A Woman Ahead of Her Time and a Soviet Puppet Show

The Complete List: Week of February 19th-25th

Author

Susan Bannon
February 18, 2024

New World Symphony celebrates Mary Lou Williams, a musical genius ahead of her time and the "mother of jazz" this week. Plus, Miami Light Project puts on a Soviet puppet show, a slate of new art exhibits open, and best-selling author A. J. Finn is in town. So much to see!

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Continuing this week:

The Museum Plays

Miami New Drama, in collaboration with The Rubell Museum, presents an evening of new short plays inspired by artworks at The Rubell and performed in the museum. Tickets for this innovative art and theater mash-up are selling out fast, so if you want to go, get your tickets asap.

Performances through March 10th, Rubell Museum, $46-$82

Neighborhood: Allapattah

Nearby Eats: Leku, Hometown BBQ, Pastis (Wynwood) | Drinks: Dante's Hifi, Higher Ground (both Wynwood)

Legally Blonde The Musical - Final Performances!

Shove your inner cynic deep into your pink handbag and come enjoy this Actors' Playhouse production of Legally Blonde The Musical. It's an infectiously fun crowd pleaser that happens to have fantastic songs and really impressive dance numbers - basically everything your musical theater heart desires. In pink!

Performances through February 25th, Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theater, $100

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Monday, February 19th

Miami Symphony Orchestra in the Design District

Miami Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with producer Emilio Estefan, presents a free open air concert in the Design District, with special performances by Carlos Camilo, Ana Villafañe, Eric Lee, and Luis Quintero.

6:30pm, 191 NE 40th St, Free

Neighborhood: Design District

Wednesday, February 21st

Arthur Hanlon at Faena

Catch latin piano superstar Arthur Hanlon on his "Un Viaje Magico De Piano" tour, performing at Faena Theater with a "special guest". His two HBO specials - Piano y Mujer and Piano y Mujer II - feature Hanlon playing with an array of popular latin singers, so the special guest is sure to be somebody good. This intimate concert is only being presented in three U.S. cities.

8pm, Faena Theater, $59-$150

Neighborhood: Mid Beach

An evening with A.J. Finn

Books & Books presents an evening with A.J. Finn, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Woman in the Window, as he discusses his new book, End of Story: A Novel. One ticket includes two guests and one copy of End of Story, which you can have signed by the author after the talk.

8pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, $30

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Thursday, February 22nd

Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket

Presented by Miami Light Project, Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket is a dark musical comedy that follows Timur, a dutiful Soviet citizen, and his unhinged "Mother Russia" puppet, Comrade Bucket. When the Soviet Union begins to crumble, so too does Timur's Soviet identity. In The Great Soviet Bucket, Kazakh-American opera singer Timur (backed by a cadre of brilliant musician-performers) uses the Soviet songs of his childhood to ask pressing questions about the intertwined forces of identity, politics, and history.

8pm, Miami Theater Center, $20-$100

Neighborhood: Miami Shores

Nearby Eats: EntreNos, The Citadel, Tigre | Drinks: ZeyZey, Rooftop at The Citadel

Nathlie Provosty: Where they reverse the sea with the sky

Nina Johnson Gallery presents Where they reverse the sea with the sky, a solo exhibition of new work by New York-based artist Nathlie Provosty. Her abstract paintings and drawings investigate themes of perception, materiality, and paradox. The title of the show refers to the fata morgana, a mirage inverting sea and sky at the horizon. This artist's work flew out of Nina Johnson's booth at NADA during Art Week this past fall, so it's sure to be on collectors' calendars.

6-8pm, Nina Johnson Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Little Haiti

Nearby Eats: Ogawa, Rosie's, Walrus Rodeo | Drinks: Bar Kaiju, Zey Zey

Friday, February 23rd

Artistry & Soul: An Evening with Gregory Porter

Adrienne Arsht Center presents Gregory Porter in concert as part of its Jazz Roots Series. An artist whose music is at once timeless yet utterly of its time, Porter has solidified his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer-songwriter, with two Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy Awards – one for 2017’s Take Me to the Alley and the other in 2014 for his Blue Note debut Liquid Spirit.

8pm, Adrienne Arsht Center, $50-$130

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Enlightenment Festival: A Visit with Haydn

Seraphic Fire presents A Visit with Haydn, a concert inspired by a scandalous visit to the Viennese court by British war hero Admiral Lord Nelson and his socialite mistress Lady Emma Hamilton. The palace's resident composer was Haydn, of course, and he invited Lady Hamilton, an amateur soprano, to perform with him for the occasion. This concert for chorus and chamber orchestra will make you feel like you’ve stepped into a salon at the Austrian palace.

8pm, Church of the Little Flower, $53

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

In-Person: An Evening with Maura Cheeks

Books & Books presents an evening with Maura Cheeks, discussing her powerful new book, Acts of Forgiveness: A Novel. In this stirring, tender-hearted debut about ambition and inheritance, a family grapples with how much of their lineage they’re willing to unearth in order to participate in the nation’s first federal reparations program.

7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket

Presented by Miami Light Project, Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket is a dark musical comedy that follows Timur, a dutiful Soviet citizen, and his unhinged "Mother Russia" puppet, Comrade Bucket. When the Soviet Union begins to crumble, so too does Timur's Soviet identity. In The Great Soviet Bucket, Kazakh-American opera singer Timur (backed by a cadre of brilliant musician-performers) uses the Soviet songs of his childhood to ask pressing questions about the intertwined forces of identity, politics, and history.

