Free Films, Big Dreams at Miami’s Urban Film Festival

Miami filmmaker Valentino Dors, director of the short film “Shades,” at right, works with cast and crew during production. “Shades” is part of the lineup in the Urban Film Festival happening in Overtown and downtown Miami from Friday, Sept. 4 to Sunday, Sept. 6. (Photo courtesy of Valentino Dors)

Isabel Bacigalupo feared she was running out of time.

The Miami-based filmmaker had just wrapped up shooting for “May Death Connect Us Apart,” a sci-fi short film starring Michele Lepe, Xavier Corone, Katherine Wright and Bacigalupo’s daughter, Oriana Fifer.

The plot centered on a grieving woman who reconnects with her late husband using AI.

Back in  2014 when Bacigalupo came up with the concept, the premise seemed far-fetched, but with each technological advance she wondered whether her film would be rendered obsolete.

“I was racing against the clock.”  Bacigalupo said. “I started to realize that this is not going to be sci-fi anymore; this is becoming reality.”

Limited resources also hampered production timelines.

“The budget was definitely a challenge because there was none,” she said.

But the generosity of those who surrounded her propelled the project forward. And of course, faith always helps, because that’s practically all Bacigalupo had when she worked up the nerve to reach out to Lepe.

Known to a generation of preschoolers as the host of PBS Kids Sprout’s “The Good Night Show,” Lepe was a dream casting choice for Bacigalupo and Fifer, who grew up watching the program. They were thrilled when she agreed to take the role.

But hopes, dreams and pixie dust can only take you so far. This is where the hard work began.

After the film was finished shooting, it then took an entire year of editing for it to be complete.

Turns out it came out in the nick of time.

“May Death Connect Us Apart” is one of nearly 200 films set to be featured during the 11th annual  2026 Urban Film Festival (UFF).

One of the largest free film festivals in the country, Urban Film Festival has free screenings during Labor Day weekend from Friday, Sept. 4 to Sunday, Sept. 6 in Overtown and in downtown Miami.

As part of the event, A Welcome to Miami Party will be held at Red Rooster Overtown. Filmmakers, industry professionals, educators and students will also benefit from networking and educational opportunities.

Marco (“Mall”) Molinet, founder of Florida FilmHouse International and Urban Film Festival, believes that the sessions are a great way of supporting those who may feel that there’s no hope in sight.

He knows because he’s been there.

“We started our festival because we couldn’t get into any festivals,” Molinet said.

Looking back, Molinet said he is proud of how much the festival has grown since it began in 2015 and that it received an enthusiastic response right from the beginning. Part of the draw, he said, is offering a supportive environment for those who are starting out in the industry.

Molinet watches every movie that is submitted and said he has personally seen the evolution of many filmmakers, particularly those who joined the festival from the outset.

“We started off with about 60 to 70 films, and a lot of those films were pretty horrible,” Molinet admitted. “They weren’t really great films. But I just saw something in the filmmaker or something in the film. And a lot of those filmmakers are still with us to this day. Now their films have gone to a whole other level.”

For Molinet, that early willingness to take a chance on unpolished work was part of the festival’s purpose from the beginning.

“They just needed someone to give them a shot and keep them in the game. We look at it like we’re keeping young filmmakers motivated because it’s very important that every genre has their own people to tell their story.”

This includes young filmmakers.

The festival’s opening day will also spotlight young filmmakers enrolled in the 1st Take Youth Film Program, a year-round initiative that introduces teens to the filmmaking process through hands-on training in areas including screenwriting, producing, cinematography and editing. Students in the program will premiere their films Friday, Sept. 4 at the Overtown Performing Arts Center.

The 1st Take students aren’t the only young filmmakers getting a chance in the spotlight. The festival will also showcase work created by students from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

St. Croix filmmaker George W. Cannon III directed “Verified,” a film created by young participants in the Film Over Gun Violence summer program. The film follows a teen struggling with the pressure to seek validation through social media.

“We do this summer program called Film Over Gun Violence where we have high schoolers come, and we basically have them write their own film,” Cannon explained. “We help them shoot it. We teach them elements of storytelling and how to write scripts and we show them how to use the camera.”

For Cannon, having the students’ work screened in Miami gives them an opportunity to see where those newly developed filmmaking skills can lead.

Miami filmmaker Valentino Dors, whose film “Shade” will be shown at UFF, encourages others, both young and old, to do the same. He realizes how much he has learned from launching “Shade.”

“Chase your dreams. Chase your aspirations. A perfect film doesn’t exist,” he emphasized. “Go out and film, even if all you have is an iPhone. If you don’t know how to write a script, start with a line a day. Take it day by day and just go out and film.”

It is that kind of persistence that Molinet hopes the festival will continue to encourage in emerging filmmakers.

“All of these filmmakers are on the cusp of being the next big thing,” Molinet said. “They all have what it takes to be great.”

WHAT: 2026 Urban Film Festival

WHERE: Various locations. On Friday, 1st Take Youth Film Program will premiere their films at Overtown Performing Arts Center, 1074 NW 3rd Ave, Miami. Welcome to Miami Party will be held at Red Rooster Overtown, 920 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, On Saturday and Sunday, the festival moves to Silverspot Cinema, 300 SE 3rd St #100, Miami

WHEN: Labor Day Weekend, Friday, Sept. 4 through Sunday, Sept. 6

COST: Free

INFORMATION: For full schedule and times, urbanfilmfestival26.eventive.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.

‘RESET’ Brings Bodies, Humor and AI to Koubek Center

Luciano Cortés, Luciano Rosso, and Alfonso Barón  in “RESET,” a physical-theater work exploring technology, artificial intelligence and human connection, at Miami’s Koubek Center Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday, Aug. 29. (Photo by Javier Labrador, courtesy of FUNDarte)

Three bodies enter a system. They repeat, obey and function as expected.

Then something goes wrong.

That breakdown is the starting point of “RESET,” a physical-theater work by Argentine performers Alfonso Barón, Luciano Cortés and Luciano Rosso, coming to Miami’s Koubek Center Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday, Aug. 29.

“We wanted to talk about the speed of the world we live in and how we’re constantly running after this ball, or this carrot, that seems to be life,” Rosso says.

Presented by FUNDarte, Miami-Dade County Auditorium’s “Away from Home” Series and the Koubek Center, “RESET” uses movement, extreme gesture, absurdist humor and tightly synchronized choreography to explore technology, artificial intelligence and the systems increasingly woven into everyday life.

The project began with a proposal from FUNDarte and the desire, Rosso says, for three longtime friends to create together. Their questions about the accelerating pace of contemporary life quickly led them to technology and AI —not only as subjects, but as tools in the creative process.

Rosso experimented directly with artificial intelligence while developing the work, using prompts and ideas to generate material that could become a starting point for scenes.

“It was sort of a collaboration,” he says, amused by the idea. “It’s strange to say that because we’re talking about technology and not a person. But I learned how to approach it so it could give me material that I could then enrich.”

The results surprised him.

