Cheers to the Holidays!

The Culture Edit, December 8th-21st

Author

Susan Bannon
December 07, 2025

Miami City Ballet’s annual production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker opens December 12th.

If you’re reading this, you survived another Art Week. Congratulations! Now it’s time to exhale and enjoy the rest of our tropical holiday season, which is less than three weeks long, but jam-packed with festive events.

The headliner is Miami City Ballet’s annual production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, which transforms the Ziff Ballet Opera House into a Candyland fantasy snowglobe, populated by over 100 dancers draped in acres of velvet and sequins. The sheer spectacle of it would be enough, but then you add Tchaikovsky’s iconic score and Miami City Ballet’s world-class principals and soloists, and you have a holiday treat not to be missed.

But you don’t have to be a ballet lover to get in the holiday spirit this year. The Children’s Theatre at Actors’ Playhouse is putting on its annual production of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, and we have a full plate of holiday concerts to choose from: Seraphic Fire’s candlelight Christmas Concert, world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli singing A Family Christmas, and my personal favorite - Sounds of the Season at New World Symphony.

Final Note: the newsletter will be taking a short break for the holidays, but I’ll be back in the new year once things are rolling again. It’s possible I’ll use the time off to write up a “Highlights of the Spring” issue. We’ll see!

Let’s get planning…

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Dance

Miami City Ballet’s The Nutcracker

The quintessential Christmas spectacular, Miami City Ballet’s The Nutcracker has it all: gorgeous sets with a stunning snow drop, sumptuous costumes, Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, and some thrilling dancing by MCB’s precise, energetic dancers. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun, with a new immersive pre-show “Journey to the Land of Sweets” this year. If you need to put yourself in the holiday mood, look no further.

December 12th-28th, Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Arsht, $53-$264

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Mignonette, Yamashiro, Casadonna | Drinks: Klaw, ViceVersa

Dance NOW! Miami: Winter’s Breath

Dance NOW! Miami presents a dash of cold winter air with Winter’s Breath, a company repertoire work set to Max Richter’s dramatic recomposition of Vivaldi, along with Ave Maria, a 1914 work by modern dance icon Isadora Duncan. Special guest performers, New York-based company Jon Lehrer Dance Company, will present Here in Eden, a poetic duet featuring Ricardo G. Barrett and Cristiana Cavallo.

Friday, December 19th, 8:30pm, Sanctuary of the Arts, $15-$25

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

More Upcoming Dance:

  • December 19th-21st: Peter London Global Dance Company presents an evening of world premiere works, including ONENESS, a solo featuring choreographer and former Alvin Ailey principal dancer Jamar Roberts, at the Carnival Studios Theater at the Arsht Center.

Music

A Seraphic Fire Christmas

In the spirit of giving, Seraphic Fire gives its audience what it wants - a holiday concert, complete with candlelight, a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and a fan favorite playlist featuring all your favorite carols (Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, et al), plus more modern Christmas classics like Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. Even better, they are coming to a church near you, with four performances around town.

December 9th at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church (The Roads), 7:30pm, $85-$115

December 12th at Church of the Little Flower (also Coral Gables), 8pm, $65-$95

December 14th at The Moss Center (Cutler Bay), 4pm, $30-$65

Nearby Eats: Platea, Golden Rule Seafood | Drinks: Ivy Rooftop, Fox’s 

Saturday, December 20th

Sounds of the Season

My absolute favorite Miami holiday tradition! The New World Symphony is so good, I often forget they are technically students (albeit post-grad students and some of the most talented musicians anywhere). Their youthful energy and playfulness are on full display for this annual holiday concert of Christmas and Hanukkah favorites, where everyone is just having a ton of fun. Tickets sell out fast for this one, but if you miss out, you can enjoy a free WALLCAST of the concert in adjacent Soundscape Park.

7:30pm, New World Center, $40-$120 or free outdoor WALLCAST

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Pauline | Drinks: Little Torch, Water Lion at the Sagamore

Sunday, December 21st

Andrea Bocelli Holiday Concert

Adrienne Arsht Center presents Andrea Bocelli in concert for the holidays at the Kaseya Center this December. One of the most beloved voices in the world, Bocelli will perform songs from his No. 1 album, A Family Christmas, and his solo album, Believe.

7:30pm, Kaseya Center, $101-$859

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

More Upcoming Music Events:

  • Thursday, December 11th: Disney legend and musical theater royalty Lea Salonga brings her Stage, Screen, and Everything in Between tour to the Arsht Center, at 8pm.

  • December 13th-14th: Manfred Honeck, one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, returns to New World Symphony to conduct Mahler’s soaring Fourth Symphony, at 7:30pm Saturday and 2pm Sunday.