8pm, Miami Theater Center, $20-$100

Neighborhood: Miami Shores

Nearby Eats: EntreNos, The Citadel, Tigre| Drinks: ZeyZey, Rooftop at The Citadel

Food Event of the Week: South Beach Wine & Food Fest

You probably don't need me to tell you that SOBE WFF is this weekend, or that its most popular events sell out months in advance at eye-watering prices. Our annual food bacchanal isn't just for us, of course. Like Art Basel, it brings in foodies from all over the country to dine with celebrities and sample the best work of top chefs and up-and-comers vying for glory and bragging rights. There are still tickets left to many events as of this writing, but probably not for long.

February 22nd-25th, Various Locations, $50-$450

Saturday, February 24th

The Soundworld of Mary Lou Williams

New World Symphony's I Dream A World festival this month has been dedicated to shining a light on the extraordinary work of Mary Lou Williams (center), a jazz innovator and musical prodigy who was ahead of her time. Her jazz-infused symphonic compositions will be performed by the NWS Fellows and a full roster of special guests, including pianist Aaron Diehl (left) and his jazz trio, vocalist Carmen Lundy (right), the Ambassador Chorale of FMU, and FIU’s Jazz Vocal Ensemble. This concert will also be projected live as a WALLCAST, outdoors in adjacent SoundScape park, free for the community.

7:30pm, New World Center, $40-$140

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Nearby Eats: Zaytinya, Casa Tua, Joliet | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, MILA

Ezra Johnson: Sunday Morning Come Down

Mindy Solomon Gallery presents Sunday Morning Come Down, a solo show of new work by artist Ezra Johnson, whose painting practice often expands into animation and sculpture. Interested in experimenting with color, form and surface, his work takes a playful, energetic approach to often serious subject matter. *Also opening Feb. 24th at Mindy Solomon will be Genevieve Cohn: To Lay Stones Like Stars and Jamaal Peterman: Distant Memories.

Opening Reception 6-8pm, Mindy Solomon Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Allapattah

Nearby Eats: Leku, Hometown BBQ, Pastis (Wynwood) | Drinks: Dante's Hifi, Higher Ground (both Wynwood)

Lesia Khomenko: Through Waves and Portals

Voloshyn Gallery presents Through Waves and Portals, a solo exhibition of new work by Ukrainian artist Lesia Khomenko, and the first exhibit of her work in Miami. A prominent figure in the Ukrainian and Eastern European art scene, Khomenko now divides her time between New York and Ukraine, where her husband serves in the army. Her new work explores the experience of the ongoing war with Russia, both through digital portals from far away, and at a very personal level up close.

6-9pm, Voloshyn Gallery, Free

Neighborhood: Allapattah

Nearby Eats: Leku, Hometown BBQ, Pastis (Wynwood) | Drinks: Dante's Hifi, Higher Ground (both Wynwood)

Miami Symphony Orchestra @ Downtown Doral Park

Bring a chair or blanket and come out to enjoy a free outdoor concert by Miami Symphony Orchestra in the park at Downtown Doral. Music Director & Conductor Eduardo Marturet will be leading the orchestra in a performance of Shostakovich's Festive Overture and other works.

4pm, Downtown Doral Park, Free

Neighborhood: Doral

Nearby Eats: The Doral Yard, Bulla Gastrobar, and maybe Bombay Darbar Doral as they are opening any day now | Drinks: The Doral Yard, Chico Malo

Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket

Presented by Miami Light Project, Timur: The Great Soviet Bucket is a dark musical comedy that follows Timur, a dutiful Soviet citizen, and his unhinged "Mother Russia" puppet, Comrade Bucket. When the Soviet Union begins to crumble, so too does Timur's Soviet identity. In The Great Soviet Bucket, Kazakh-American opera singer Timur (backed by a cadre of brilliant musician-performers) uses the Soviet songs of his childhood to ask pressing questions about the intertwined forces of identity, politics, and history.

8pm, Miami Theater Center, $20-$100

Neighborhood: Miami Shores

Nearby Eats: EntreNos, The Citadel, Tigre| Drinks: ZeyZey, Rooftop at The Citadel

Sunday, February 25th

The Soundworld of Mary Lou Williams

New World Symphony's I Dream A World festival this month has been dedicated to shining a light on the extraordinary work of Mary Lou Williams (center), a jazz innovator and musical prodigy who was ahead of her time. Her jazz-infused symphonic compositions will be performed by the NWS Fellows and a full roster of special guests, including pianist Aaron Diehl (left) and his jazz trio, vocalist Carmen Lundy (right), the Ambassador Chorale of FMU, and FIU’s Jazz Vocal Ensemble.

2pm, New World Center, $40-$140

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Nearby Eats: Zaytinya, Casa Tua, Joliet | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, MILA

Candlelight Jazz at the Eden Roc

Fever brings its internationally popular candlelight concerts to Miami, with a series of concerts that bring together local working musicians, interesting venues, and a LOT of candles. This one features a jazz ensemble playing hits from the songbooks of Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra in the historic Pompeii Ballroom at the Eden Roc Hotel, where these greats performed back in the day.

6:30pm & 9pm, Eden Roc Hotel, $35-$62

Neighborhood: Mid Beach

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