A New Carmen Makes Her Mark

The Culture Edit, April 21st-May 4th

Author

Susan Bannon
April 20, 2025

Happy Easter, everyone! I’m hoping you’ll take a break from gorging on jellybeans and animal-shaped chocolates long enough to read the newsletter, because there are some pretty big events coming up this week you don’t want to miss!

The headliner is Miami City Ballet’s season finale - a blockbuster new production of Carmen from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, one of the ballet world’s most in-demand choreographers. Ochoa’s vision for Carmen, set to a new, synth-laden score by Juan Pablo Acosta, includes major new roles and some bold choices for costumes and sets. They’re swinging for the fences with this one!

Also on tap this week, Nu Deco Ensemble joins forces with global superstar Luis Fonsi (of Despacito fame) to celebrate its 10th anniversary, and Miami New Drama’s critically acclaimed world premiere of Birthright closes out its run at the Colony Theatre.

Let’s get planning...

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please share it! If it was forwarded to you, you can subscribe by email or by text - or both!

Ongoing Theater

Miami New Drama: Birthright

Miami New Drama presents Birthright, the world premiere of a new play by renowned playwright Jonathan Spector (whose play Eureka Day was a hit on Broadway this past fall). The play begins in 2006, as a group of young American Jews meet on a Birthright Israel trip, and become fast friends. The next twenty years, right up through the Oct. 7th attack and beyond, tear them apart and bring them together, as they wrestle with the question of how to live as a Jew in America.

Performances through April 27th, Colony Theatre, $47-$77

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Uchiko, Lucali, Paya | Drinks: Brother’s Keeper, Barceloneta

Wednesday, April 23rd

O, Miami “ZipOdes” Finale at Vizcaya

For 10 years now, our annual O, Miami Poetry Festival and WLRN have invited Miami residents to submit a poem about their zip code, using the numbers as the structure (meaning if your zip code is 33133, your poem has 3 words on the first line, 3 on the second, 1 on the third… you get the picture). This year’s special 10th anniversary of the ZipOdes Finale, hosted by Vizcaya, will feature poetry readings, interactive activations, and the chance to craft your own ZipOde - plus complimentary light bites and wine.

6-9pm, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Free

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove / Brickell

Nearby(ish) Eats: head north to Edge Brasserie or LPM, or south to Bayshore Club or Regatta Grove (those places should have you covered for drinks, as well).

Also on April 23rd:

  • ICA Miami Curator Stephanie Seidel visits Central Fine for a conversation with artists Mar Perez, Zelmira Rizo, and Lucrecia Zappi, about their work on view at the gallery, at 7pm.

  • Dranoff 2 Piano and the Arsht Center present Piano Slam, a fast-paced spoken word poetry competition, accompanied by piano duo Jeroen van Veen and Mike Del Ferro, plus DJ and synth player Anthony "Smurfio" Laurencio, at 7:30pm.

Thursday, April 24th

Laughing at Injustice

Books & Books hosts the legendary Dave Barry, along with fellow Miami satirists Andrew Boryga (Victim), Asha Elias (Pink Glass Houses), and Andrew Otazo (The Miami Creation Myth) for Laughing at Injustice: The Art and Power of Miami Satire, a roundtable discussion about the easy job of making fun of life in South Florida. Award-winning journalist and longtime chronicler of Florida absurdities Bill Kearney, of the Sun Sentinel, will moderate the panel.

7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free with Rsvp

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on April 24th:

  • PAMM welcomes award-winning Venezuelan trombonist Joel Martinez for one of its Thursday night Backroom Sessions, complete with happy hour specials on the terrace, from 6-8pm.

  • Coral Gables Art Cinema finishes its screenings of The Uninvited, a comedic drama starring Pedro Pascal, Elizabeth Reaser, and Walton Goggins, with a closing night reception, at 7pm.

Friday, April 25th

Miami City Ballet: Carmen

Miami City Ballet closes out its 2024-25 season with the world premiere of a new incarnation of the Carmen story by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, one of today’s leading ballet makers. Set to a fresh reworking of Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite by Colombian composer Juan Carlos Acosta, this version was inspired by the movie Molly’s Game (which bodes well for our heroine, since Molly wasn’t murdered by her ex). With bold costume design by Mark Eric and some giant 3D props, this Carmen is shaping up to be one you don’t want to miss.