“I had never given AI this kind of role in the creative process,” Rosso says. “It became a trigger for so many things, and some of those scenes are still evolving—a little like technology itself.”

Rosso and Barón, both based in Paris, bring to “RESET” a long shared history performing together in “Un Poyo Rojo,” a largely wordless physical-theater work that has toured internationally for more than 15 years.

Cortés followed a different path. An actor, dancer and physical-theater performer, he has worked with the Argentine immersive-theater company Fuerza Bruta and Catalan experimental-theater company La Fura dels Baus. After moving to Miami in 2018, he founded the physical-theater company Salvaje Teatro, bringing his own approach to movement and performance to the trio.

Joining an established partnership made Cortés apprehensive at first.

“Their bodies had already developed this symbiosis,” he says. “I wondered how my body, with its own way of moving, would fit into that dynamic.”

Instead, he says, the connection came quickly.

“We’ve been friends for many years, and we share humor and many ways of seeing and thinking about art,” Cortés says. “Suddenly we became a triad, like a chord with three notes. We played it, and it sounded wonderful.”

Barón says the three also share an instinct that became essential during the creative process: saying yes to one another’s ideas.

“If somebody says, ‘I want to be a dinosaur,’ and somebody else says, ‘I want to be a robot,’ instead of saying no, you say, ‘OK, let’s make robot dinosaurs,’” he says. “Instead of shutting down an idea, you accept it and see how you can transform it.”

As the work took shape, that creative freedom gave way to tightly structured choreography.

“There is very little room for improvisation now,” Barón says. “The movement has to be extremely precise to create the effect we want. Suddenly you’re human, then an android, then an animal. The quality of movement keeps changing.”

For all its focus on technology, Barón describes what happens onstage as surprisingly handmade.

“When you see it, you’re going to see something very artisanal,” he says. “We represent things in a very theatrical way. Technology doesn’t win.”

“There are no machines,” Barón continues. “You see three people representing technology with their bodies. In a world that is becoming more virtual, theater for me is a place of refuge and salvation.”

Cortés takes the question further.

“What interests us, beyond technology being the excuse for all of this, is ‘What is the value of the human being onstage in this era?’ ” he says.

He notes that AI has already entered music, writing and film, but theater may be a different genre altogether.

“We feel that theater may be one of those territories of resistance where it is very difficult for AI to enter. So our question became: How does AI enter that territory?”

Cortés says it is the audience may be what sets theater apart,

“For theater to exist, that connection with the audience has to exist,” he says. “There is something about the value of the living human body—the body that gets tired, becomes exhausted, fails—that connects us with our humanity.”

For Cortés, those questions also resonate with the city where “RESET” will be performed. His work in Miami has included physical and immersive productions that challenge conventional relationships between performer and spectator.

“Technology crosses our lives every day,” he says. “But what happens to the body and to the real connection between human beings?”

He sees that question playing out in ordinary Miami life, where even getting together with friends can require coordinating packed calendars weeks in advance.

“We’re creating all this technological paraphernalia, and it’s great,” Cortés says. “But it is also distracting us and pulling us away from what is essential.”

But “RESET” also intends to make audiences laugh.

For Rosso, humor has been part of his language since childhood, when he would stand in front of the television during family dinners, dancing and lip-syncing to commercials.

“Humor is very healthy. It’s something beautiful, a way of communicating that fills my spirit,” he says. “Onstage, it is a wonderful and very powerful weapon. It’s been part of me since before it became my career.”

Barón hopes the physical language of the work leaves space for audiences to find meanings of their own.

“You lead the audience in a direction, but that direction opens other places,” he says. “The meaning may be one thing for you, another for me and another for my mother.”

Rosso has a simpler test for what he hopes audiences carry with them after “RESET.”

First, he wants them to have a good time. Then, perhaps, to leave with something to think about.

And one more thing.

“I’d love for people to leave the theater and not want to look at their phones for a while.”

WHAT: “RESET” by Alfonso Barón, Luciano Cortés and Luciano Rosso

WHERE: Koubek Center, 2705 SW 3rd St., Miami

WHEN: 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday, Aug. 29

COST: $20

INFORMATION: 786-348-0789 or www.koubekcenter.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com

Arca Images Takes on the American Dream in Spanish ‘Death of a Salesman’

Carlos Acosta Milián as Willy Loman and Rosalinda Rodríguez as Linda Loman in Arca Images’ “Death of a Salesman.” The original Spanish language production with simultaneous audio English translation opens Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center. (Photo courtesy of Arca Images)

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz had the idea of bringing Arthur Miller’s great American classic, “Death of a Salesman,” to a Hispanic audience. Alexa Kuve, founder and artistic director of Arca Images, had been looking for a way for her company to mark America’s 250th anniversary.

The play bridged the two ambitions.

Miller’s Willy Loman has spent more than 75 years chasing the American Dream.

For Kuve, presenting “Death of a Salesman” in Spanish in Miami doesn’t change that story. It may, in fact, bring it closer to an audience that knows something about starting over, striving to succeed and discovering that the promises attached to that dream don’t always come true.

Arca Images presents “Death of a Salesman” (“La muerte de un viajante”) Friday, Aug. 21 through Sunday, Aug. 30, at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center.

A Tony Award-winning revival of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama just ended its run on Broadway. The enduring American play follows Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman confronting the collapse of the life he believed he was building for himself and his family. Willy’s faith in success is distilled in one of the play’s best-known lines: “Be liked and you will never want.” For Kuve, that drive toward recognition is part of what makes the story feel so current.

“It’s a universal dream of hope, of being someone in life, getting somewhere in life, your children to succeed in life, to be important, to become someone,” she says.

For immigrants, Kuve says, that pursuit can carry even more weight.

“I think it even takes another dimension because it’s becoming someone in another country that is not yours,” she says. “Most of the time, starting from scratch.”

That idea is not theoretical for Carlos Acosta-Milián, the Cuban-born actor playing Willy.

Acosta-Milián left Cuba, lived and worked in Spain and eventually came to Miami in 2012, rebuilding both his life and his career along the way.

“I know what it means to start over — and not just once, but several times,” he says.

He landed in Spain as an established actor only to discover, he says, that much of what he had already accomplished didn’t mean much in a new country. Then came another beginning in Miami.

“I arrived in Miami with almost nothing, without money, without guarantees, and already in my forties,” Acosta-Milián says. “At that age, you no longer have the body or the innocence of someone in their twenties. Every new beginning weighs more.”

It is one reason he understands Willy as more than one of American theater’s iconic roles.

“Willy Loman lives exactly in that territory: the territory of a man who feels he has arrived too late, that the world has changed and he no longer knows how to fit into it,” Acosta-Milián says.

The role was one he had dreamed about but never expected to play.

“Willy is one of the great summits of world drama, and certainly of American theater.”

Cruz and Acosta-Milián have a long artistic collaboration. The two have worked together on productions including “Lorca en un vestido verde,” “Baño de luna,” “Exquisita agonía,” “Dos hermanas y un piano,” “Sed en la calle del agua” and “Tres veces Cruz.”

