Stages on Fire: Three Hit Plays and Florida Grand Opera Returns

The Complete List: Week of January 22nd-28th

It's a big week for local theater! Miami New Drama's Two Sisters and a Piano, by Pulitzer Prize-winning native son Nilo Cruz, opens Thursday, while Zoetic Stage's Wicked Child and GableStage's Old Wicked Songs have ongoing performances. Plus, Florida Grand Opera is staging an opera about love and betrayal (of course!).

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Continuing This Week:

Wicked Child

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present a World Premiere by David Rosenberg. When Ben leaves his lucrative associate’s job at a New York law firm to join the Israeli Defense Force, his family must reexamine its secular Jewish identity and positions on the state of Israel. Wicked Child is a play about how politics can test familial bonds and what we owe our community.

Performances January 11-28, Adrienne Arsht Center, $55-$60

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Old Wicked Songs

GableStage presents the Miami premiere of Old Wicked Songs. As this play unfolds through the poetry of Heinrich Heine and the music of Robert Schumann, secrets are revealed, and two men from different generations find they have much more in common than they think. Directed by playwright Jon Marans, this 1996 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize is a play with music that stars two actors who are classically trained pianists.

Performances January 12 - February 4, GableStage, $30-$70

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Monday, January 22nd

GableStage Gone Solo: Two One-Man Short Plays

Straight from the Edinburgh and Atlanta Fringe Festivals, local playwrights and performers Brandon Urrutia and Luis Herrera perform two solo performance pieces that are each as comic as they are poignant.

7pm, Gablestage, Free

Tuesday, January 23rd

In-Person: Poetry Reading at Books & Books Coconut Grove

Books & Books is thrilled to present an evening with the poets Denise Duhamel, Jenny Molberg, Caridad Moro-Gronlier, & Nicole Tallman as they discuss their respective books: Second Story: Poems by Denise Duhamel (University of Pittsburgh Press, $18.00), Court of No Record by Jenny Molberg (LSU Press, $18.95), Tortillera by Caridad Moro-Gronlier (Texas Review Press, $19.95), Fersace by Nicole Tallman (Elj Editions, $22.00).

7pm, Books & Books Coconut Grove, Free

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Eva, QP Tapas, Krüs Kitchen, Midorie | Drinks: Regatta Grove, Level 6, Bodega (speakeasy, door at the back behind the counter)

Wednesday, January 24th

10 Years of ScreenDance Miami

ScreenDance Miami celebrates ten years of groundbreaking dance on film with this selection of highlights from the past decade of submissions. It's the best of the best, projected on the big screen at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Presented by Miami Light Project, and awarded Best Festival by the Miami New Times. These short films are submitted from across the globe and locally, supporting the development of dance for the camera. 13 short works, duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

7pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, Free

Neighborhood: North Beach

In-Person: An Evening with Laura Belgray and Kate Northrup

Books & Books presents this in-person evening with Laura Belgray to discuss her new book Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst (Hachette Book Group, $28.00). She'll be in conversation with Kate Northrup, author of the bestsellers Money: A Love Story and Do Less. Both of these ladies have been covered by major media outlets and have a raft of celebrity advocates, so they must be on to something.

6pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Live on the Plaza: The Smoogies

Live on the Plaza is a series of outdoor concerts at the Adrienne Arsht Center. The Smoogies are Vaughn "V.KEYS" Henry (keys, vocals), Dion Kerr (bass), Harvel Nakundi (drums, percussion) and David Chiverton (drums), all of whom are formally trained musicians from South Florida. The band recently won the "Jazz Road" touring grant from South Arts, kicking off their debut tour for their forthcoming second record, People Music. Their stated musical philosophy is "to make music for the people and for them to feel good while listening".

7:30pm, Adrienne Arsht Center Thompson Plaza, $20

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Thursday, January 25th

Two Sisters and a Piano - Opening Night

Miami New Drama presents Two Sisters and a Piano, a gripping play set amidst the Pan American Games and the Russians’ departure from Cuba. The story follows the cat-and-mouse game between novelist Maria Celia and a charismatic military officer, whose infatuation blurs the lines between passion and politics. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz weaves an authentic tale of oppression, human spirit, and the intertwining fates of two sisters awaiting freedom in a world of shifting global politics.

