Inanna in Town

Inanna is considered the most powerful goddess in ancient Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq), her legend going back 6000 years. She was associated with Venus, fertility, and sexual rituals. Conflating the ancient with the contemporary, Stephanie Ansin and Fernando Calzadilla of Miami Theater Center (9806 NE 2nd Ave.) have come up with Inanna and the Huluppu Tree, a fabulously costumed and choreographed play about the goddess trying to save a city constantly under attack from nature and losing the leadership of its old deities. How very Miami. Starting Wednesday, May 1, and running through the month. Tickets cost $20. For show times, go to www.mtcmiami.org.

A Grand Slam of a Ballet

To close out the season, Miami City Ballet will stage Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, adapted from a Rodgers and Hart Broadway play about gangsters, strippers, a murder plot, and the unexpected joie de vivre of the criminal underworld. It also includes tap dancing and spoken-word parts, which is why the Balanchine-choreographed work is so out of the ordinary. Oh, and also because former baseball star Mike Piazza takes on a cameo role (but only on opening night). Miami City Ballet’s Program IV, which also includes a Jerome Robbins piano ballet, runs from Friday May 3, through Sunday, May 5, with shows at 8:00 p.m. (and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday) at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $20-$175. Visit www.arshtcenter.org.

What’s Not To Love?

It’s time for the tenth annual Love-In Party in the Park at Greynolds Park (17530 W. Dixie Hwy.) on Sunday, May 5, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Don’t be too cool for school here -- it’s supposed to be multigenerational, cheesy fun. The 1970s group Grand Funk Railroad (of “We’re an American Band” fame) is the featured act, there will be a videotaping of a Harlem Shake, and “costumes” from the last four decades are encouraged. Plus tons of activities. Tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Kids 12 and under are free. Go to www.miamipartyinthepark.com.

The Private Dancer

Rudi Goblen, dancer and actor, has been involved with many of Miami’s homegrown dance and hip-hop-based performances over the past decade, working with the likes of Teo Castellanos and Rosie Herrera, as well as creating his own pieces. Now he’s back with the conclusion of his theatrical trilogy for Miami Light Project (404 NW 26th St.). Titled PET, it’s a celebration of, and mourning for, love. Goblen’s interactive physical theater, drawn from real-life experiences in support groups, takes the stage Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets cost $25. Go to www.miamilightproject.com.

Beautiful Puppets

We all know Sleeping Beauty: A beautiful young princess has been cursed to stay in a deep sleep until a handsome prince kisses her. But Mexican puppetry troupe Marionetas de la Esquina, one of the best in the world, has modernized the story a bit. In Sleeping Beauty Dreams, our heroine breaks out of her confines on her own, in search of love and her inner self. The storytelling is humorous and the marionettes always clever in this work for adults and young ones. Two shows are in English, two in Spanish. On Saturday, May 11, at 11:00 a.m. (English), 2:00 p.m. (Spanish), and 5:00 p.m. (English), and on Sunday, May 12, at 2:00 p.m. (Spanish). At the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are $26. Go to www.arshtcenter.org.

Take Mom to the River

Brunch is so over for Mother’s Day. Cruising up and down the Miami River on the morning before that day, Saturday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., seems much more relaxed. That’s what HistoryMiami is offering up with Mom’s Miami River Boat, a float through our waterway heritage, under old bridges, past riverside neighborhoods (many hidden from the average commuter) and little parks, and alongside unique river traffic, which includes tugboats and creaky old freighters. And maybe a manatee. The tour costs $44 for members, $54 for nonmembers. Go to www.historymiami.org.

We Are What We Eat

A delicious-sounding exhibit, “Modern Meals: Remaking American Foods From Farm to Kitchen”, opens at the Wolfsonian-FIU (1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach) on Friday, May 17, and runs through August 18. For those who’ve never been to the Wolfsonian-FIU (shame on you), this unique museum highlights trends, objects, and designs that transformed the U.S. in the 20th Century. This exhibit will follow the evolution of mass-produced food, which changed both the U.S. and the world, impacting not just what we eat, but where and how. Admission is $7; free on Friday evenings. More at www.wolfsonian.org.

Match Point

Tennis has always produced stars, icons, and prima donnas, both male and female. Rarely, though, has it produced as much collective love, and resentment, as that directed at the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. Black female superstars in a white sport, tough, dominant, and winning, their story seems just made for the big screen, and now it has been. Venus and Serena plays on O Cinema’s new screen in Miami Shores (9806 NE 2nd Ave.) from Thursday, May 16, through Sunday, May 19, at various times. Admission is $10.50 for nonmembers; $7.50 for members. Details at www.o-cinema.org.

The Zoo You Never Knew

Back in 1948, the story goes, a traveling circus unexpectedly closed down in Miami, leaving behind some large animals, including lions. The big cats and monkeys needed a home, and so the Crandon Park Zoo (6747 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne) was born. But as the zoo grew, it needed more room, eventually morphing into what is now ZooMiami. Not everything made the move, however. Today there are still remnants of the original zoo, cages and bits of buildings, as well as peacocks, ducks, geese, ibises, and more than a few big lizards. Check it all out in HistoryMiami’s Old Crandon Park Zoo Eco-Walk on Saturday, May 18, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. $20 for members; $30 for nonmembers. Tickets at www.historymiami.org.

Networking Opportunity

The Performing Arts Network (PAN), founded back in 1994 as an organization of multicultural, multidisciplinary performance groups, has always been hard to categorize. And that was before its North Miami building burned down a couple of years back. But we’re happy to announce the nonprofit has returned, with an official reopening on Sunday, May 19, at PAN, 13146 W. Dixie Hwy., from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The open house will include performances and refreshments. Admission is free, but call 305-899-7730 for reservations. Go to www.panmiami.org.

Compiled by BT arts editor Anne Tschida. Please send information and images to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .