Miami's Sixth Annual Lavender Footlights Festival, a two-day event May 31-June 1 at the Miami Science Museum, has tagged onto some good timing with the selection of playwright Douglas Carter Beane as the inaugural recipient of its new achievement award, the Ovation Award. Last week, Beane was nominated for a Tony Award for the second year in a row, this time for the book for the new Broadway musical "Xanadu" (last year was for the play "The Little Dog Laughed").

Beane will participate in a discussion of his work at 6 p.m. Sunday, June 1 with Miami Herald theater critic Christine Dolen, followed by the award presentation, reception and reading of a portion of his newest play, "The Nance."

The Lavender Festival is designed to promote, in its mission statement, "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer plays and supporting the work of emerging playwrights, directors and actors." The one-weekend event finds itself in competition this year with the opening weekend of City Theatre's 13th Annual Summer Shorts Festival, one of those unfortunate but common conflicts on the region's cultural calendar. Summer Shorts fans have a month of alternative dates to pick from; The Lavender program kicks off May 31 with a full-length play reading, reception, and its own shorts program, called Briefs, a collection of eight short plays. Details are on the Lavender fest website.

> Discuss this entry