Harvey J. Burstein and miamiartzine.com will receive the Carbonell’s Howard Kleinberg Award honoring an individual or organization for contributions to the health and development of the arts in South Florida.
Burstein, chair of the Miami Beach Arts Trust and founder and publisher of miamiartzine.com, has, through his family foundation, supported the arts for over 30 years.
A former Carbonell judge, he has received the REMY award from South Florida Theater League, is a board member of Area Stage, New Theater Co-Chair, and received the Unsunghero award from the Arts & Business Council. In addition, he was an Art Center/South Florida board member, a SAVE Dade Board member, a member of the Dance Now advisory board, and a member of the Global Arts Network Board and the Collins Park Neighborhood Association.
Burstein also launchedmMiamiartzine.com, which is now celebrating its 20th year. According to Editor Michelle F. Solomon, the online publication has “more than a dozen contributors and a web team dedicated to the South Florida arts community. With our original coverage of arts and entertainment, along with robust previews, reviews, interviews, and photo galleries, we provide an essential voice supporting the cultural community and arts lovers in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties.”
In their submitted nomination for this award, the Area Stage Board of Directors recognized Harvey Burstein for “his longstanding dedication to the growth and vitality of the arts in South Florida. As the publisher of miamiartzine.com, Harvey has played a pivotal role in championing local artists and organizations through thoughtful, consistent coverage of South Florida’s cultural landscape. His work has helped bring well-deserved attention to many theaters and productions, amplifying their reach and impact within the community.”
The Howard Kleinberg Award is named after a long-time editor of The Miami News, historian, and author of numerous articles and books on the social and cultural history of Miami and South Florida.
Previous winners of the Howard Kleinberg Award include Kermit Christman, Founder & Artistic Producing Director of the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival (2024); actor, director, playwright, and producer Ronnie Larsen (2023); Andie Arthur, playwright, dramaturg, co-founding Artistic Director of Lost Girls Theatre, and Executive Director of the South Florida Theatre League (2022); Deborah Margol with the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2018); longtime critic and Carbonell judge Christine Dolen (2015); and Iris Acker, actor, director, author, talk show host, and Carbonell judge (2014)
All the 2025 Special Award recipients were nominated by members from South Florida’s theater community with the Carbonell Board of Directors making the final selection. The 120 Carbonell Award Finalists will be based on accumulated scores from the nonprofit organization’s pool of nearly 50 experienced and diverse volunteer judges—with seven judges from various counties assigned to each show. During the 2024-2025 season, Carbonell judges adjudicated over 100 professional productions at more than 30 theatres across Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties.
The presentation will be at the 48th Annual Carbonell Awards at 7:30 p.m. November 17 at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton — a change in venue for the program. Tickets for the ceremony and after party are $45 and will go on public sale in mid-October.
The Carbonells plan to release each of its other special awards one at a time and then the nominees in its traditional categories each of the succeeding Tuesdays. The most prestigious George Abbott Award was announced for William Hayes and Sue Ellen Beryl, co-founders of Palm Beach Dramaworks; the new Jan McArt Award to New City Players, and Michel Hausmann, the co-founder and Artistic Director of Miami New Drama, with the Vinnette Carroll Award; the Bill Hindman Award will be given to actress-educator Beverly Blanchette;the Charlie Cinnamon Award will be given to critic/journalist Mary Damiano, and the Ruth Foreman Award to Alexa Kuve, the actress, executive producer and artistic director of Arca Images.
All the 2025 Special Award recipients were nominated by members from South Florida’s theater community with the Carbonell Board of Directors making the final selection.
The 120 Carbonell Award nominee finalists will be based on accumulated scores from the nonprofit organization’s pool of nearly 50 experienced and diverse volunteer judges—with seven judges from various counties assigned to each show. During the 2024-2025 season, Carbonell judges adjudicated over 100 professional productions at more than 30 theaters across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.
Along with New York’s Drama Desk and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation’s oldest regional arts awards and predate others, including Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Awards. The Carbonell Awards are named after the internationally renowned sculptor Manuel Carbonell, who designed the signature solid bronze and marble award given annually to Carbonell Award winners. Over nearly half a century, the Carbonell family has donated more than $250,000 in awards.
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