Acosta-Milián recalls Cruz telling him after the pandemic: “I want to do ‘Death of a Salesman,’ and I want you to play Willy Loman.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in accepting the role.

“I said yes right then and there. That was when the project was born. From that moment on, it began to take shape, to grow, to find its moment, until finally becoming a reality now, in 2026.”

Cruz is co-directing the Arca Images production with Samantha Pazos, a director he has previously mentored and worked with on productions including “Two Sisters and a Piano” and “Anna in the Tropics.”

Kuve translated and adapted Miller’s play for the production, but it doesn’t attempt to transform the Lomans into a specifically Latino family.

“There is no reference to the characters being American or Hispanics,” Kuve says. “It can easily be (a) Hispanic family, but it can be an American family. It’s just that we’re doing it in Spanish.”

Acosta-Milián believes the language itself changes the audience’s entry point into Miller’s world.

“To translate a work like this is not simply to change words,” he says. “It is to open a door for the Latino spectator, so that they can enter the story through their own sensitivity, their own rhythm, their own way of hearing the world.”

For the actor, the story of Willy’s diminishing place in a changing world is increasingly contemporary.

“That feeling of invisibility, of not being recognized, of sensing that your life depends on someone giving you an opportunity — that I know,” Acosta-Milián says. “I know how it feels.”

Acosta-Milián first encountered American theater as a young actor in Havana, where, he says, it offered artists a way to speak indirectly about things they could not address openly.

“Not only because of the quality of the work, but because of what it allowed us to say. We had to approach it metaphorically in order to pass through the filter of censorship. It was theater that gave us a way to express things we could not say directly. For a young actor that was a mixture of risk, discovery and freedom.”

At 61, age has changed the way he approaches Willy, he says, adding that the play resonates differently now.

“I no longer read it as a theatrical exercise. I read it as a mirror of life. In Cuba, the trilogy was a metaphor for a country falling apart,” Acosta-Milián says.

The connection is more personal.

“Today, ‘Death of a Salesman’ is the story of a man fighting not to disappear. And I understand that fight. I know what it means to feel that the world is changing and that you must change with it in order not to be left behind. Before, I was a young actor encountering American theater. Today, I am a man who has lived enough to understand it from the inside.”

WHAT: Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” (in Spanish with simultaneous audio English translation)

WHEN: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday. Opens Friday, Aug. 21 through Sunday, Aug. 30.

WHERE: Westchester Cultural Arts Center, 7930 SW 40th St., Miami

COST: $25, $20 for seniors (ages 65 and older), students with a valid ID.

INFORMATION: (305) 934-5103 and www.arcaimages.org

 ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com

 

Review: ‘The Shark Is Broken’ Finds Its Sea Legs at Actors’ Playhouse

Adam Poole as Roy Scheider), Wesley Slade as Richard Dreyfuss) and Iain Batchelor as Robert Shaw) in “The Shark Is Broken” at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre through Sunday, Aug. 9. (Photo by Alberto Romeu)

The mechanical shark may have repeatedly broken down during the filming of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster “Jaws,” but those frustrating delays provide the perfect setup for the behind-the-scenes comedy “The Shark Is Broken,” now on stage at Actors’ Playhouse.

Director David Arisco steers three strong performances and spot on technical elements through Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon’s behind-the-scenes comedy. “The Shark Is Broken” premiered in 2019 and later played London’s West End before moving to Broadway in 2023.

The 90-minute play is set entirely aboard the cramped deck of the fishing boat the Orca in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard during the 1974 filming of “Jaws.” Ian Shaw, who starred as his father in the English and Broadway productions, draws on Robert Shaw’s journals and the well-documented production delays caused by Bruce, the malfunctioning mechanical shark.

The actors grumble about shooting on the open ocean, trade stories, debate Shakespeare, art and fame, reveal stories of their past and share insecurities as the delays stretch on. Running throughout is the recurring question: Why didn’t Spielberg simply film in a Hollywood tank instead of battling the unpredictable Atlantic?

South Florida’s Iain Batchelor is virtually unrecognizable from his performance in last season’s “The Girl on the Train.” Sporting long dark hair and a pronounced bald spot, he captures Robert Shaw’s imposing authority, sarcasm, and self-destructive tendencies without resorting to a straight impersonation.

As Richard Dreyfuss, New York-based actor Wesley Slade wisely avoids mimicking the Oscar-winning actor’s familiar voice and mannerisms. Instead, he embraces the character’s ambition and restless neurotic energy, creating a performance that feels authentic rather than imitative. (The real Dreyfuss has publicly criticized the play’s portrayal, saying Ian Shaw never sought his perspective and that he was unfairly depicted as a fool. In the play, Shaw even tells Dreyfuss he’d be good in a Shakespeare play in the role of a fool.)

Adam Poole rounds out the trio as Roy Scheider, serving as the play’s steady center. The Los Angeles actor captures the easygoing professionalism that often places him between the clashing personalities of Shaw and Dreyfuss. A scene in which he’s preparing to settle in for a tanning session on the boat, meticulously folding each piece of clothing, is impeccably executed. Although the script often limits Scheider to playing mediator, repeatedly urging the other two men to cool their tempers, Poole gives the character warmth and a quiet authority that make him more than simply the referee.

While the dialogue is often witty and revealing, the script occasionally circles back to the same conflicts. Much of the tension comes from Shaw’s relentless badgering of Dreyfuss, a dynamic that can grow somewhat repetitive as the play progresses.

Presented in Actors’ Playhouse’s intimate Balcony Theatre, “The Shark Is Broken” makes smart use of its compact setting.

Brandon M. Newton’s scenic design places the actors aboard the Orca, while projections of sometimes tranquil, sometimes churning waters reinforce the feeling of being stuck at sea. Sam Sigler’s props give the Orca the feel of a working fishing boat. A first-aid kit, cooler, fishing net, life jackets and coiled ropes add authenticity, while liquor bottles tucked beneath tables and into hidden nooks become recurring reminders of Shaw’s alcoholism.

Reidar Sorensen’s sound design completes the illusion. The cries of seagulls, water lapping against the boat, the rumble of engines and the arrival of speedboats ferrying cast and crew give the sense of sharing the actors’ long waits on the open water. Eric Nelson’s lighting subtly marks the passage of time, distinguishing day from night while reflecting changing weather conditions, and preventing the single-set production from feeling visually static.

Ellis Tillman’s costumes help to convey the character’s personalities. Dreyfuss’ faded Levi’s and denim jacket make it stand out even more that he is younger than the others, while Scheider’s practical boating clothes—including the deck boots he carefully removes before sunbathing —reinforce his methodical nature. Batchelor, in an olive field jacket, weathered work clothes and distinctive mutton-chop sideburns, completes the convincing transformation of Shaw.

Arisco clearly enjoys productions that rely on sharp dialogue and strong storytelling rather than spectacle. He keeps the action moving at an easy pace, using the cast’s chemistry and the production’s polished technical elements to overcome the script’s minor shortcomings. Even when the play returns to the familiar rhythm of Shaw provoking Dreyfuss and Scheider stepping in to restore peace, the performances keep the interactions engaging.

