International Hispanic Theatre Festival Opens at Arsht on Thursday

In a city that is as diverse in lifestyle and taste as Miami, the International Hispanic Theatre Festival (IHTF) — presented by Teatro Avante Thursday through July 24 — has been singular in churning out quality stage productions from the Spanish-speaking world every year for a quarter century. Some of…

Forrest Shaw Brings Comedy Night to Elwoods Gastropub

Early on in Forrest Shaw’s comedy career, a guest spot at the Improv put him in front of an enthusiastically unappreciative crowd. He told us, “When you first start out, all your jokes are about masturbating.” While telling a joke on the sensitive subject, hand moving back and forth in…

Ride the Moustache! DIY Comedy Is on the Rise in Miami

Comedian Daniel Reskin is celebrating his 26th birthday with a ukulele-wielding lesbian singing a little ditty about joining the Christian right to piss off her ex-girlfriend. This display does not disrupt his celebration. In fact, it’s very much a part of it. Reskin is in the midst of hosting the…

Spoken Word: Lady Boheme Artists Series in Design District (Video)

The WNBA’s Miami team, the Miami Sol, may no longer be around, but that isn’t because Miami women don’t know how to slam. Deborah Magdalena, the local founder of SWAN (Supporting Women Artists Now) realized that 305 women needed a court of sorts to display their poetry slam prowess. “There…

Jay Pharoah Talks SNL, Face Tattoos, and Jada Pinkett Smith

What happens when you put Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Jay-Z in a blender? No, not a flesh-and-guts gazpacho that only Hannibal Lecter could love. You get comedian, master mimicker, and Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Pharoah. Nailing his first impression at age six when an audible copy of…

Fool For Love Is a Dark Tale of Incestuous Romance

The setting for Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love is fitting: an isolated, shabby motel in the Mojave desert. It’s the perfect bubble for a tortured, taboo, and sickly compelling love affair. Unspeakable things, wrong things, happen between people who are under the influence and locked in cheap motel rooms. Here, the…

M Ensemble Makes Its Home in Wynwood with Classic Play

Last night, the M Ensemble Company opened the Tony Award-nominated story of Home at the Light Box in Goldman Warehouse in Wynwood’s. They chose the play to end their 2010-2011 season, which also happens to be the celebration of their 40th anniversary. Written by Samm-Art Williams, Home tells the story…

Win Two Free Tickets to See Comedian Joel McHale

Because he hasn’t yet had an icky cameo on Glee, you might not realize that actor and comedian Joel McHale’s star is cresting. He plays heartthrob Jeff Winger, a lawyer forced to go back to junior college, on NBC’s Community. And he hosts E!’s The Soup, a clip show that…

Jai Rodriguez Dishes on Dirty Little Secrets and Summer Shorts

In addition to last year’s annual Summer Shorts festival, City Theatre premiered Camp Kappawanna, the family rock musical penned by Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb (the show is back for a return engagement this year). This year’s festivities, however, is not so kid-friendly. The 16th anniversary of Summer Shorts calls for…

Hair Invites the Audience to Join the Tribe at the Arsht Center

The national tour of Hair arrived full-force in Miami last night at the Ziff Opera House. People familiar with the show will recognize classic songs like “Aquarius,” “Hair” and “Let the Sun Shine In” that had many fans dancing in their seats. This 1967 musical, deemed the first “tribal love-rock…

Streetcar Fulfills Desire at the New Theatre

Last week, we gave a preview of the New Theatre’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, charging that “a theater troupe really has to have guts to take on” Tennessee Williams’ most celebrated work. Well, in the premier of the show last night, the performers and director Ricky J. Martinez…