  • Sunday, December 14th: Miami Chamber Music Society presents Winter Dreams, a festive celebration of the season featuring mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider, baritone Jonathan Beyer, and pianist Marina Radiushina, at Sanctuary of the Arts at 4pm.

  • Sunday, December 21st: World-renowned clarinetist Jon Manasse joins the New World Symphony for an afternoon of Schubert, Schumann, and Anna Clyne’s playful Strange Loops, originally written for Manasse, at 2pm.

Theater

Man of La Mancha

Actors’ Playhouse presents Man of La Mancha through December 21st. Photo Credit: Alberto Romeu

Man of La Mancha, the musical that opened Actors’ Playhouse in its original Kendall location, and again at the Miracle Theatre, returns to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary at the Miracle Theatre. One of the world’s most popular and enduring musicals, Man of La Mancha envisions Cervantes, imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition, leading his fellow inmates in a play-within-a-play, featuring beloved songs like The Impossible Dream and Dulcinea.

Through December 21st, 8pm evenings, 3pm matinees, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, $50-$100

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Left on Tenth

Gablestage presents Left on Tenth, a story of second chances in life and love, based on Delia Ephron’s best-selling memoir. After the devastating loss of her husband, Ephron is certain she’ll never love (or write) again. But an unexpected email from an old flame lands in her inbox, setting off the kind of whirlwind romance she used to write about.

Through December 21st, 7:30pm evenings, 2pm matinees, Gablestage at the Biltmore, $40-$60

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

More Upcoming Theater:

  • December 2nd-20th: the Children’s Theatre at Actors’ Playhouse presents its annual production of A Christmas Carol: The Musical, a family holiday favorite.

Indie Cinema

Stolen Kingdom: Screening with Director Q&A

Coral Gables Art Cinema welcomes director Joshua Bailey for a special screening of his new documentary Stolen Kingdom, about the “underground park exploration community” at Walt Disney World. Called “essential viewing” by Forbes, the film follows tales of harmless mischief that eventually lead to scandal and theft. A director Q&A follows the screening.

Thursday, December 11th, 8pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $18

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Winter in Sokcho: Screening with Live Virtual Q&A

Coral Gables Art Cinema hosts a special screening of Winter in Sokcho, a beautifully atmospheric French film adaptation of French-Korean author Elisa Shua Dusapin’s 2016 debut novel. After the screening, director Koya Kamura and lead actress Bella Kim will dial in for a live virtual Q&A with the audience. You can check out the trailer here.

Saturday, December 13th, 1:30pm, Coral Gables Art Cinema, $11-$13

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Book Talks & Events

Susan Orlean at Miami Literary Society

Miami’s longest-running literary series, the Miami Literary Society has hosted hundreds of authors since its founding in 1988. The latest installment features an intimate luncheon with beloved New Yorker staff writer and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean (The Orchid Thief, The Library Book), discussing her new memoir, Joyride, which chronicles her life through her work on some of the most notable nonfiction narrative pieces of our time. Ticket prices include lunch and a copy of the book.

Friday, December 12th, 12pm, Temple Israel of Greater Miami, $50-$75 (or free for members)

Neighborhood: Edgewater / Wynwood

Nearby Eats: this is a luncheon, so you just need Drinks: Gramps (til January!), Higher Ground

More Literary Events:

  • Tuesday, December 9th: Books & Books brings its (Silent) Reading Party series to ZeyZey for community reading and tacos by Tacos María, at 8pm.

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…

Sunday, December 28th

Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert

A Miami New Year’s tradition for over fifteen years, the Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert is a champagne toast to the music of Johann Strauss. Dancers from the Budapest Ballet join the Strauss Symphony of America and celebrated guest vocalists for a sparkling holiday performance of Strauss’ waltzes and festive overtures, bringing Vienna’s Golden Age to life.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $60-$187

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

December 30th-January 4th

& Juliet (a.k.a. The Max Martin Jukebox Musical)

I’ll admit, I’ve never been a fan of jukebox musicals, but this hilarious review by a skeptical New York Times critic (“So shoot me: I liked it. It felt so wrong; it felt so right,” lol) has convinced me that & Juliet, a twist on the Romeo & Juliet story set to songs by record-breaking hit-maker Max Martin, is a must-see. Besides, even if the plot is thin, seeing top-notch singers and dancers deliver Baby One More Time, Since U Been Gone, Teenage Dream, Break Free, et al, is just going to be awesome.

Ziff Ballet Opera House at Arsht, $53-$181

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Happy holidays, everyone! I’ll be back in the new year. As always, if you know a friend that would like this newsletter, please forward it. Thank you!

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