Press Release Announcing the 2025-26 Theater Up Close season! Five new-to-Miami works featuring three Florida premieres and a world premiere work by a Miami playwright

ANNOUNCING THE 2025-26 THEATER UP CLOSE SEASON

Zoetic Stage and City Theatre return to the Arsht with a dynamic new season featuring five new-to-Miami works that explore love, loss and legacy – including an exciting premiere by a Miami-based playwright

THE MOTHER
BY FLORIAN ZELLER
FLORIDA PREMIERE
Translation by Christopher Hampton
NOVEMBER 6-23, 2025

THE INHERITANCE PART 1
BY MATTHEW LÓPEZ
FLORIDA PREMIERE
JANUARY 8-25, 2026

HOW TO BREAK IN A GLOVE
BY CHRIS ANTHONY FERRER
WORLD PREMIERE
FEBRUARY 5-22, 2026

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM AND GEORGE FURTH
MIAMI PREMIERE
MARCH 12-APRIL 5, 2026

MOSES
BY MICHELE LOWE
FLORIDA PREMIERE
APRIL 30-MAY 17, 2026

Five-show subscription packages start at $195*

Miami, FL – March 27, 2025 – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) is proud to announce the lineup for the 2025-26 season of its award-winning Theater Up Close series, created in collaboration with local theater companies Zoetic Stage (@zoeticstagemia) and City Theatre (@citytheatremia). This season of Theater Up Close returns to the intimate Carnival Studio Theater and features five new-to-Miami productions that each reflect a small part of our diverse community.

Photos available here.

TICKETS
Five-show subscription packages are available now starting at the early bird rate of $195* until April 17. Starting April 18, packages start at $220*. Subscriptions can be purchased now through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at ArshtCenter.org/Theater. Tickets for individual performances will be announced at a later date.

For guests with accessibility needs, the Arsht provides accessible seating and complimentary assistive listening devices for all performances, along with sign language interpretation, open captioning, and audio description at select shows to ensure an inclusive experience for all guests.

“This season of Theater Up Close has broad appeal for the Miami community,” said Liz Wallace, vice president of programming at the Arsht. “From Tony Award-winning works to a truly made-in-Miami story by local playwright Chris Anthony Ferrer, we are proud to once again partner with two of Miami’s finest theater companies – Zoetic Stage and City Theatre – to bring thought-provoking theater to our community.”

“Zoetic Stage's 16th Anniversary Season offers an exciting mix of powerful storytelling,” said Zoetic Stage Artistic Director Stuart Meltzer. “The season starts with Florian Zeller's dark farce The Mother, followed by the celebrated The Inheritance, Part One, an emotional epic about love and survival. The season also features our 6th Sondheim production, the monumental musical Merrily We Roll Along and closes with the moving Moses by Michele Lowe. This season promises to be one that enlightens and sparks joy, stimulates the intellect and celebrates humanity.”

“Chris Anthony Ferrer’s How to Break in a Glove is everything we hoped the Homegrown playwright development program would make possible—a powerful, funny, deeply personal story that feels both rooted in Miami and universally human,” said Margaret M. Ledford, City Theatre Artistic Director. “Watching this play take shape from the first workshop to a full production has been a joy, and a testament to what’s possible when we invest in local artists and their voices. We can’t wait for audiences to experience it.”

The lineup for the 2025-26 Theater Up Close series is as follows:

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present
THE MOTHER – FLORIDA PREMIERE
By Florian Zeller
Translation by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Stuart Meltzer
November 6-23, 2025

“A carefully measured study of one woman’s disintegration… The Mother holds a magnifying glass to everyday middle-class stereotypes until they seem to splinter.” - The New York Times

Anne’s adult children are off living their own lives and her husband is busy with his career. So where does that leave Anne, who has built her identity around creating a family and being a good mother? On the night before her husband is set to leave on a business trip, her son comes home to sleep in his old room. Or does he? It’s impossible to know for certain in this riveting play about a woman whose inner life is constantly shifting.

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present
THE INHERITANCE, PART 1 - FLORIDA PREMIERE
By Matthew Lopez
Directed by Stuart Meltzer
January 8-26, 2026

“Perhaps the most important American play of this century.”- The Daily Telegraph

Hailed as the most honored American play in a generation, The Inheritance Part 1 won ‘Best Play’ awards in both London and New York including the Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, and more. The play reimagines E. M. Forster's Howards End as "a wry portrait of New York’s gay community", with gay men from different generations standing in for Forster’s straight people from different classes.

City Theatre and Adrienne Arsht Center present
HOW TO BREAK IN A GLOVE – WORLD PREMIERE
By Chris Anthony Ferrer
Directed by Margaret M. Ledford
February 5-22, 2026

Set in 1999 Miami, the play follows an 11-year-old boy clinging to the fractured pieces of his Cuban American family: an iron-willed grandfather, a devoted but weary grandmother, a father fighting for relevance, and a mother torn between rebellion and responsibility. When a single night of crisis rips open buried tensions, love and survival collide in a battle for connection, legacy, and the desperate need to belong. Like a well-worn baseball glove, they must break in their bonds—stretching, softening, and learning to hold on before it’s too late.

