While some theaters shut down for the summer, there are still some companies offering summer shows.
Whether your taste runs to a traditional comedy, a vibrant cultural experience, or a fresh take on Shakespeare, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Miami-Dade and Broward theaters.
“VIVA LA PARRANDA”
MIAMI NEW DRAMA
(Courtesy Miami New Drama)
Betsayda Machado in the 2019 production of “Viva La Parranda” at Miami New Drama
Miami New Drama in Miami Beach has produced many shows since its first in 2016. But “Viva La Parranda!” holds special meaning for executive director Michel Hausmann.
“This play is truly unlike anything people have seen before, and I know that’s a phrase often used, but in this case, it’s absolutely true,” Hausmann said. “There’s something deeply unique about “Viva La Parranda” because it’s not a play performed by actors; it’s stories told by real people – a firefighter, a nurse, a schoolteacher, a cocoa farmer. Their stories are authentic, their emotions raw and real. This is, without question, one of my all-time favorite productions we’ve ever staged at Miami New Drama.”
“Viva La Parranda” is a documentary musical performed by the real-life members of La Parranda el Clavo, an amateur yet virtuosic band from a small coastal town in the Venezuelan jungle. The performers tell their stories through music, dance, and food – they cook on stage and the audience gets to partake at each performance.
(Courtesy Miami New Drama)
Nereida Machado, Oscar Ruiz, and Betsayda Machado
“You’ll step into their world, be welcomed with open arms, and I promise, you’ll leave transformed,” Hausmann said. “It’s going to be a night of dancing, laughing, and maybe shedding a few tears along the way.”
Miami New Drama first produced “Viva La Parranda” in 2019, and while much of the show is the same, there is some added material, as the story has evolved over the past six years.
Miami New Drama almost exclusively produces world premieres, but has had success with their reprises, such as “Papa Cuatro,” which had sold-out runs for two consecutive summers. Hausmann said that given the large contingent of immigrants and the Hispanic and Venezuelan audience they’ve attracted, coupled with their audience’s desire for the kind of entertainment offered by shows like “Viva La Parranda,” the timing was right to bring it back. Now, though, there is also a political climate very different from 2019.
(Courtesy Miami New Drama)
Cast members of “Viva La Parranda” at Miami New Drama
“Venezuelans are going through one of the most difficult moments in their history,” said Hausmann, who is Venezuelan. “A brutal dictatorship has forced more than 30% of the population to flee. There are now over 8 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees around the world, more than Syrians or any other refugee population. Life in the diaspora hasn’t been easy, and although many Venezuelans were granted temporary protected status in the U.S. in recent years, that protection has faded. Venezuelans here are feeling increasingly vulnerable. This show is, in many ways, a love letter to the Venezuelan spirit, a people who are resilient, eternally optimistic, and who simply don’t give up.”
IF YOU GO
“Viva La Parranda!”
July 10-27
1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach
“STEP BY STEP”
(Photo by Brooke Noble)
Elizabeth Price, Anna Lise Jensen, and Kareema Khouri on their first day of rehearsal for “Step by Step” at Actors’ Playhouse
ACTORS’ PLAYHOUSE
The bond between women, in all its beauty and messiness, is at the heart of “Step by Step,” the summer show at Actor’s Playhouse in Coral Gables.
“I’m excited to share the good, solid laughs and the sense of camaraderie the play brings,” said David Arico, artistic director at Actors’ Playhouse. “More than anything, it reminds us that we have to embrace our journey and our friends, no matter where life may take us.”
“Step by Step” focuses on three women who climb a mountain to honor their deceased friend. Hilarity and poignancy ensue.
“Although the play speaks to all of us, it particularly centers on women bonding, clashing, and ultimately showing strength as they climb life’s metaphorical mountain,” said Arisco. “It’s a fun, comedic diversion that still makes you think deeply about friendship, aging and the beauty and chaos of life. It’s a great summer fit for our community.”
“Step by Step was written by Peter Quilter, who also wrote “End of the Rainbow” a play about Judy Garland, which Actors’ Playhouse produced in 2014. That play was also the basis for the film, “Judy,” for which Renee Zellweger earned an Oscar. Annelise Jensen, Kareema Khouri, and Elizabeth Price comprise the cast of “Step by Step.”
The Actors’ Playhouse Production of “Step by Step” is a coup for the company, as it will be the first American production.
“I was drawn to the unique opportunity to Americanize the piece and present the United States premiere,” Arisco said. “For a summer production, it felt like the right moment to bring back a comedy. It's heartfelt, funny and relatable.”
Arisco hopes audiences who see “Step by Step” take a few life lessons with them when they leave the theater.
“Life is something we have to move through step by step,” said Arisco. “That’s all we can do when we don’t know where the next step will take us. Fortunately, this journey is full of good laughs, too. No matter how tough life gets or how many times we get knocked down, we have to pick ourselves back up and remember to laugh a little every day.”
IF YOU GO
“Step by Step”
July 16 – Aug. 10
(Photo by Gregory Reed)
Darius Daughtry, writer and director of “The Bard in Bars” at Broward Center
Actors’ Playhouse
250 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
“THE BARD IN BARS”
ART PREVAILS PROJECT
The title “The Bard in Bars” might lead someone to think that it’s a performance of Shakespeare in local watering holes. But Darius Daughtry, writer and director of the show, explained the meaning behind the title.
“I’m a product of both Shakespeare and hip-hop,” Daughtry said. “If you say somebody has bars, that means that they can rap really well. The show is a mixture of eight Shakespearean plays told through hip-hop and played by a 12-piece ensemble. Music was arranged for each of these songs, so the bars refer not only to the hip-hop, but also bars of the music that the violinists and violas and the cellists play as well. But the title actually refers to setting Shakespeare to music, specifically the rhyme and rhythm of hip-hop”
Daughtry taught school for 10 years and, as a high school English teacher, sought ways to connect with his students. He found that one of the toughest parts of his job was getting his students to want to read Shakespeare.
(Courtesy Broward Center for the Performing Arts)
Cast member from “The Bard in Bars”
“I always tried to draw connections between what's happening in these plays with what was happening in society,” Daughtry said. ”If Romeo and Juliet were doing a rap, what would it look like? If Romeo and Tybalt were battling, what would they say from a political perspective? I dabbled with that when I was teaching, so this is the ultimate fruition of that initial thought about how these two genres, these ideas, meld.”
Daughtry began working on the concept and creating the rhymes for “The Bard in Bars” in 2020. He found a local arranger, Waldron Dunkly, who did the music for the songs Daughtry wrote to convey the stories of “Macbeth,” “Othello,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Hamlet,” “Twelfth Night,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Titus Andronicus.” Daughtry presented an abridged version of “The Bard in Bars” in Broward County schools as well as outdoors – his own Shakespeare in the park. All of the musicians and rap artists in “The Bard in Bars” are from the tri-county area, something important to Daughtry.
“It’s about elevating the local artists and giving local artists the opportunity to showcase their talents,” Daughtry said. “I’m super keen on that.”
One of the best things about “The Bard in Bars” for Daughtry is bringing Shakespeare’s works to people in a new, more relatable way.
“In my opinion, there are similarities in these stories,” Daughtry said. “Everything starts with stories. Stories are universal. Stories are timeless, with the same conflicts, emotions, and human experiences that are happening in any of these Shakespearean plays can be found in some of the iconic hip-hop songs in the last 50 years.”
(Courtesy Broward Center for the Performing Arts)
Cast members from “The Bard in Bars”
IF YOU GO
“The Bard in Bars”
July 25-26
Broward Center
201 SW 5 Ave., Fort Lauderdale