The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center are producing and presenting an original production that celebrates South Florida's home grown talent. The show launches the Center's Bring It Home Miami, a new initiative to reconnect established artists with the community that inspired their careers. Funding for Bring It Home Miami is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Knight Arts Challenge.
The kick-off event for Bring It Home Miami is an evening show at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, October 19 at 8pm called District Stage Company's Viva Broadway, With Special Guest
Jon Secada. The production features not only the famed Miami native Secada, but a host of talented performing artists with a connection to South Florida. Through the newly established District Stage Company, some of the preeminent talent in theater and Broadway, who have starred in productions like Rent, In the Heights, Leap of Faith, Wonderland, Les Misand Man of La Mancha, perform a new musical theater review created to celebrate our community's success in launching outstanding performers' careers. Each artist will showcase a piece that relates to the over arching theme of "home." The professional cast will be accompanied by a group of local Miami-Dade County high school theater students who auditioned to participate in the project as well as by some of Miami's finest working professional musicians.
The director of the production is
Heidi Miami Marshall, known for her extensive work as a casting and film director. Marshall's Broadway credits include: The Addams Family (Associate Director),
Baz Luhrmann's La Boheme (Resident Director), The Color Purple (directed Chaka Kahn and American Idol's Fantasia in starring roles), and casting director for 40+ productions including Broadway and national tours of the musical Rent. Serving as musical director is
Alex Lacamoire, who won a Tony and a Grammy as the music supervisor, co-orchestrator and cast album producer of In The Heights. The show is conceived by
Andy Señor Jr., Artistic Director and Founder of the District Stage Company, whose credits as a performer include the role of "Angel" in Rent, having played the part on the stages of Broadway, London, Asia, Los Angeles and US national tours. (Please see attached bios for more details).
The cast includes:
Janet Dacal,
Henry Gainza (Co-Founder of District Stage Company),
Nina Lafarga, Jose Luis Lopez,
Karen Olivo,
Eliseo Roman,
Jon Secada and
Andy Señor. (Please see attached bios for details).
Tickets are $35-$55 and can be purchased by visiting
www.smdcac.org or calling the Box Office at 786-573-5300. The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.
The Bring It Home Miami initiative continues throughout the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center's season. Look for the Bring It Home Miami logo by names of artists to indicate their "home" connection to South Florida.
The Knight Arts Challenge is a community-wide contest funding the best ideas that bring South Florida together through the arts. More at KnightArts.org
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center serves as a showcase for the performing and media arts, welcoming people from all backgrounds and economic means. The facility includes 961 seat state-of-the- art theater, which features a fly tower, orchestra pit, front of house spaces (box office, lobby, concessions, etc.) and back of house support spaces (dressing rooms, storage and work areas, administrative offices, etc.). The site also includes an activities building which houses lab / experimental theaters, and may be used for classrooms, rehearsals, and small-scale performances. A beautiful outdoor plaza allows for festivals, art shows, and other outdoor activities. The concert lawn "back yard" slopes to the Black Creek Canal, and can host outdoor concerts, performances and events.
The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, designed by an internationally-acclaimed design team that included Arquitectonica International, Inc. (architects), Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. (theater design), Artec Consultants, Inc. (acoustics), and AMS Planning & Research Corp. (theater management), provides, for the first time, a state-of-the-art cultural venue and community gathering place in the southern part of Miami-Dade County. The Center features prominent works of art created by Miami artist
Robert Chambers who was commissioned by Miami-Dade County's Art in Public Places program to design a kinetic light wall and sculptures for the theater. The Center is an integral part of the economic and cultural development of the area, offering quality artistic programming and community accessibility.
The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center is managed by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, with funding support from the Office of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Center is dedicated to presenting and supporting arts and culture and providing access to the arts to the entire Miami-Dade County community.
The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council develop cultural excellence, diversity and participation throughout Miami-Dade County by strategically creating and promoting opportunities for artists and cultural organizations, and our residents and visitors who are their audiences. The Department directs the Art in Public Places program and serves its board, the Art in Public Places Trust, commissioning, crating, maintaining and promoting the County's art collection. The Department also manages, programs and operates the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, a campus of state-of-the-art cultural facilities in Cutler Bay, as well as Miami-Dade County Auditorium, Joseph Caleb Auditorium and the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, all dedicated to presenting and supporting excellence in the arts for the entire community. Through staff, board and programmatic resources, the Department, the Council and the Trust promote, coordinate and support Miami-Dade County's more than 1,000 not-for-profit cultural organizations as well as thousands of resident artists through grants, technical assistance, public information and interactive community planning. The Department receives funding through the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, The Children's Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida through the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Other support and services are provided by TicketWeb for the Culture Shock Miami program, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the South Florida Cultural Consortium and the Tourist Development Council.
