Theatre

Join Area Stage for Love for Luly: A Talent Show Cabaret on April 25th—a heartfelt evening in support of Luly Banda, sister of our Executive Director, as she recovers from brain surgery. Enjoy inspiring performances as our community comes together to uplift Luly through the power of the performing arts. Be part of this moving night filled with talent, love, and solidarity. Grab your tickets now!

Join us on Thursday, April 24 from 6–7 PM at the Coconut Grove Branch Library for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to bring a theatre festival to life! In anticipation of the inaugural Coconut Grove Theatre Festival (May 8–11), this engaging panel—presented in collaboration with Culture Shock Miami—features a mix of local playwrights, directors, actors, stage managers, and producers, each playing a part in the process. Whether you're a theatre lover, aspiring artist, or just curious about what goes on behind the scenes, this is your chance to hear directly from the people making it all happen and ask your own questions. Don’t miss this sneak peek into the creative process behind CGTFest! RSVP here: cgtfest.com/panel

Sunday, May 11 | 7:30 PM The Feral Spinster Society Written by Andie Arthur | Directed by Melissa Almaguer Amelia Beauchamp has spent her life on the sidelines: overlooked by society, dismissed by men, and living a quiet, independent life in 1912 Ohio. When her fiery niece, a passionate suffragist named Felicity, begins plotting a disruptive Fourth of July protest, Amelia is unexpectedly pulled into the fray. What begins as a civil act of rebellion becomes a deeper exploration of power, sacrifice, and love—including the kind women weren’t allowed to speak of at the time. Blending sharp humor with heartfelt moments, this rousing, intersectional feminist comedy celebrates the unsung women who have defied the status quo by refusing to play by its rules. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Sunday, May 11 | 4:30 PM When the Sea Wall Cracks Written by Alejandro Rodríguez | Directed by Karina Batchelor-Gómez A catastrophic hurricane slams into Miami, tearing through the lives of a Cuban business owner and his activist daughter. Torn apart by the storm and their convictions, they embark on parallel journeys through the flooded streets of a home they love but no longer recognize. As the floodwaters rise, so do buried truths, forcing them to confront everything that divides them—politics, pain, and the past. Set to live music, this part-concert-part-play is a gripping duel between generations searching for redemption in the eye of disaster. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Saturday, May 10 | 8:30 PM Turbo Hybrid Written by William Hector | Directed by Gladys Ramírez When five-time world champion (and world-class jerk) Miles Carmine dies in an off-track joyride, the race for the Formula 1 Championship is suddenly wide open. His teammate, Anna Scholl, sees an opportunity to speed out of his shadow and into the spotlight. But to win it all, she’ll have to overtake rival drivers who are just as fast and twice as cocky, survive a couture crash course from her team’s owner, and outscore the deceased Miles himself, who now gleefully hosts the drama from beyond the grave. Set over the final eight races of a wildly unpredictable F1 season, this high-octane theatrical thrill ride is a pitch-perfectly paced meditation on ambition, identity, and the fuel it takes to go the distance. In a sport where milliseconds define legacies, speed isn’t just about the car—it’s about who you become behind the wheel. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Saturday, May 10 | 5:30 PM The Queer Séance at #3 Sutton Place Written by Hannah Benitez | Directed by Amy Coker It’s 1903 and the daughter of J.P. Morgan, America’s third-richest man, is desperate to secure her place in Daddy’s will. Her plan? Summon the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci to authenticate a suspiciously acquired Mona Lisa that could save her from scandal and change the course of her legacy. To pull it off, she must enlist the help of her lover, her lover’s husband, and her lover’s husband’s lover. When you cram this many secrets, scandals, and queer tension into a single tearoom, who really needs the spirits to stir up the drama? A whip-smart dark comedy about power, privilege, and the ghosts we carry—in history and in ourselves. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Saturday, May 10 | 2:30 PM The Death of Kings: An Encyclopedia Written by Vanessa Garcia | Directed by Victoria Collado You’re cordially invited into a kaleidoscopic world seen through the eyes of Quin—a modern-day Harlequin, full of memory and mischief—on a mission to rewrite one of the most canonical works of centuries past: The Encyclopedia. Wandering through time, politics, and art in a post-9/11 world, Quin encounters lovers, fools, tyrants, and truth-tellers in a quest to make sense of a world that feels like it’s falling apart. Blending commedia dell’arte with lyrical storytelling, this genre-defying theatrical event is a journey through heartbreak, exile, and artistic rebellion—an attempt to answer the question: what if the footnotes take center stage while the jester holds the pen? Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Friday, May 9 | 8:30 PM A Shiva for Joseph: Day Two Written by Brandon Urrutia | Directed by Charisma Jolly Joseph is dead. His family is unraveling. And his 18-year-old son Joshua is in the next room, grappling with the fact that he is quite literally God incarnate. As relatives crowd into a Brooklyn apartment to mourn, they begin to question Joshua’s divinity. Some see him as a miracle, while others see him as a threat. And Joshua himself? He just wants his father back. Blending biblical allegory with kitchen-sink realism, this second part in a seven-day theatrical cycle is a bold journey through grief, belief, and the unbearable weight of being chosen—asking, what does faith mean when even God is grieving? Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Written by Michael Yawney | Directed by Maha McCain Father Chris is struggling to keep his crumbling parish alive as parishioners defect to a more glamorous church across the boulevard. Enter Angela—a wealthy, eccentric woman who claims to have once experienced Jesus as a literal lover. Hoping to get back into His good graces, she offers to donate—or perhaps invest—in the church. Desperate to stay afloat without compromising his beliefs, Father Chris finds himself entangled in Angela’s sensual spirituality, which stirs up far more than just church funds. As lines blur between salvation and scandal, he must confront his own insecurities, the realities of modern faith, and what it truly means to serve. A daring, laugh-out-loud exploration of power, grace, and just the right amount of holy blasphemy. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!

Written by Lolita Stewart-White | Directed by Hattie Mae Williams Faced with the threat of removal from the Pork N Beans Public Housing Projects, 14-year-old Liberty City Red and her tight-knit community band together to protect their roots and the place they've always called home. Told through a series of poetic vignettes, this coming-of-age story examines the impact of redlining, displacement, and redevelopment of Miami's historical black neighborhood, Liberty Square. Deeply rooted in rhythm, rich language, and real history, this powerful play-in-verse is a lyrical tribute to the joy, pain, and resilience of a community that refuses to be erased. Coconut Grove Theatre Festival is thrilled to be bringing theatre back to the Grove with a weekend of staged play readings, May 8-11, 2025, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove featuring South Florida playwrights, directors, and actors!