december 19
The Chocolate Nutcracker: A holiday classic gets a flavorful treatment as Buffalo Soldier Productions presents the East Coast premiere of LaVerne Reed's Chocolate Nutcracker at the Dade County Auditorium (2901 W. Flagler St.). This version of Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, featuring the music of Duke Ellington and starring Bianca Vaughn, Erica Reed, and Miami native and Star Search winner Tovaris Wilson in the title role, takes place in Harlem during the Fifties, where Claire (Vaughn) receives a magical chocolate nutcracker that comes to life and takes her on a dream journey through the African diaspora. The production, which has run successfully in Los Angeles for the past four years, has a cast of more than 150 singers, dancers, and musicians. Tickets cost $12, $18, and $27. Performances run tonight through Saturday night at 7:30, with matinees at 2:00 on Saturday and 4:00 on Sunday. Call 547-5414. (GC)
Shear Madness: The nonmusical play with the longest consecutive run in American theater history takes the stage at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) for a limited engagement. Written by Swiss playwright Paul Portner in 1965 as a serious murder mystery, the play was adapted by New York-based schoolteachers-turned-actors Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan as a comedic, audience-participation whodunit that takes place in a hair salon. Tickets cost $22.50 through Wednesday, $25 from December 26 through February 2. Performances run tonight and Friday at 7:30, Saturday at 4:30 and 7:30, Sunday at 2:00, and Wednesday at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. Call 954-522-5334. (GC)
Songwriters at the Road: A bumper crop of homegrown talent takes the stage at Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave.) as six of the best local singer-songwriters step out of their respective bands and perform solo sets. Acclaimed solo artist and former Natural Causes frontman Arlan returns to perform new music after relocating to his native Los Angeles and touring recently. Rounding out the bill are Alex Diaz of Ho Chi Minh, Rene Alvarez of Sixo, Brian Franklin of the Brian Franklin Band, Jeff Rolason of the Curious Hair, and the brilliant but under-appreciated Dennis Britt of West Indian fame. Admission is five dollars. Showtime is 10:00 p.m. Call 374-1198. (GC)
Dave Barry Celebrity Brewmaster Dinner: Author, columnist, and aspiring humorist Dave Barry gets smashed tonight at 7:00 at the South Pointe Seafood House & Brewing Company (1 Washington Ave., Miami Beach). But seriously, Barry plays host of a four-course gourmet dinner, each course accompanied by one of the Brewing Company's homemade specialty beers, including Barry's own Rudolph the Rednose Reinbeer Ale. Tickets cost $60, with proceeds benefiting the Tactual Speech Project at the University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development. Call 673-1708 to reserve a seat. (GC)
friday
december 20
Diane Ward: Playing a mean guitar and sporting a voice that can melt a glacier, local vocalist Diane Ward ended last year with a splash as she released her solo debut album Mirror, which received rave reviews from this and other publications. But lately Ward's been laying low, doing acoustic sets and popping up on the side stages of shows such as the recent Sheryl Crow concert on Miami Beach. Tonight at 11:00 Ward ends this year with a bang as she comes out of her electric moratorium to perform with a full band at Rose's Bar & Music Lounge (754 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), with openers Reckless Lester and the Tumbleweeds. Admission is five dollars. Call 532-0228. (GC)
Ira Sullivan's Christmas Jazz Special: The holidays get jazzy this weekend at MoJazz Cafe (928 71st St., Miami Beach). Jazz legend Ira Sullivan leads the MoJazz house band -- featuring piano man Dolph Castellanos, bassist Lew Barryman, drummer Billy Peeples, and vocalist-saxman Mo Morgen -- in four sets of holiday classics between 8:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. Admission is ten dollars for a table, six dollars at the bar (half-price before 8:00 and for the last set). Call 865-2636. (GC)
Punk Rock Showcase: The Edge (200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) explodes tonight with a showcase of local, national, and international punk and hardcore bands. Christian hardcore band Strongarm and Brazilian hardcore heavyweights Korzus lead the lineup, which includes post-pop punkers the Vacant Andys, the heavy and heavily melodic Ed Matus' Struggle, the mutant space-core of Grass Patch, hardcore emoters As Friends Rust, and the drivingly dissonant Porchfront Chat. Admission to this all-ages show is five dollars (three dollars during the first hour). Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Call 954-525-9333. (GC)
The Chocolate Nutcracker: See Thursday.
