpet opening reception for an indie movie about a grandmother gone rogue, a screening of Dear England, plus performances of Summer Shorts and Laughs in Spanish.

Saturday, June 22nd

National Theatre Live: Dear England

Coral Gables Art Cinema is proud to present National Theatre Live, a groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theater, live from the London stage to cinemas around the world. In this sold out performance of Dear England, Joseph Fiennes takes on the role of Gareth Southgate in James Graham’s gripping exploration of nation and game. Showings Friday thru Sunday.

12pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $15

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on June 22nd: performances of Summer Shorts at the Arsht and Laughs in Spanish at GableStage.

Sunday, June 23rd

Peter London Dance: Rebellion & Resilience

The versatile dancers of the Peter London Global Dance Company bring their signature high energy and genre-crossing skills to Rebellion and Resilience, their season finale performance at Sanctuary of the Arts. The program features a new company production of Carmen.

4pm, Sanctuary of the Arts, $18-$48

Also on June 23rd: a renowned artist visits Books & Books to discuss his wordless children’s book, Summer Shorts and Laughs in Spanish take their final bows, and Dear England gets a final screening.

Planning Ahead:

Summertime means you don’t really need to plan ahead - events probably won’t sell out and it’s easy to get a table at even the buzziest restaurants. But it’s always nice to have a few good outings on the calendar…

Thursday, July 4th

MISO’s Fourth of July at Peacock Park

This Fourth of July, the Miami Symphony Orchestra returns to Peacock Park for a free concert of patriotic favorites under the fireworks. Longtime conductor Eduardo Marturet will be leading MISO in fireworks classics like Frank von Suppe’s Light Cavalry Overture and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, along with some special guest performers. Needless to say, if you want to see this concert you and your blanket need to be there early.

7:30pm, Peacock Park, Free

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Eva, Krüs Kitchen, Bellini, Bartaco (save a spot in line and have a drink upstairs while you wait) | Drinks: Mayfair rooftop, Level 6, Bodega (speakeasy, door at the back behind the counter)

Saturday, July 13th

Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami: Kaleidoscope

In the few short years since Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami was founded by Miami City Ballet principal dancers Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra, this young troupe has racked up accolades for its athletic style and fresh, contemporary ballet repertoire. This July, the company presents Kaleidoscope, an all-new program of electrifying dance, featuring Arcadia, a world premiere by Artist in Residence Yanis Eric Pikieris.

8pm, the Moss Center, $25-$45

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby Eats: Not much! Grab dinner at Platea or Golden Rule Seafood on your way down there and have some rooftop cocktails at Mamey on 3rd or La Terrazza on your way back.

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