7:30pm, Ziff Ballet Opera House at Arsht, $60-$287

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on April 25th:

  • El Espacio 23 hosts an open studio with artists in residence Vinicius Gerheim and Paola Fiterre, including a performance by Fiterre, at their gallery space in Allapattah, from 2-5pm.

  • Alex Dimitrov, “one of the most talked about poets in America,” visits Books & Books to discuss Ecstasy, his latest poetry collection, at 7pm.

  • Pioneer Winter Collective, in partnership with Miami Light Project and FUNDarte, presents Apollo, a dance meditation on confrontation and shared history between different generations of queer experience, at Miami Theater Center at 8pm.

Saturday, April 26th

Nu Deco Ensemble: 10th Anniversary Concert

It’s been ten years since Sam Hyken and Jacomo Bairos brought their dream of a contemporary orchestra to life. Since then, Nu Deco Ensemble has changed the way Miami experiences orchestral music with its genre-bending arrangements of popular music (think Daft Punk, 90’s Hip Hop) and artist collaborations. To celebrate it’s tenth anniversary, Nu Deco welcomes global superstar Luis Fonsi (of Despacito fame), alongside collaborators Kishi Bashi and PJ Morton.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $75-$250

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Also on April 26th:

  • Miami City Ballet’s world-premiere production of Carmen, by in-demand ballet maker Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, gets two performances Saturday at Arsht, at 2pm and 7:30pm.

  • ICA Miami welcomes renowned artist Rick Lowe to speak on the pivotal moments that changed his approach to making art, at 4pm.

  • Pioneer Winter Collective’s Apollo, a dance meditation on confrontation and shared history between different generations of queer experience, gets a second performance at Miami Theater Center, at 8pm.

  • The Moss Center presents Complexions Contemporary Ballet, an exciting New York-based troupe that brings ballet into the here and now with music by the likes of U2 and Drake, at 8pm.

Sunday, April 27th

Gold Dust Lounge x Miami Color Theory

The Miami Beach Bandshell presents Hearing Differently / Seeing Differently, an immersive, multi-sensory experience, featuring guitarist Russell Mofsky of Gold Dust Lounge with the vibrant visuals of Laura Paresky Gould’s Miami Color Theory. Joining the party will be DJ Erick Paredes, with a mix of soul, funk, and electronic beats.

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, Free

Neighborhood: North Beach

Also on April 27th:

  • Gospel Fest Miami and the Arsht Center present Gospel on the Road, a celebration of gospel singing at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, from 5-7pm.

  • Miami City Ballet’s brand new production of Carmen gets a final performance at the Arsht Center, at 2pm.

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.

Tuesday, April 29th

Wilco at the Fillmore

Since forming in 1994, Wilco has run the gamut from alternative to country, continuing to put out new music the entire time. Their latest album, 2023’s Cousin, found them returning to their experimental roots, with a lot of comparisons to their 2001 breakout album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The band’s current world tour will bring them to the Fillmore Miami Beach for one night only. If you get a ticket, you can request a song on their concert page.

8pm, The Fillmore Miami Beach, $64-$300

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Also on April 29th:

  • The final Miami City Ballet Impromptu performance, a free community showcase of new choreography by many of MCB’s principal dancers, at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, at 6:30pm.

Wednesday, April 30th

MOCA: Spring Exhibition Openings

The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami hosts an artists reception to celebrate the opening of its new spring exhibitions. Magnetic Fields will be the first career retrospective of the work of Miami artist Philip Smith, showcasing five decades of his vibrant, chromatic paintings on spiritual themes. The Maiden is The Warrior is the first solo exhibition for Haitian-American artist Vickie Pierre, whose surrealist collages and immersive installations incorporate found objects. On view in the courtyard is Bearing Bonds, a sculpture installation by Avi Young. Refreshments provided by LALO Tequila.