8pm, Colony Theater, $47-$77

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Mister 01, MILA, Joliet | Drinks: MILA, Barceloneta, Medium Cool

Miami Jewish Film Festival - Closing Night

Closing night of the Miami Jewish Film Festival features a southeast U.S. premiere. Nominated for 11 Israeli Academy Awards (Ophirs), legendary Israeli director Avi Nesher (IMAGE OF VICTORY) returns with what is considered his final cinematic gem that melds a literary mystery, a rambunctious comedy, and a moving character study about the unexpected connection between two lost souls. 

7:30pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $36

Neighborhood: North Beach

Nick Smart & The Frost Jazz Orchestra

Royal Academy of Music Jazz Director Nick Smart joins the award-winning Frost Jazz Orchestra of the UM Frost School of Music for an evening of jazz written by English trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler.

7:30pm, Gusman Concert Hall at UM, $10-$20

Neighborhood: Coral Gables / South Miami

Sundance 2023 Film Shorts

O Cinema brings us The SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR 2023, presented by Shutterstock is a 90-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short film program, including two Festival Award-winning titles. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launching pad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary and animation from around the world.

9pm, O Cinema, $12.50

Neighborhood: South Beach

PAMM Backroom Sessions with Jack Brandfield

Perez Art Museum Miami presents Backroom Sessions with Miami-based saxophonist Jack Brandfield on the waterfront terrace, plus happy hour specials at Verde restaurant and bar. Jack's debut album on Gut String Records, “I’ll Never Be The Same,” features Rodney Whitaker on bass and Randy Napoleon on guitar, and was awarded Editors Pick of the Month by Downbeat Magazine. 

6-8pm, Perez Art Museum Miami, Free with PAMM admission ($18)

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Friday, January 26th

Cleveland Orchestra: Welser-Möst Conducts Brahms

The New York Times has declared The Cleveland Orchestra under Welser-Möst’s direction to be “America’s most brilliant orchestra,” and they're back in Miami for their winter performances at the Arsht Center. This one has Brahms' First Symphony on the program, which took him 14 years to write because he was so worried about writing a symphony after Beethoven. (People don't change.)

8pm, Adrienne Arsht Center, $45-$189

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

ScreenDance Miami: Films You Gotta See BIG!

In case you missed it last week, closing night of the ScreenDance Miami festival returns to New World Center’s huge Projection Wall at Soundscape Park. Catch this free outdoor evening of films from their 2024 Official Selections, as well as their partnership with Cinedans in the Netherlands. Duration 1 hour, 27 minutes

7pm, SoundScape Park at New World Center, Free

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Razing Liberty Square - Opening Night Event

Coral Gables Art Cinema presents the Miami premiere of Razing Liberty Square, with a panel discussion and reception following the screening. This new documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Katja Esson begins at the very moment when Liberty Square is being razed to the ground to make way for the “New Liberty Square”: a $300 million mixed-income development. It's gotten a ton of national press from appearances at film festivals and will be aired on PBS.

7pm Screening, 8:30pm Panel Discussion, 9:30pm Reception, Coral Gables Art Cinema

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Saturday, January 27th

Florida Grand Opera: I Pagliacci

Florida Grand Opera presents I Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo, a suitably operatic tale of betrayal and violence. Leoncavallo’s gritty and gorgeous score, based on a true incident witnessed by his policeman father, culminates in one of the most famous and tragic tenor arias of all time: “Vesti la giubba,” the original “Tears of a Clown.”

8pm, Adrienne Arsht Center, $26-$234

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Food Event of the Week: Woop Woop Australia Day Beer Fest

My first Food Event of the Week is technically a beer event, but I had to be flexible here because I heard people had a blast at this last year. Besides, there's probably some food in there somewhere! 30+ breweries take over the patio outside Bay 13 Brewery on Alhambra Plaza in Coral Gables, with local favorites Sueñalo headlining the live music, and an "Aussie Cultural Tent" to show us how much happier we'd be living Down Under.

5pm, Bay 13 Brewery, General Admission $50

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Sunday, January 28th

Chamber Music: Elizabeth Roe plays Bach

Praised for her “ear- and eye-filling keyboard wizardry,” pianist Elizabeth Joy Roe makes her New World Symphony debut in this delightful afternoon of chamber music. She will join NWS Fellows for works from the Baroque and Classical periods: Johann Hummel’s Military Septet and J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Keyboards.

2pm, New World Center, $15-$25

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Joliet, Barceloneta, Lucali | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore

In-Person with Jen Karetnick, Richard Blanco, and Nicole Tallman

Books & Books presents an evening with Jen Karetnick, Richard Blanco, and Nicole Tallman. They will be reading poetry from their latest poetry books, followed by a conversation and audience Q&A.

6pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

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