24 MARCH 28 - APRIL 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | It’s Showtime! Arsht Center announces 2024-25 Broadway season. BY CAROLINA DEL BUSTO I t’s a new season of glitz, glamor, and all that jazz at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Earlier this month, the center announced its 2024- 25 season in partnership with Broad- way Across America, with subscription packages now available. Although two musicals may sound famil- iar as they return once again to South Florida (Mamma Mia! and Chicago), Dale Edwards, Arsht’s vice president of marketing, tells New Times the show selection process is unique every year. “We work directly with Broadway Across America on what shows are being routed in the area,” Edwards explains. “We also do a customer survey each year to find out what people are interested in seeing. Mi- ami is such a unique market that we have a great time programming for it because we want to hit all the areas and get as many peo- ple in to see Broadway as possible.” He adds that the community is so diverse that no matter the show, the team is confident there’s an audience it’ll resonate with. “We al- ways try to find those shows that would be new for our audience, or they perhaps didn’t have a chance to see on Broadway,” Edwards says. The season features two Broadway clas- sics, two musical adaptations of popular films, and two musicals based on the lives of famous musicians. The 2024-25 season fea- tures Some Like It Hot (December 3-8), Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (January 14-19, 2025), Mamma Mia! (February 18-23, 2025), MJ The Musical (March 18-23, 2025), Beetle- juice (April 29-May 4, 2025), and wrapping up the season is the tried and true classic Chi- cago (June 17-22, 2025). Speaking to New Times over the phone, Edwards boasts about the lineup. He truly be- lieves Miami audiences will be pleased with the six shows selected. Of the six, Edwards has a pair he’s most excited about. Some Like It Hot and MJ The Musical are two perfor- mances that will be making their South Flor- ida debut at the Arsht next season — and they’re the two at the top of Edwards’ list. “One thing that I’m really excited about for next year is that we have two South Florida premieres, Some Like It Hot, which won four Tony Awards, and the other one is MJ The Musical. It’s the musical about Michael Jackson that really took Broadway by storm. I was able to see both of these shows in New York, and they really are just crowd pleasers,” he adds. A subscription package for all six shows starts at $230 — “that’s less than $40 per show,” Ed- wards adds. For musi- cal theater fans in Miami, this is a small price to pay to enjoy the sounds of Broad- way in their backyard. In addition to the performances them- selves, the Arsht Center is working to en- hance guests’ overall experience. “We really try to give the audience mem- bers who are coming to the Arsht Center a big experience,” Edwards says. “We have a new program called Broadway on Biscayne, which takes place on opening night, and we bring in different activations on the plaza.” This past season, guests were treated to a costume contest during the Cher Show, a gi- ant limo photo opportunity for Pretty Woman, and coming up for the performances of Hamilton, guests will witness a live debate. The performing arts venue aims to offer some pre-show entertainment through the series. “You can come to the Arsht Center hours beforehand and just enjoy your time here be- fore you see the show,” Edward says. [email protected] ▼ Culture Justin Collette and Tour Company of Beetlejuice. Photo by Matthew Murphy “WE ALWAYS TRY TO FIND THOSE SHOWS THAT WOULD BE NEW FOR OUR AUDIENCE.” Miami prides itself on being flashy so it’s no surprise that the menus at the city’s high-end Japanese restaurants often include glitzy accents - think caviar, gold leaf, and torched bone marrow. Álvaro Perez Miranda is bucking that trend, though, focusing not only on serving authentic cuisine at his four restaurants but also on representing Japa- nese culture as a whole. Clearly, he has succeeded. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries named him a Goodwill Ambassador for Japanese Cuisine. A mere 187 people hold this honor worldwide, only 21 of those are in North America, and Perez Miranda is the first Latino in the US. Perez Miranda took a unique path to get here. Born into a modest family in Venezuela, he left home to study art - first in Italy, then Los Angeles. He began working in the restaurant industry to pay the bills and as he rose through the ranks he landed an op- portunity to open Italian restaurants in Tokyo. Over the course of nearly a decade, he would go on to build a 33-restaurant empire in the Land of the Rising Sun. Eventually yearning to reconnect with his Latin American roots, Perez Miranda made his way to Miami, where he first opened a restaurant in the emblematic Vagabond Hotel. Upon the suggestion of his teenage son, he decided to pivot to Japanese cuisine with his next venue, Wabi Sabi, which opened in 2018. Now his Miami portfolio includes the fast-casual Midorie, the high-end Hiyakawa, and the new omakase restaurant Ogawa, which debuted in late 2023. No matter which of these restau- rants they’re visiting, diners are immersed in three Japanese principles: ometenashi (selfless hospitality and anticipation of guest needs), komakai (attention to detail), and sensai (delicate balance of flavors). Perez Miranda is very much aware of the weight his ambassadorship carries. “It is a great honor to have my restaurants recognized by the Japanese government,” he says. “The goal has always been to edu- cate not just the U.S. but South America, as well, on the nuances of Japanese cuisine and culture - to transport the diner, as if they were in Japan, keeping it as authentic as possible.” ADVERTORIAL TRADITION OVER TREND How Álvaro Perez Miranda Became the First Latino Goodwill Ambassador for Japanese Cuisine Álvaro Perez Miranda