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
saturday
december 21
Clarence Spady: Young guitarslinger Clarence Spady was raised in the unlikely blues center of Scranton, Pennsylvania, but the soul and fire he brings to his debut album Nature of the Beast (on Evidence) were summoned from the Mississippi Delta and Chicago's West Side. His gruff, sandpaper vocals are a perfect match for his impressive but tasteful lead work, which will have you thinking of everyone from Lowell Fulson to Freddie King. And self-penned cuts such as "Picture of Love" and "Answer to the Man" establish him as one of the genre's finest new songwriters. You can catch this rising hotshot tonight at Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave.). Admission is five dollars and showtime is 10:00 p.m. Call 374-1198 for more information. (JF)
Lincoln Road Reopening/Nil Lara: The ribbon is cut on the $16 million Lincoln Road capital improvement project tonight at 5:00, unveiling the pedestrian mall's long-awaited new sidewalks and kicking off the Full Road of Fun street festival at the Euclid Oval (Lincoln Road and Euclid Avenue, Miami Beach). The fest features live entertainment by the Gold Coast Theatre Company, Afro-Caribbean and Native American dancers, the New World Symphony, mimes, and jugglers. The highlight of the evening is a homecoming concert at 7:30 by singer-songwriter extraordinaire Nil Lara, who returns to Miami after extensive touring with Me'Shell NdegOcello, Los Lobos, Johnny Clegg, and the H.O.R.D.E. Festival to perform songs from his self-titled Blue Note/Capitol Records debut, as part of the SunTrust Twilight Music Series. Academy Award-winning actor and celebrity restaurateur Michael Caine and shopowner and former rapper Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle will be on hand for the ribbon cutting. The milelong Lincoln Road boasts more than 150 eclectic shops, almost 50 restaurants and cafes, a host of fine-art galleries and studios, and a number of cultural institutions such as the New World Symphony, Miami City Ballet, and the Alliance Film/Video Co-op. Admission is free. Call 531-3442. (GC)
A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens's classic tale returns to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) for two performances today, at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. This original production combines the charm of an old-fashioned Christmas with the spectacle of state-of-the-art special effects (including a monstrous sixteen-foot-tall ghost) that promise to keep the kids enthralled. Tickets cost $10, $15, and $20. Call 954-462-0222. (GC)
Exilio: Gran Teatro Cubano and Creation Art Center (957 SW 27th Ave.) present Matias Montes Huidobro's complex drama, in Spanish, about idealism, greed, disillusionment, and personal responsibility. Exilio centers around a Cuban theatrical group working in the U.S. that assists the communist revolution in the late Fifties. When the troupe returns to Cuba, some members grow wary of Castro's regime and flee the island, while others find opportunities for personal and professional advancement. Twenty years later fate reunites the group for an explosive confrontation. Admission is $15. Performances for this open-ended run are Saturday at 9:00 and Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Call 649-2619 to reserve seats. (GC)
Florida Philharmonic: Conductor James Judd rings in the holidays with what has become an annual tradition as he leads the 175-voice Florida Philharmonic Chorus and the orchestra to perform the complete Handel's Messiah tonight at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts (174 E. Flagler St.) and tomorrow night at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets range in price from $17 to $65. Both performances begin at 8:00 p.m. Call 930-1812. (GC)
The Chocolate Nutcracker: See Thursday.
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
Ira Sullivan's Christmas Jazz Special: See Friday.
sunday
december 22
Honore Daumier/Real: The Bass Museum of Art (2121 Park Ave., Miami Beach) offers two exhibitions encompassing 100 years and diverse worlds. On view through January 19 are prints and sculptures by mid-nineteenth-century French artist and satirist Honore Daumier, from the Benjamin Trustman Collection. Daumier's caricatures are considered some of the best political and social satire of his time. On view through January 26 is "Real," a group exhibition of works by contemporary black artists including Kerry James Marshall, Emma Amos, Whitfield Lovell, Kara Walker, and Philemona Williamson. The works selected are influenced by the social realism of an earlier generation of black artists and convey an interest in traditional and contemporary life. Admission is five dollars. Museum hours are 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday (open 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month). Call 673-7530. (GC)
The Chocolate Nutcracker: See Thursday.
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
Exilio: See Saturday.
Florida Philharmonic: See Saturday.
monday
december 23
Nutcracker on Ice: Yep, this Nutcracker thing has really gotten out of control. Tonight at 8:00 at the Miami Arena (721 NW First Ave.), the holiday classic hits the ice with champion skaters Rudy Galindo and Debi Thomas starring as Drosselmeyer and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Skaters Jenni Meno (Clara), Todd Sand (the Nutcracker Prince), Caryn Kadavy (the Snow Queen), Aren Nielsen (the Mouse King), and the Russian Ice Ballet complete the cast. Tickets cost $17.50, $27.50, and $37.50. Call 530-4444. (GC)
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
tuesday
december 24
Matzo Ball: Hanukkah has been over for almost two weeks, and you just can't get into that Christmas spirit because, hey, you're not a Christian. You can still party down at the tenth annual Matzo Ball, kicking off tonight at 8:00 p.m at two locations -- Amnesia (136 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 531-5535) and Club Boca (7000 W. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Raton; 561-368-3333). The party, hosted by the Society of Young Jewish Professionals, is technically a singles mingle, but even if you've got a date you can still enjoy hot dance tunes, tasty hors d'oeuvres, and door prizes galore. Tickets cost $20. Call 888-633-5326. (GC)
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
Honore Daumier/Real: See Sunday.
wednesday
december 25
Santa's Enchanted Forest: The lights are twinkling and the trees are aglow once again at Tropical Park (Bird Road and Palmetto Expressway) as the great-granddaddy of Christmas theme parks beckons. This year's edition features a display of over one million lights and animated characters (including a giant -- or is that redundant? -- sumo wrestler, nodding puppies, and, inexplicably, a jolly Buddha), a forest of Christmas trees, carnival rides, magic shows, circus entertainment, and international foods. Admission is $11 for adults, $6 for kids under ten (free for kids two and under). Park hours are 5:00 to midnight daily through January 12. Call 559-9689. (GC)
Shear Madness: See Thursday.
Honore Daumier/Real: See Sunday.
