Live for the Holidays in South Florida

There’s reason to expect the Grinch will steal live holiday entertainment this holiday season – no sugar plum fairies dancing in our heads, no raucous festive musicals. But several local performing arts institutions are determined to spread good cheer. 

Some holiday productions have figured out a way to go live this year, but you’ll have to go outside of the Biscayne Corridor to find them. And while Santa might be holed up in the North Pole, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is trotting out Robot Santa to hear what’s on kids’ wish lists.

At Actors’ Playhouse, the venerable Miracle Mile theater may not be doing its traditional live on stage “A Christmas Carol” (“Carol” is being offered as a virtual experience), but it is staging “Madeline’s Christmas” live, with a cast of 15 eager to entertain families every Saturday from Dec. 5 – 19.

Yes, dreams still do come true. Miami City Ballet’s annual holiday must-see, “The Nutcracker,” will still go on, albeit with a slightly different approach. While indoor theaters where MCB usually performs are still closed, the great outdoors is wide open. “George Balanchine’s ‘The Nutcracker’” will execute 14 outdoor performances in downtown Doral Park beginning Dec. 18.

The Arsht will treat families to some holiday cheer at its “’Tis the Season at the Arsht” event on Dec. 5. Inside the theater’s lobby, families can get a holiday picture taken in a touchless photo booth for two weekends in December. One of those days is set aside for families with furry, four-legged members, for dog-friendly photo sessions.

How the two live stage productions came to be is similar, as both came out of COVID-19 test runs this past summer.

“We had an in-person summer theater camp and all the safety protocols were in place. We did really well,” said Earl Maulding, director of theater for young audiences at Actors’. “So with the holiday coming, we decided it was time to get going – with very careful attention to detail and safety – and do a production for those who want to get out of the house and enjoy live theater.”

Miami City Ballet was also ready to stage a production after its successful summer at the ballet school, according to Lourdes Lopez, MCB’s artistic director. 

“We had 100 dance students here for five weeks and not a single COVID-19 case,” she said.

The company started a COVID-19 task force of six people within its staff soon after the coronavirus started shutting things down. From there, it hired an industrial hygienist who did a complete assessment of its Miami Beach headquarters.

“Think of it as a doctor for a building,” said Lopez. “It gave us a clear path and the knowledge and confidence to move forward.”

She said what they learned about COVID-19 safety from the “building doctor” and from putting into practice with students gave them the understanding of how to safely put on a performance.

“We started planning the outdoor ‘Nutcracker’ in July,” said Lopez, who added that the City of Doral then came on board, as did Baptist Hospital. “It really is a case of having the business sector, the medical sector and the arts all come together.”

The city will take care of parking and setting up socially distanced pods for the outdoor audience, as well as all kinds of “front of house” tasks such as security. A stage will be built on the grounds. For the production itself, the number of dancers has been pared down, with only 18 children and 38 company dancers. To avoid ensemble crowds of dancers on stage at one time, smaller groups will be staged. Video sequences will play on a giant LED screen along with a set that is virtually projected, which will change for different scenes. Baptist Hospital has pitched in to offer to test performers daily for COVID-19, and nurses from Nicklaus Children’s Hospital will be on hand for daily temperature checks. 

“It has truly taken a village to put this on,” Lopez said, and it’s been a growth experience for the artistic director, too. “I’ve learned to think about things differently. We can do a ‘Nutcracker’ outdoors using animation, projections, video and have live dancers, too. Nine months ago if someone came to me with an idea like this, I would have said, ‘No way, we can’t do a ballet that way.’”

For Actors’ Playhouse, “Madeline’s Christmas” was a good way to dip a toe in the water of live theater. Maulding said he’s directing the show in a way that maintains safety protocols, both on stage and for the audience.

For the 12 children and three adult performers in the production, he said “Everyone is always 6 feet apart on stage and we’re very careful to not have people traveling close to one another.”

To solve the dilemma of backstage change of costumes, multilayers allow for technically only one costume per person. For the ensemble of girls, the young performers will wear a nightgown, school uniform, and a coat, hat and muff. As the scenes progress, layers are peeled away to reveal another costume. 

Maulding said he realized that there was a timely message in the show. In one important scene, the girls forget to wear their scarves when they go out into the cold.

“They all get ill because they weren’t careful,” he said. “The only girl who does remember her scarf is Madeline, so she takes care of the others when they get sick.” 

Maulding said there was a moment where he considered changing the scarves to masks, but added that he believes the “stay safe” concept comes through without having to make it obvious.

Precautions and protocol have been put in place for the audience inside the Actors’ Playhouse theater. For one, the production is in the sprawling 600-seat mainstage, but it will only be sold at 30% capacity.

“We’ve instituted parameters,” said Maulding. Every other row will be empty and seats will be blocked off in between theatergoers who are not in the same family group. Everyone in the audience must wear a mask. The front row is closed off so that the performers are not in close contact with the audience. Aisles are marked one way and, at the end of the performances, Maulding will come onstage to instruct the audience when they can exit their row so that people aren’t all leaving at one time. 

Before committing to doing a holiday show, Actors’ Playhouse ascertained interest in presenting live theater during a pandemic.

“We did a survey of our regular attendees to see if this was something they’d be interested in with proper safety protocols in place,” Maulding said. “And they said they were. We’ve had a good response to ticket sales.”

While performing a once a week, hourlong show won’t fill the financial void that the usual sold-out “A Christmas Carol” would, Maulding said a return to live theater was critical. 

“It is a big income hit for us, but we felt like we needed to get started and test the waters,” he said. “And we’re following every safety protocol. We just want to meet costs and be able to present live theater. It’s so important that we keep things flowing.” 

IF YOU GO

“Madeline’s Christmas” Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Mile Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables; Saturday, Dec. 5 – Sunday, Dec. 20; individual tickets, $25; actorsplayhouse.org, 305.444.9293.

“George Balanchine’s ‘The Nutcracker’ in the Park” Downtown Doral Park, 8395 NW 53rd St., Doral; Friday, Dec. 18 – Thursday, Dec. 31; tickets sold in pods and include free parking; $120 to $285, maximum of four people; free performances for first responders and essential workers; specific dates and times: tickets.miamicityballet.org/events or 305.929.7010.

“’Tis the Season at the Arsht” 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; Saturday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.; socially distanced holiday festivities: meet Robot Santa and sip on hot chocolate while listening to holiday tunes on Thomson Plaza; RSVP at arshtcenter.org. “’Tis the Season for Family Photos,” Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13 (pet family day) from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.