Those unfamiliar with “Jaws” (yes, there may be some) will find plenty to enjoy from this well-executed and entertaining production because “The Shark Is Broken” is less a tribute to the film than a comedy about three actors who have no idea they’re making a future classic.

WHAT: “The Shark Is Broken” by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon

WHERE: Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, Balcony Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables

WHEN: 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. Special matinee Wednesday, July 22. Through Sunday, Aug. 9.

TICKETS: $40, $50, $60, $70, $75, $80 and $95, depending on performance.

INFORMATION: (305) 444-9293; actorsplayhouse.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com

4-Day Miami Takeover Opens With ‘Comedy Vybez’ At Bandshell

Comedian Esau McGraw is among the performers appearing at “Comedy Vybez Festival,” the comedy kickoff to the 18th annual Miami Takeover at the Miami Beach Bandshell on Friday, July 24. (Photo courtesy of the artist and The Miami Takeover)

Stand-up comedy is often overlooked as an art form, according to Wylie Kynard.

“You have music as an art form . . .  You have visual art as an art form. Sometimes people when they talk about the arts, they leave out that part of it, and they don’t see comedy as an art,” says Kynard, the co-founder and partner of The Miami Takeover (MTO).

And like other mediums, Kynard notes that comedians seek to elicit reactions from a captive audience.

“When you get on the stage and you create a comedy show, you have to be creative and innovative to make the people laugh, and that’s an art.”

This year, the annual MTO, one of the largest Black cultural festivals, is exploring that comedy dynamic with “Comedy Vybez Festival,” the kick-off to the four-day festival on Friday, July 24 at the Miami Beach Bandshell. Events are scheduled through Monday, July 27.

Miami-spoken word poet, Ingrid “Ingrid B” Bazin, who has actively curated and produced local events for the last 25 years, is serving as host and looking forward to bringing talent in from other parts of the country.

Founded by three HBCU graduates and event curators from the Washington, D.C. area— Kynard, Antwoine McCoy and Vincent Peden–  Bazin says there’s a D.C.-Miami connection that makes the event special.

“This is a part of an annual event that happens in South Florida every year, and that D.C. energy is a beautiful space to be in. And for those that are coming into town, they get to experience South Florida and experience Miami beyond what people think Miami is.”

The scenery for visitors adds to the allure.

“The Bandshell is a dope location. You’re right by the water, so people that are not from South Florida will get to experience that. And the people that are from South Florida, but who never go to the beach, they’ll get to experience it as well,” says Bazin.

Eddie Bryant, a Washington, D.C.-based comedian who’s been featured on BET, Magic Johnson’s Aspire, TVOne, and Starz television network, calls the MTO event “a comedy lovers buffet of comedy from comedians from across the country.”

Along with Bryant, Joe Clair, Esau McGraw, Lawrence Killabrew, Antoine Scott, Maria Sanchez, Ashima Franklin, Tony Woods, Ronnie Jordan and Howie Bell will also perform.

Bryant believes that the combined talent is sure to bring the house down.

“You take Ashima. She just did Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and then Netflix Is a Joke Festival. Ronnie Jordan’s touring all over. He does 250 shows a year minimum. Joe Clair has been in the game for decades. Rap City, MADD Sports, stuff like that. Very funny stand up. Tony Woods is a mentor to Dave Chappelle. A phenomenal comedian. In Dave Chappelle’s acceptance speech at the Mark Twain (Prize for American Humor), aside from speaking of his mother and father, he made it a point to highlight Tony Woods. He’s a champion when it comes to stand-up. He’s a purist.”

And no topic is off limits.

In a climate where comedians have expressed concern about cancel culture, Bryant holds true to a no-holds-bar approach, regardless of the consequences.

“Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and just say it, and let the chips fall where they may,” he asserts.

Bryant says that stand-up helps push the envelope to push conversations forward.

“We cross boundaries so that we can get to the other side. Whether we’re talking about race, whether we’re talking about family life, whether we’re talking about personal dysfunctions, all of those things are made light of to help the audience get through what they’re going through.”

And comedy gives its audience a break from what’s going on in their lives, says Bryant.

“So, when you go to a comedy show. You’re taking a mental vacation for that hour and a half or two hours to feel good. Laughter heals.”

In addition to the Friday night standup comedian headliners, attendees at the 18th annual MTO will have the option of six events including a yacht party and a community service beach cleanup. Live music will be on hand with three R&B band performances along with a tribute to Toni Braxton performed by R&B singer Latasha Bla’q! Miami visual artist Rodney Royal, who is known for displaying themes of culture and community, will present a solo art exhibit highlighting iconic Black comedians.

WHAT: The Miami Takeover’s “Comedy Vybez Festival”

WHERE: Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Check online for additional sites for related events.

WHEN:  4 p.m. Friday, July 24.

COST:  $55.20 includes fees. Other events through Monday, July 24, cost varies depending on event. Free for community beach cleanup. Individual tickets and weekend party passes available. Tickets here.

INFORMATION: themiamitakeover.com.

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com

 

As LakehouseRanchDotPNG Turns 5, Partnership With Main Street Players Grows

From left, Douglas Gonzalez as Oswaldo, Alejandro Arreola as Julio, Daniel Nieves as Martin, and Nicholas Valdes as Manny in “Salida” by Nicholas Quintana, opening at Main Street Playhouse on Saturday, July 18 through Sunday, Aug. 2 at Miami Lakes. (Photo by Daniel Manso, courtesy of Main Street Players)

Main Street Players closes its season with “Salida” by Miami playwright Nicholas Quintana. Beyond bringing a new play to the stage, the production also reflects a growing partnership between the Miami Lakes theater and LakehouseRanchDotPNG, the experimental theater company marking its fifth season this year.

Since becoming Main Street Players’ artistic director last fall, Sara Jarrell has been working to broaden that company’s commitment to original work, local playwrights and artistic collaboration.

“Our mission is to be a place for the community to create and collaborate,” Jarrell said. “A lot of the work that I’m hoping to do now that I’ve stepped in as artistic director is expanding the kind of work that we do and how that reflects our community.”

That vision aligned naturally with LakehouseRanchDotPNG, which has been presenting productions at Main Street Players since 2024. Florida International University graduates Brandon Urrutia and Indy Sulliero founded the experimental theater company during COVID-19.

The company’s unusual name traces back to a road trip to Lakewood Ranch, the master-planned community in Southwest Florida. After later misremembering the destination as “Lakehouse Ranch” and saving a photo as “LakehouseRanch.png,” they decided the accidental digital file name perfectly captured the spirit of the company they were creating.

“It was the summer after we graduated and we both wanted to do work but no one was hiring because of COVID-19. So we decided, ‘Let’s figure it out ourselves,’ ” Urrutia said.

In addition to being the artistic director of LakehouseRanchDotPNG, Urrutia is the drama teacher at Mater Lakes Academy.

LakehouseRanchDotPNG staged its first production in 2022 at Artistic Vibes, a small black-box theater in Kendall.

“I loved it. I love a good little black-box theater. We moved because Main Street offered us a better deal for rent. Realistically it came down to money,” they said.

But the relationship with Main Street Players stretches back much further than Lakehouse.

“They’ve been a part of Main Street Players since they were in high school — teaching, working, assistant directing,” Jarrell said. “It’s really where they cut their teeth and got their feet wet,” she says about Urrutia.

Today, they direct productions, serves on Main Street Players’ board of directors and helps develop new work while continuing to lead LakehouseRanchDotPNG.

That collaboration is evident in “Salida,” which opens on Saturday, July 18 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 2, a new play about three generations of Cuban men whose annual Noche Buena gathering is upended when the youngest member of the family comes out as gay.

“When I read the play, it had a lot of really great bones, so we workshopped the production with Nicholas,”  Jarrell said. Quintana originally shared only the play’s first act.

“He came to us and said, ‘Hey, I have a second act,'” Jarrell said. “I saw it and said, ‘Listen, it needs a little bit of work, but it works perfectly for our season.'”

Rather than simply presenting the play, Main Street Players used the workshop process to continue developing it.

“We’ve taken the time, in the process with Brandon sort of spearheading that charge, to fully flesh out this story,” Jarrell said, who will direct the second show of LakehouseRanchDotPNG’s recently announced fifth season.

And Urrutia contributions have extended beyond directing individual productions.

“Brandon was on our decision committee and really helped foster meaningful relationships with playwrights in New York to produce their work at Main Street Players,” she said. “They’ve been really integral.”

That collaborative spirit has defined LakehouseRanchDotPNG since its founding five years ago.

“We wanted to do the work that no one else seems to be doing,” Urrutia said. “The stuff that makes us excited.”

That philosophy has shaped all 17 productions LakehouseRanchDotPNG has presented over the past five years, building a reputation for experimental works and premieres that many theaters might consider too difficult to produce.

“I’ve started saying that there’s no such thing as an impossible stage direction,” Urrutia said. “More often than not, we get folks saying, ‘This play … no one wants to do it because they’re saying it’s impossible to produce.'”

Rather than viewing those challenges as obstacles, Urrutia sees them as invitations to experiment.

“I just think it’s easier to be safe than take a risk,” they said. “That’s not what we try to do with Lakehouse.”

The company’s anniversary comes during a year of milestones for Urrutia. Earlier this year, Main Street Players presented the world premiere of “Kevin and the River Flan,” a play inspired by Urrutia’s own experiences. Their autobiographical solo play, “Lo Siento, Mi Español es de Mierda Más,” was selected from nearly 700 submissions for New York’s Downtown Urban Arts Festival, where it received an off-off-Broadway production. The play returns to Main Street Players for a one-night performance Saturday, Aug. 8 with Marla Lopez as Marlá.

Much of Urrutia’s own work draws from personal experiences. As one of the few openly nonbinary theater artists working in South Florida, they have learned that authenticity often challenges expectations.

“(I am) one of maybe four open and out nonbinary folks in the (theater) scene here that I am aware of,” Urrutia said.

In the world premiere of “Kevin and the River Flan,” director Ina Ruiz cast a nonbinary actor in the title role. Urrutia said the choice wasn’t dictated by the script but appreciated how it added another dimension to the character.

[RELATED: Review of “Kevin and the River Flan”]

“It’s nice to know that we’re not afraid to take risks,” Urrutia said. “We’re very openly queer and I’m very openly nonbinary.”

Urrutia said LakehouseRanchDotPNG’s programming isn’t defined by identity, however. Instead, the company’s mission is to create opportunities for new playwrights, directors and actors.

In their devotion to new work and playwrights, Urrutia has a deal with play publishing company 1319 Press, which originally published Erin Proctor’s “Plague Play,” LakehouseRanchDotPNG’s Season Two opener.

“I began talking to them and they wanted to get more companies involved. I said that we only do new work. And one thing led to another and now every show that we give a premiere gets a publication opportunity through 1319 Press.”

Scripts are available for purchase on a bookshelf at Main Street Players.

“It is a great opportunity for playwrights because now their works can be licensed for performance through the publishing company. A perfect example is ‘juice’ by McKenzie Raine Kirkman (Season One). Someone licensed it and did it for their thesis project in San Diego.”

Urrutia said LakehouseRanchDotPNG initially attracted a younger audience but has watched that audience progress over the past five years.

“It’s kind of evolved into being theater for someone who is excited by something that is different than you might usually watch. If you wanted to see something that felt safer, you could go anywhere else. But what we try to do is something that you’re not going to find at another house. We have many people who tell us, ‘This is the theater I’ve been looking for.’ ”

WHAT: “Salida” by Nicholas Quintana directed by Brandon Urrutia

WHERE: Main Street Players, Main Street Playhouse, 6812 Main St., Miami Lakes

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Also, 8 p.m. Thursday, July 30. Opens Saturday, July 18 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 2

COST:  $30,  $25 for students and seniors with ID. Tickets here. 

INFORMATION: 305-558-3737 or mainstreetplayers.com.

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com

 

The Audience Becomes Part of the Story in Miami New Drama’s ‘Todo Lo Que No Dije’

Christian McGaffney stars in Miami New Drama’s one-man world premiere “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”) now at the Colony Theatre through Sunday, Aug. 2. (Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

Miami New Drama once again finds a way to reinvent the theatrical experience with the world premiere of its original one-man show, “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”).

The company reimagines the Colony Theatre stage, turning it into a black-box theater where audiences become collaborators rather than spectators.

From the get-go, theatergoers get their first indication that they aren’t in for something conventional. Instead of taking their seats in the historic auditorium, they are directed onto the stage, where 122 seats are configured for a playing area in the round. A table scattered with vintage postcards hints at what’s to come.

For 90 minutes and seated just a few feet from the character, only identified as Narrator, they will become participants in a story; the intimate setting changes the relationship between audience and performer at every show.

Two years in the making, written by Harley Elias and directed by Michel Hausmann, the play follows a man whose discovery of an old postcard sends him on a journey to reconnect with the father he hasn’t spoken to in decades. Along the way, he shares memories and family history, bringing audience members into the play as different characters from his life – a private investigator, a nurse in a Madrid nursing home, a security guard, a man with a tattoo, his father. How the interactions unfold is one of the production’s pleasures, and it would be a spoiler to reveal them. It’s all part of a theatrical experience that is difficult to categorize.

“I wanted to write something that was a solo show that wasn’t just a story that was said and done in the past,” Elias said. “What I was after was a mystery and a search for something that’s kind of in the present moment that is, you’re not sure where it’s going to go, and you’re not sure how it’s going to resolve.”

Although audience members are invited to read postcards, interact with the Narrator, lend personal items, and step into the action, Elias said he was careful not to let those moments become theatrical tricks.

“I didn’t want it to feel gimmicky at all,” he said. “I wanted it to feel emotionally true and grounded in a present storytelling with the audience.”

