An all-Haitian cast of singers, actors and dancers takes the stage at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center on Saturday for a musical celebrating Haiti’s culture and artistry, arriving at a moment when more than 300,000 Haitians across the United States have lost their temporary immigration protections. The production, called Ayiti Bèl Nanm, is billed by its organizers as a chance for Haiti to tell its own story through its artists rather than through headlines about crisis.
The show goes up at 7 p.m. Saturday inside the Ziff Ballet Opera House, a 2,400-seat hall that ranks as the second-largest performing arts stage in the country behind the Metropolitan Opera, according to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $117 to $246, and organizers have said the production is open to all ages. As first reported by the Miami Herald, the performance features singers, actors and dancers showcasing Haitian creativity, history and cultural heritage.
Among the cast is Jimmy Jean-Louis, the Haitian American actor known to television audiences as “The Haitian” on NBC’s Heroes and who played Toussaint Louverture in a 2012 production. Jean-Louis was appointed Ambassador-at-large for Haiti in 2014 and named Official Ambassador for the Barbancourt Foundation in 2021, according to the Barbancourt Foundation. Also featured is Errol Josué, a Haiti-based performer and initiated Vodou priest who has served as director of Haiti’s National Bureau of Ethnology, according to Erasing 76 Crimes.
A Miami Activist Takes On a Divine Role
Miami activist and singer Farah Juste plays a divinity in the production who explains events unfolding in Haiti, per the Herald’s reporting. Juste told the paper she is unsure how recent events will affect attendance for the show, though she said she hopes audiences will turn out in large numbers. She also said she is happy with the actors’ efforts to make the production succeed, calling the cast and the production itself impressive…