7-9pm, MOCA Paradise Courtyard, $10 (or free for Members or North Miami residents)

Neighborhood: North Miami

Also on May 30th:

  • FilmGate Miami’s Comedy Festival presents a night of comedic short films by Miami’s funniest up-and-coming filmmakers, at the Silverspot Cinema downtown, at 6:30pm (use promo code INSIDER for a 10% discount).

  • The O, Miami Poetry Festival closes out with In the Belly of the Bird: Godmother, a poetic dance meditation by director and choreographer Pioneer Winter at the YoungArts Jewel Box, at 7pm.

Friday, May 2nd

The Cleveland Orchestra: Elgar and Holst

Considered by many to be the finest symphony orchestra in the country, The Cleveland Orchestra finishes out its Miami residency with a blockbuster performance under the baton of “The Flying Maestro” Daniel Harding. First on the program is Elgar’s sublime song cycle Sea Pictures, featuring the velvety contralto of opera star Avery Amereau. Then, the CO tackles Holst’s emotional masterpiece The Planets - from the bellicose dissonance of “Mars, the Bringer of War” to the electrifying “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity.”

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht, $45-$189

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Saturday, May 3rd

NWS Season Finale with Gil Shaham

World-renowned violinist Gil Shaham and London Philharmonic Principal Conductor Edward Gardner join forces for New World Symphony’s season finale. Shaham will take on Dvořák’s fiery Violin Concerto, one of his most performed works and a staple of the international violin repertoire. Also on the program will be Musgrave’s Song of the Enchanter and Bartók’s masterpiece Concerto for Orchestra, written shortly before his death.

7:30pm Saturday, New World Center, $80-$150

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Mimi Chinese | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Medium Cool

Also on May 3rd:

  • The art galleries of Little Haiti and Little River open their doors for the next installment of Little Haiti Little River Art Days, from 12-5pm, with an afterparty at Offsite Nano Brewery from 5-7pm.

  • Baker Hall Gallery celebrates the opening of a new exhibit of work by Cuban partners and artists Yanira Lopez and Alexis Oliva with a reception in their new Allapattah space, from 6-9pm.

  • Adele Myers and Dancers and Miami Light Project invite audiences on a quest for a better future in a world gone FABULOUS, a new dance work on themes of grit and glamor, at Miami Theater Center at 7pm.

  • The Cleveland Orchestra performs Holst’s The Planets for a second night, at Knight Concert Hall at 8pm.

Sunday, May 4th

Florida Grand Opera: Final Sing

In addition to mounting three major operas per season, Florida Grand Opera mentors a talented group of young singers each year as part of its FGO Studio. At the end of each season, these Studio Artists get a chance to sing their hearts out and show off what they’ve learned in FGO’s Final Sing, a free concert for the community.

5pm, Free, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: IKO Miami, Casadonna, Klaw | Drinks: Casadonna, Klaw

Also on May 4th:

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…

May 8th-25th

Zoetic Stage: The Comeuppance

Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is having quite a Miami year, with Zoetic Stage’s production of his award-winning play, The Comeuppance, following a great run of his Broadway hit Appropriate at Gablestage earlier this season. The Comeuppance follows a self-proclaimed "Multi-Ethnic Reject Group" that reconvenes for their 20th high school reunion. Over alcohol and other substances, they try to reconnect who they once were with whom they've become.

Performances May 8th-25th, Carnival Studio Theater, $56-$61

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Friday, May 16th

Wanda Sykes: Please and Thank You

Emmy-winning stand-up comic Wanda Sykes has been named one of Entertainment Weekly’s “25 Funniest People in America” and her decades-long career has included six Netflix comedy specials, ABC’s Black-ish, and the new incarnation of Mel Brooks’ History of the World Pt. 2 - along with more projects than I could ever list here. On May 16th, she’s bringing her latest stand-up hour, Please and Thank You, to Miami for one night only. Get those tickets! Thank you.

7:30pm, The Fillmore Miami Beach, $64

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Thanks for reading! If you know a friend that would like this newsletter, please forward it. Thank you!

If someone forwarded it to you, you can subscribe here.

Any feedback? Or tips on events or restaurants? I'd love to hear from you! Hit reply and it will come directly to me.

Reply

or to participate.