[RELATED: Miami New Drama’s 2024 world premiere of ‘Birthright’ is now off-Broadway. Read the original review of the Miami production.]

The play itself also represents a departure for Elias, whose previous Miami New Drama collaborations, “Lincoln Road Hustle,” which he co-wrote with Billy Corben, and “Bad Dog,” which Elias based on his time working in a gallery, all have included larger ensemble productions.

“This is the play I was born to write,” he said. “It’s a more personal play than anything I’ve ever written.”

Finding the right actor proved equally important.

Hausmann immediately thought of Venezuelan actor Christian McGaffney, who previously appeared in Miami New Drama’s “Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard.”

“I worked with Michel Hausmann 17 years ago in my first theatrical experience in Caracas, a play by Moisés Kaufman, and Michel was directing it.” McGaffney, who is now based in Los Angeles, was 20 years old then. The play was “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde.”

“I was just a telenovela guy who wanted to experience theater. Michel gave me my first opportunity in theater.”

In 2021, during COVID, McGaffney was in Miami shooting Venezuelan movie “Simón” where he plays a freedom fighter who escapes to Miami to obtain political asylum; it’s now on Netflix. “That was my first job here in Miami and then I was back two years later to work with Moisés for ‘Juan Planchard.’ “

Elias said McGaffney’s natural rhythm matched the voice he’d imagined while writing.

“There was one guy that could do this,” Elias recalled Hausmann telling him. “It’s Christian.”

For McGaffney, reading the script for the first time was unlike any project he had encountered.

“I had a lot of questions,” he said. “Is this a drama? Is this a comedy? Is this a comedy with a heart? It was beautiful to actually work with Harley and Michel and start discovering what this play was about.”

The collaborative rehearsal process allowed the actor, playwright and director to shape the work together.

“I think it was more of us really exploring what we think would work and also what we think wouldn’t work in order for us to understand the play better,” McGaffney said.

Because audience members become part of each performance, McGaffney said no two shows are the same. The difficult part, but one he’s mastered, is that every show requires him to remain fully present while adapting to different volunteers who, by the nature of the show, create unplanned moments.

The script is in Spanish, but every performance includes live English translation through headsets, allowing English-speaking audiences to also be immersed in the action.

For Elias, that accessibility is essential because the play ultimately transcends language.

“This is more pure theatrical experience and storytelling,” he said. “It’s that kind of old theater experience where you say to someone, ‘Listen, you have to be there.'”

The surprises continue after the applause and up until the time the audience gets ready to head back out into Lincoln Road. Vintage postcards scattered around high-top tables in the lobby invite everyone to fill them out, send them to someone they love or even to themselves. Drop them in the big blue Miami New Drama postal box in the lobby and they will be mailed.

“It’s like the show; it’s another way to connect,” Elias said.

Born in Caracas where he lived until he was about 25 or 26, McGaffney said that doing a no intermission show, being on stage the whole time, and having to be the multitasker of so much interaction takes a lot of stamina. There’s also something else that has been an unexpected source of where he puts his energy during his time in Miami.

He has been volunteering at a donation center in Doral that is collecting for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela.

“It’s been a sweet-and sour situation for us as Venezuelans doing the play. I’ve had Venezuelans come up to me in the lobby who just want to talk and to express how grateful they are that they could see something like this in the midst of everything.  Right now, while things are so tough, it’s also a good place to be taken away for a bit, to soothe the soul.”

WHAT: “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”). Performed in Spanish with live English translation available via headsets.
WHERE: Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday, Aug. 2.
COST: $65, $70, $80 and $85 (a portion of ticket sales will be donated to We Love Foundation to support earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela)
INFORMATION: 305-674-1040 and miaminewdrama.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburst.com.

After 30 years, Summer Shorts honors the people who built it

Stephen Trovillion and María Elena García appear in the third annual Summer Shorts festival in 1998, three years after City Theatre launched the short-play event at the University of Miami’s Ring Theatre. To celebrate 30 years, the festival features an afternoon preview and one-night event at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, June 13. (Photo Courtesy of City Theatre)

Thirty years after an ambitious theatrical idea at the University of Miami’s Ring Theatre grew into one of Miami’s most enduring theater traditions, City Theatre is taking time to honor the people who helped make it possible.

Unlike the festival’s traditional multi-performance run of affordable 10-minute plays, the nonprofit’s flagship “Summer Shorts” has been reimagined as a one-day celebration on Saturday, June 13 at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center. First, there’s a 2 p.m. preview performance. The premium-priced evening cabaret gala features 10 short plays with dinner and live music.

Honored at the evening event will be co-founder Susan J. Westfall and founding board chairman Alan H. Fein.

” ‘Summer Shorts’ traditionally runs for several weeks, but this year we asked ourselves how we could keep producing the work while adapting to the realities we’re facing,” Ramírez says. “We’re trying to balance what we can realistically afford with the experience audiences expect from ‘Summer Shorts.’ Presenting all 10 fully produced plays in a single day became a way to preserve the heart of the festival while working within those realities.”

Both performances feature the a lineup of 10 short plays, including three world premieres by Miami playwrights Paolo Benedict, Alize Medina and Paul Torres Wong.

“We wouldn’t have made it to 30 without our audiences and our artists,” says Ramírez, City Theatre’s executive director. “It feels like a celebration of the connection that we’ve been able to make through theater.”

According to Ramirez, the 2 p.m. preview features the same lineup of 10 fully produced short plays that will be performed at the evening event.

“The evening event serves as a fundraiser for City Theatre, while the afternoon performance provides a more accessible price point. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to keep making theater happen,” Ramirez says.

“Summer Shorts” has occupied several homes over the years, including the Ring Theatre, the Adrienne Arsht Center and, more recently, the Westchester Cultural Arts Center. The anniversary format also gave organizers an opportunity to recapture some of the communal spirit that shaped the festival’s earliest years.

“We wanted to capture the essence of what they created in 1996,” Ramírez says. “The sharing of a meal together, the conversation, the community. Those are the experiences people remember.”

As City Theatre looks ahead, Ramírez hopes “Summer Shorts” continues to be more than a showcase for new plays.

“I hope it’s less of just a show and more of a community cultural experience that connects us with each other,” she says. “The plays will always be new. They’ll always be different. What makes ‘Summer Shorts’ special is all the people who get to be in the room and share that experience together.”

WHAT: City Theatre’s 30th Anniversary of “Summer Shorts.”

WHEN: 2 p.m. preview, 7 p.m. performance and dinner, Saturday, June 13.

WHERE: Westchester Cultural Arts Center at Tropical Park, 7930 SW 40th St., Miami.

COST: $25 general admission, preview matinee (no food or beverage included);evening, $175
general admission, $250 VIP, both include dinner.

INFORMATION: westchesterculturalartscenter.com or (305) 226-0030

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburst.com.

