Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Florida - Southern

Comedy Planet

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly announces the inaugural season of the Comedy Planet, showcasing the very best comedians from America and abroad. The Comedy Planet Series kicks off with the iconic American comic, Jerry Seinfeld, appearing in two stand-up performances on November 6, 2010. In a rare solo appearance, entertainment legend and comedy queen Whoopi Goldberg performs for one night only on January 15, 2011. NPR's award-winning comedy quiz show Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!, jumps straight off the airwaves and into the Knight Concert Hall February 3-4, 2011 for a series of live performances and audio tapings to air on NPR Member Stations. Celebrity Autobiography, the show featuring surprise guest stars reading from the real and really hilarious memoirs of their celebrity colleagues, takes Miami by storm, April 28 - May 8, 2011. Tickets for Jerry Seinfeld are on sale now. Tickets to Whoopi Goldberg, "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!", and "Celebrity Autobiography" go on sale to Adrienne Arsht Center members on July 23 and to the general public on September 12.

Jerry Seinfeld
November 6, 2010 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Ziff Ballet Opera House
Tickets: $49-79
Due to popular demand, America's premier comedian is hitting the road in a return to his first love - stand-up comedy. Hailed as "the master stand-up comic of his generation" and "the best comedian of our time" in a Washington Post article by Tom Shales, Seinfeld has an uncanny ability to joke about the little things in life that relate to audiences everywhere.

Whoopi Goldberg
January 15, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Ziff Ballet Opera House
Tickets: $50-95
One of a very few elite artists who has won Oscar, Tony, Grammy, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards, Whoopi Goldberg's wit and wisdom surpass even her impressive list of accolades. Over the course of her illustrious career, Whoopi has thrilled audiences around the world in such films as The Color Purple, Ghost and Sister Act and on the Broadway stage in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Xanadu, and her own acclaimed one-woman shows. On television, Whoopi has made her mark in her own sitcom, talk show, and hosting such stellar events as the Academy Awards. She is currently the moderator of "The View," and a best-selling author of numerous books for children and adults, including her latest releases, "Is It Just Me?" and "Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Terrible Terrel." There is simply no one like Whoopi, and her unique voice is unparalleled in the world of entertainment.

Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!
February 3, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
February 4, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Ziff Ballet Opera House
Tickets: $40-85
Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!, NPR's wacky and whip-smart approach to the week's news and newsmakers, boasts a weekly audience of more than 3 million listeners and celebrity guests including everyone from (then Senator) Barack Obama to comedian Stephen Colbert and sex therapist Dr. Ruth. Now, the Peabody Award-winning show comes to the Adrienne Arsht Center's Knight Concert Hall for a live performance and audio recording to air on NPR Member Stations. During each hilarious show, host Peter Sagal leads what might be characterized as the news Olympics. Callers, celebrity panelists, and special guests compete by answering questions about the week's events, identifying impersonations, and filling in the blanks at lightning speed, sniffing out fake news items, and deciphering limericks. Listeners vie for a chance to win the most coveted prize in radio: having official judge and scorekeeper Carl Kasell, NPR's legendary newscaster, record the outgoing message on their personal voicemail. A comedy show that pretends to be a quiz, and a quiz show that exists only to make jokes, Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! is comedic magic not to be missed.

Celebrity Autobiography
April 28- May 8, 2011
Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.; Sundays at 7 p.m.
Carnival Studio Theater in the Ziff Ballet Opera House
Tickets: $45
Hailed as "the funniest show in town, hands down" (The New York Post), Celebrity Autobiography has taken New York by storm and now makes its Miami debut in a series of uproarious performances featuring superstar memoirs acted out live on stage by fellow superstars. Created and developed by Emmy Award-nominated writer/performer Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel, Celebrity Autobiography features a first-rate comedic ensemble of stars from stage and screen performing from the actual memoirs of a wide range of celebrities. From Vanna White's panel flip-outs to the Jonas Brothers' sibling synergy and Sylvester Stallone's secret stash in the fridge, no topic is off limits and every celebrity autobiography gets the full comic treatment. The roster of superstar guests who have appeared in Celebrity Autobiography reads like a who's who of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, including Matthew Broderick, Martin Short, Mario Cantone, Rosie Perez, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson, John Leguizamo and Brooke Shields. Stay tuned for surprise celebrity guests to be announced for the Miami engagement.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is located at 1300 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, Florida. It is one of the world's leading performing arts organizations and venues. Made possible by Miami-Dade County's largest ever public/private-sector partnership, the Center plays host to three resident companies (Florida Grand Opera, Miami City Ballet and New World Symphony, America's Orchestral Academy) in addition to numerous South Florida arts organizations that perform in its theaters regularly. Since opening in 2006, the Center has emerged as a leader in offering and presenting world-class programming that mirrors South Florida's diversity, as a catalyst for development in Miami, and as a host of impactful community and educational programs. Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the venue is comprised of the 2,400-seat Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House, the 2,200-seat John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall, the black box Carnival Studio Theater, a restored Carnival Art Deco Tower, the Peacock Foundation, Inc. Studio, the Peacock Foundation, Inc. Education Center, and the outdoor Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts. Events impresario and restaurateur Barton G. Weiss brought his signature style to the Center in 2009 with Prelude By Barton G, a full-service upscale restaurant open five days a week. For information, or to purchase tickets for the many diverse offering of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, you may contact them at 305-949-6722, or visit them on line at www.arshtcenter.org.

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from private contributions to the Adrienne Arsht Center Foundation through its Visionary Society membership program and Encore Circle major gifts program; American Express Company; Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Arison Arts Foundation; Association of Performing Arts Presenters; Bank of America Charitable Foundation; Dade Community Foundation; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Ford Foundation; Funding Arts Network; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Community Connections Fund of MetLife Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Southern Arts Federation; The Cowles Charitable Trust; The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.


See the current theatre season schedule for southern Florida.

-- John Lariviere