This is the first full-length world premiere to emerge from City Theatre’s Homegrown playwright development program. Shaped through workshops, readings, and mentorship as part of Homegrown, this new play is a testament to the power of investing in local voices and amplifying the stories that define Miami.

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG – MIAMI PREMIERE
By Stephen Sondheim and George Furth
Directed by Stuart Meltzer
March 12-April 5, 2026

“Thrillingly fierce . . . a palpable hit.” - The New York Times

Zoetic Stage returns to its tradition of mounting Sondheim productions with this Tony Award-winning musical. The story of Frank Shepard, a famous songwriter and eventual film producer, and his two closest friends. Moving backwards across 20 years, the show details Frank's rise from a penniless dreamy-eyed composer to a wealthy film-producing sell-out, and what he lost to get there.

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present
MOSES- FLORIDA PREMIERE
By Michele Lowe
Directed by Stuart Meltzer
April 30-May 17, 2026

“This superb play affirms the everlasting nature of human endurance and of love's power.” - Broadway World Washington DC

One night in the Bronx, Moses loses everyone and everything he loves. Filled with remorse, he begs God, "You forget about me, and I'll forget about you!” But God has other plans for Moses. A one-person play about love, faith, and going it alone.

*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Additional fees may apply. Visit ArshtCenter.org for up-to-date information.

The 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 individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.

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About the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
The Arsht proudly serves as the cultural pulse of Miami – the heart of magical live arts experiences that spark the imagination and connect people to one another. Whether on our stages or in your neighborhood, the Arsht is alive year-round with international artists, innovative programming from resident companies and local arts partners, free community events that reflect Miami’s unique identity and more than 100 culturally diverse and impactful learning experiences for 80,000 children every year.

Since opening in 2006 in the heart of downtown, the Arsht, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has been recognized as a leader in the city’s cultural transformation, a catalyst for billions of dollars in new development and a host venue for historic events. The 300+ annual Arsht events include a robust series of touring Broadway musicals direct from New York, star-studded jazz and classical music concerts curated for South Florida, a major annual Flamenco Festival and an award-winning Miami-based theater program. In addition, Family Fest, Gospel Fest Miami, Art + Mind Day, Heritage Fest and our LGBTQ+ Pride celebration are among dozens of free events that bring people from all corners of our community together. For more information, visit arshtcenter.org.

About Zoetic Stage
Zoetic Stage was founded in 2010 to create fresh, bold interpretations of contemporary plays and musicals, and is dedicated to enhancing South Florida’s national artistic profile by producing regional premieres and developing new works to become part of the American stage repertoire.

In 2020, Zoetic Stage was named the Best Theater Company by the Miami New Times. The theater has been nominated for an impressive 140 Carbonell Awards (of which 15 were for Best Production of the Year) and won 45, including six for Best New Work and four for Best Production of a Play or Musical. Zoetic Stage productions have received 48 Silver Palm Awards for Outstanding Achievement.

Zoetic Stage is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network, a member of Theatre Communications Group and the South Florida Theater League.

Visit www.zoeticstage.org for more information.

About City Theatre
City Theatre is an award-winning professional company based in Miami, entering its 30th season in September 2025. Dedicated to the development and production of new works, City Theatre has presented hundreds of short plays by both celebrated and emerging writers, many discovered through its renowned National Award for Short Playwriting Contest.

The company commissions new plays for its SHORT CUTS tour for young audiences and offers year-round community engagement through CITY READS—an interactive short play reading series presented in partnership with Books & Books, Pinecrest Gardens, and the Village of Key Biscayne. City Theatre’s HOMEGROWN playwright development initiative was launched to nurture, elevate, and amplify Miami’s most promising emerging writers from historically marginalized communities. This program develops plays that reflect the city’s multicultural voices and presents them as part of City Theatre’s season. Since 2007, City Theatre has made its mainstage home at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts’ Carnival Studio Theater. Its signature SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022. The company also produces full-length plays as part of the Arsht Center’s Theatre Up Close Series, including BLACK SANTA by Aaron Mays (2024), Carmen Rivera’s LA GRINGA (2023), and Heidi Schreck’s WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (2022).

City Theatre has received numerous accolades, including the 2016 Carbonell Bill Von Maurer Award for significant contributions to South Florida theatre and the 2022 Remy Awards Pioneer Award, presented to Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford and Executive Director Gladys Ramirez. In 2021, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proclaimed June 9 as “City Theatre 25th Anniversary Day,” recognizing the company’s legacy and impact. For more information visit www.citytheatre.com.