Review: Actors’ Playhouse Mixes Gasps and Laughs in ‘Dial M For Murder’

Mallory Newbrough as Margot and Lindsey Corey as Maxine in “Dial M for Murder” at Actors’
Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre through Sunday, June 7 at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables. (Photo by Javier Franceschi, courtesy of GableStage)

Actors’ Playhouse once again puts audiences within arm’s reach of murder in its intimate and comfortable balcony space. Following productions of “Murder on the Orient Express” and “The Girl on the Train,” the company is staging Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2022 adaptation of Frederick Knott’s “Dial M for Murder.”

“Dial M for Murder” didn’t become a thriller staple because of Knott’s 1952 play but moreso because of Alfred Hitchcock’s stylish 1954 film adaptation put it on the map. Hatcher modernizes some of the dialogue and character dynamics while keeping the action firmly placed in the 1950s.

One of the most notable changes is transforming Max Hadley into Maxine Hadley, Margot Wendice’s former lover. The shift adds additional layers of secrecy and risk in 1950s London beyond merely marital infidelity.

Director David Arisco refers to the work as a “puzzle play,” and his production treats it exactly that way. The story begins with what seems like a model marriage, followed by the revelation of a secret affair and a carefully orchestrated murder plot that intriguingly unravels as the evening unfolds. The most fun comes from watching the pieces click into place. Then there’s Maxine, a New York-based mystery writer, who is just as determined to solve the mystery as she is to win back her woman.

Arisco has assembled a top-notch cast, led by Ben Sandomir as Tony Wendice. Hatcher’s update makes Tony a failed novelist who works for Maxine’s publisher rather than a tennis pro, creating an added layer of history and tension between the husband and his wife’s former lover.

Lindsey Corey continues to be one of South Florida theater’s most interesting actors to watch because she consistently finds a distinct point of view for her characters. Here, she gives Maxine a sharp intelligence and no-frills confidence.

As the lone American amid a cast of British-accented characters, Corey also reinforces Maxine’s status as an outsider looking in.

Like Corey, Mallory Newbrough is one of those actors capable of tackling any role. Here, she balances vulnerability with comic instincts as Margot and shows an unexpected flair for physical comedy as the increasingly frazzled wife caught at the center of the plot.

Despite the pair’s acting strengths, their relationship as a romantic couple didn’t play powerful enough to alter the course of multiple lives. Whether the choice for emotional reserve reflected the social constraints of the era or simply the production’s interpretation of the characters is difficult to say, but the connection between the two women was too understated. As a result, the adaptation’s most significant update didn’t  always heighten the stakes in the way it seems intended.

Fortunately, there are plenty of parlor tricks to keep the plot on overdrive. Sandomir is wonderfully calculating as Wendice, adding a sly and unsettling mix of charm and cold precision to the character. Daniel Llaca as Lesgate looks like a villain from a silent movie and provides solid support as the man who gets drawn into a murder-for-hire scheme.

Stephen G. Anthony brings a Cockney accent and a no-b.s. approach to Inspector Hubbard as his investigation begins to uncover the carefully constructed plan.

The production is equally well served by the design team. K. April Soroko’s scenic design creates an authentic setting for the Wendices’ 1950s London home, with a comfortable living room complemented by an office area and desk at stage right where much of the plotting unfolds. Period-specific props by property master Sam Sigler and properties consultant Jodi Dellaventura help establish the era.

Ellis Tillman’s costumes further cement the production in the 1950s, from the women’s stylish dresses and Margot’s tailored pantsuits to Inspector Hubbard’s detective-worthy trench coat. Eric Nelson’s lighting and Reidar Sorensen’s sound design support the suspenseful atmosphere, while Lee Soroko’s fight choreography finds just the right blend of intrigue and humor.

The struggle between Margot and her would-be killer earns both gasps and laughs, particularly after an attack leaves a man sprawled on the floor with scissors sticking out of his back.

Arisco frequently leans into the play’s comic possibilities with a wink to the clever plotting and carefully woven twists.

True crime podcast bingers, mystery lovers and armchair detectives will be in their element, but Actors’ Playhouse’s production provides plenty of suspenseful and humorous entertainment even for those more interested in the journey than solving the crime.

WHAT: “Dial M for Murder” adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, original story by Frederick Knott

WHERE: Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables

WHEN: Performances 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday, June 7.

COST: $50, $70, $80, $95

INFORMATION: (305) 444-9293 or actorsplayhouse.org

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburst.com.

 

 

Review: Superb ‘Eureka Day’ at GableStage Skewers the Vaccine Debate

A scene from GableStage’s production of Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day” playing through Sunday, June 14 in Coral Gables. (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)

An ultra-progressive day school in Berkeley, California, a city whose name has become synonymous for ultra-progressiveness, faces the conundrum of individual rights versus the good of the larger group in “Eureka Day” by Jonathan Spector.

Now at GableStage through Sunday, June 14, “Eureka Day” follows a small group of parents, along with the principal, as they decide issues affecting the school by consensus. This is the kind of school where they strive for snacks made of locally sourced ingredients — paper plates and other disposables are frowned upon.

The principal, Don (Mark H. Dold), loves to go barefoot and quote Rumi at the council meetings. Suzanne (Jeni Hacker) is an older mom who jokes that she and her husband had another baby just so Suzanne could stay involved with the school.

Eli (Ryan Didato) became wealthy as one of the first employees at a tech giant and is now a doting, stay at home dad.

There’s also Meiko (Jordyn Moone), a single mom who knits during the meetings and sometimes struggles to voice her opinions. The newest council member is Carina (Rita Cole), a businesswoman whose child has just started at Eureka Day.

The sharp comedy follows their meetings over the course of the school year, revealing the micro-aggressions, class distinctions, and prejudices of the council members, which Spector addresses with clever, amusing insight.

When a child at the school comes down with the mumps, the council faces the heated issue of vaccinations. Suzanne is strongly against a vaccine mandate, even as the mumps spreads through the student body. The other members struggle with their desire to keep their children safe through herd immunity while respecting the rights of the individual parents. This leads to heated debates, heart-wrenching, personal experiences and revelations, and hilarious comedy, especially during a town hall meeting with parents over Zoom.

“Eureka Day” premiered at the Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, so Spector’s play feels like a prophecy. Last year it won the Tony award for best revival of a play.

Each member of the cast gets a chance to shine, but what makes the production especially effective is how fully they function as an ensemble.

Dold, who has distinguished himself in past GableStage productions of “Harry Clarke,” “Appropriate,” and “The Lehman Trilogy,” is terrific as Don, a crunchy-granola kind of guy who quotes poetry and carries an NPR tote bag. Dold capitalizes on these qualities with his funny and moving performance.

New to Miami stages, Moone is a welcome addition. As Meiko, a quiet single mom with a pension for knitting like a cheerful Madame DeFarge, Moone embodies Meiko’s optimism, which, as the situation escalates, explodes into an everybody’s-thinking-it-but-no-one-wants-to-say-it, show-stopping monologue.

Rita Cole plays Carina, the newest council member. She serves as the audience-perspective character—she’s new here, just like the rest of us. While the other characters know each other and how these meetings work, we see the proceedings through her eyes. As the only Black member of the council, which strives for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all things, views the others with caution, especially as racism surfaces in comments from the group. Cole plays Carina with dignity and a delicious, knowing side-eye as she observes and responds to the other council members.

