plays where you’re going to enter the the- ater expecting something and have a com- pletely different experience.” He pauses, searching for the words in his mind. “It’s going to pull back the curtain be- hind [to reveal] what you didn’t see through the media.” The season’s second production is not a typ- ical Miami New Drama commissioned piece. Instead, the company will put on a special an- niversary production of the Pulitzer Prize- winning show Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz. “I realized that this year was going to be the 20th anniversary of Anna in the Tropics,” says Hausmann, “and I thought how it has not been professionally re- mounted since the first time it was done… this is a made-in-Miami success Miami New Drama artistic director Michel Hausmann story and we wanted to give it a proper 20th anniversary production.” Cruz himself will be directing the Miami New Drama production of his award-win- ning play about a cigar factory in Miami and the lives of its workers. Earlier this month, the Miami Herald re- Photo courtesy of Miami New Drama GREEN THUMB he theater is a magical space, and no one knows that better than Miami New Drama’s artistic director, Michel Hausmann. He opens the doors to the Col- ony Theater’s main stage and flips the switch to turn on the lights. All 417 seats are empty, and the area is set for the closing night per- formance of Papá Cuatro. In the center of the stage is a single lightbulb attached to the top of a tall, black stand. The ghost light is an old theater tradition that some say is meant to protect the stage against — you guessed it — ghosts. Others say it’s for safety purposes. For Hausmann, it’s likely a bit of both. The Venezuelan sits with his back against the stage; however, he glances up at the ceil- ing of the theater every so often. Mischie- vously, he says, “I’m going to let you in on a little secret.” He points to a spot on the ceil- ing at a large square vent. On either side of the vent are two lightbulb holes that look like a pair of eyes, and just above that is another small square that looks like a nose. That, says Hausmann, represents the omnipresent gaze of Dionysus, the god of theater. “Sometimes I sit and look up at the god of theater, and I can feel the weight of what we do in this tradition that has existed for more than 2,500 years,” he says. “Theater is theater. We will always be on the brink of extinction, but we will still be here.” 10 10 “Theater is an extraordinary art form that has a transformative power that very few art forms have,” he says. “It’s our responsibility to use that transformative power in a way that excites people. And we do it in a way that resonates with our community because it looks and sounds like our community.” Hausmann kicks off the floor and leans on the back two legs of his chair. As he looks around at the empty seats, he puts his hands in his pockets. The artistic director describes planning a season for Miami New Drama as entering a garden. Throughout the year, he commis- Miami New Drama’s upcoming season packs a punch. BY CAROLINA DEL BUSTO keys in one hand, he says, “Before each sea- son, I enter the garden and figure out which [plays] are ready to be produced.” Hausmann and his team are ready to de- liver a memorable 2022-23 season with three world premieres and one special anniversary production. Kicking off the company’s sixth season is Elián, written by Rogelio Martinez, which is about Elián González and the infamous events of 2000 that put the Magic City — and the Cuban community — on a national map. The show will run at the Colony Theater from October 27 through November 20. “THEATER IS AN EXTRAORDINARY ART FORM THAT HAS A TRANSFORMATIVE POWER.” sions various plays about all sorts of topics. And much like vegetation, each is in its own unique phase of development. Some might be more fully formed and ready to be plucked, whereas others need more time and atten- tion. This is where the expert gardener, Hausmann, comes into the analogy. He removes his hands from his pockets and pulls out his car keys. As he toys with the “Although you know the ending, [the show] is completely captivating because you don’t know exactly how we’re going to get there,” says Hausmann, who is also directing the production. “In the process [of telling the story], we discovered that what the country remembers and what was shared through the media at the time don’t match with what happened. Elián is one of those ported how the Miami-Dade County Public School System denied students from seeing Cruz’s play due to “racy” scenes. Hausmann and his team at Miami New Drama are mov- ing forward with the production and issued a statement on the controversy, stating, “We want to continue to inspire the next genera- tion... because we believe that theatre and art are the best tools for it; tools for change, em- pathy, reflection, and exploration.” For the last four years, the theater com- pany has produced an original, new work by playwright Aurin Squire. Keeping with that accidental tradition, the third production of the season will be Squire’s Defacing Michael Jackson. “It’s a play that looks at the race riots of the 1980s,” says Hausmann. “It’s a coming-of-age story. It’s funny and quirky at times, but it re- ally tells the story of Black Miami. It’s a story about Opa-locka told by a Black Miamian from Opa-locka.” Closing out the season in May of next year is the pièce de résistance, as Hausmann puts it, an adaptation of author Edwidge Danti- cat’s book of essays titled Create Dangerously: the Immigrant Artist at Work. The play, which goes by the same name, was adapted and di- rected by Lileana Blain-Cruz. Hausmann admits he’s been wanting to work with Blain-Cruz for years. “I think she’s the most important theater director of my generation – and she happens to be from Mi- ami,” he says with a smile. “It’s really extraordinary that we get to work with these world-class artists this season.” Rogelio Martinez, veteran, award-winning playwright. Nilo Cruz, Pulitzer Prize winner. Aurin Squire, big-shot TV writer. Lileana Blain-Cruz, Tony nominee. Edwidge Danti- cat, National Book Award winner. “We have to champion our [Miami] artists,” adds Hausmann proudly. “And it’s so easy to champion them because they’re so good.” Miami New Drama. Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach; 305-674-1040; miaminewdrama.org. MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 OCTOBER 6-12, 2022 NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com