As Eli, Didato brings an easygoing, affable charm to the role. He’s the likable tech whiz always ready to come to the rescue, though Eli harbors some secrets. As the play progresses, Eli develops a very personal perspective on the vaccine issue, and Didato’s performance reflects that change beautifully.

Hacker is well cast as Suzanne, an earth mother type whose life revolves around her family and Eureka Day, not necessarily in that order. Hacker plays Suzanne with passion and shines during a powerful monologue late in the play.

Stuart Meltzer, artistic director of Zoetic Stage and here guest directing at GableStage, keeps the action moving briskly while still allowing the play’s more powerful moments room to breathe.

Frank J. Oliva’s scenic design captures the sunny and cheerful vibe of an elementary school classroom, and is perfectly juxtaposed with the play’s satirical edge. Steven Covey’s projection design, especially during the Zoom meeting, is a marvel. Laura Turnbull’s costume design perfectly defines each character.

Tony Galaska’s lighting and Sean McGinley’s sound work cohesively with the other design level elements to create the vibe of the play.

“Eureka Day” skewers a ripped-from-the-headlines debate in an effective and introspective way without making one side the villain. It is modern comedy at its best, tinged with drama and realism, and the GableStage production is superb.

WHAT:  “Eureka Day”

WHERE: GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Through Sunday, June 14.

COST:  $60 and $70

INFORMATION: 305-445-1119 or gablestage.org.

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don’t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.

 

Review: ‘Kevin and the River Flan’ Blends Magical Realism and Emotional Truth

Kevin (Nico Grimes) with best friend Gwen (Jessica Calle) in Brandon Urrutia’s “Kevin and the River Flan” getting its world premiere at Main Street Players. (Photos courtesy of Main Street Players)

Playwright Brandon Urrutia draws on personal experience for “Kevin and the River Flan,” a funny, poignant and often surreal almost 90-minute play receiving its world premiere at Main Street Players through Sunday, May 17.

According to Urrutia, the play began after they accidentally killed a monarch butterfly on the way to Miami’s Summer Shorts Festival. Overcome with guilt, they transformed that small but unsettling moment into a story exploring depression, cultural identity and what it means to feel caught between worlds.

The script blends magical realism with dark comedy in a story that follows a young Cuban American grappling with depression, cultural identity and disconnection.

After a defiant act involving an offering left for the Yoruba goddess Ochún, the titular character is thrust into a metaphysical journey where he is confronted by a mother in mourning, a goddess ticked off that her dessert has been absconded, and a best friend exasperated by Kevin’s constant threats of killing themselves. The impulsive act of devouring the dessert sends Kevin on a metaphysical journey that forces them to confront both the consequences of their actions and their own ambivalence about life.

Kevin, portrayed with emotional honesty by Nico Grimes, fully inhabits the title character, balancing Kevin’s repeated declarations of wanting to die with the frustration of feeling disconnected, which is compounded by them being alienated from a language and culture that should feel like home. Grimes never lets Kevin become a symbol of despair but using physicality and a wind-eyed wonderment finds humor and vulnerability in the character.

Kevin’s best friend, Gwen (Jessica Calle), has shown up with a $2 Taco Bell meal and just wants to make sure the burritos don’t go to waste. Weary of Kevin’s repeated declarations that they want to die, Gwen initially responds with exasperation before the play gradually reveals that Kevin is grappling with emotional struggles. Calle as Gwen is a believable bestie and balances just the right bit of visible irritation mixed with a genuine caring. She’s someone you’d want as your BFF.

Kevin’s troubles multiply after they eat a slice of flan left as an offering to the Yoruba goddess Ochún by a grieving mother, Ofelia Marin (superbly played by Rubi Del Rio-Herrera), mourning the loss of her son.

Among the production’s strongest moments are the scenes shared by Grimes and Del Rio-Herrera. Their emotional confrontation after Kevin consumes the flan she has left as an offering to her dead son carries genuine weight, particularly as Ochún insists Kevin seek forgiveness by asking Ofelia to prepare another.

One of the play’s most effective devices involves language. Kevin repeatedly insists they do not speak Spanish, reflecting Urrutia’s own experience growing up with a Cuban father and white mother while never fully mastering the language. Much of the Spanish dialogue is intentionally left untranslated.

In a note to producers, Urrutia writes: “I did not get subtitles, neither do you.”

Rather than translating those moments, Urrutia mirrors Kevin’s own experience of feeling disconnected from a language and culture that remain deeply personal but never fully accessible. It seeps from the stage and out into the audience – a purposeful choice to be part of the journey.

Another thoughtful choice came in the casting of Kevin, portrayed by a nonbinary actor.

The playwright, who identifies as nonbinary, said the decision was director Ina Ruiz’s rather than something specified in the script. While they intentionally leave future productions open to different casting choices, Urrutia said they appreciated how the production’s approach added another dimension to Kevin’s search for identity. This may be another layer, however, that the playwright might want to consider if other regional theaters choose to present the work.

When the audience enters, a figure resembling a meditative statue sits quietly cross-legged on a stool with a crutch and a bottle of pills nearby, signaling the play’s blend of spirituality and emotional struggle. It’s Giuseppe Fusca who lends an understated presence to Babalú-Ayé, deepening the play’s spiritual landscape and reinforcing its exploration of life, death and transformation.

Chaira Jacobus brings a forceful, wise and watchful presence to Ochún, sitting unnoticed in the audience before stepping into the action, subtly suggesting the goddess’s influence long before Kevin recognizes it.

Ruiz’s direction confidently navigates the play’s shifts, never overwhelming the emotional stakes between dark comedy and magical realism so that the personal core of the story remains intact.

Amanda Sparhawk’s scenic design uses Main Street’s small space to create a flexible environment that moves fluidly between the ordinary and the metaphysical. Danny Nieves’ lighting bathes the stage in surreal colors that heighten the emotional and spiritual landscape. Hunter Castlemann’s costumes establish each character’s identity, keeping the earthbound grounded in the everyday while the otherworldly beings are more ethereal. The exhibition is how he dresses Ofelia who seems to straddle both worlds.

While “Kevin and the River Flan” confronts suicide, depression and grief, its humor keeps it from becoming a meditation. The play ultimately explores cultural identity, forgiveness and the possibility that even life’s smallest moments can lead to unexpected transformation.

While “Kevin and the River Flan” confronts suicide, depression and grief, it also finds room for humor, tenderness and moments of absurdity. Ruiz and the cast strike the balance that Urrutia’s play deserves, giving equal weight to the exploration of cultural identity, belonging, self-discovery and forgiveness.

WHAT: “Kevin and the River Flan”

WHERE: Main Street Players, Main Street Playhouse, 6812 Main St., Miami Lakes

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sunday, May 17

COST:  $30,  $25 for students and seniors with ID

INFORMATION: 305-558-3737 or mainstreetplayers.com.

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