Michel Hausmann, the co-founder and Artistic Director of Miami New Drama, reputedly the largest bilingual theater company in the country, will be honored in November by the Carbonell Awards with the Vinnette Carroll Award.
As resident and operator of the historic Colony Theatre on Miami Beach, Hausmann’s company has revitalized theater on the Lincoln Road Mall with an array of theatrical productions reflecting the multi-cultural character of the region, some in English, some on Spanish, some in both.
The award recognizes significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater.
The award-winning venue has premiered more than 20 original plays and musicals, establishing itself as a force in the development of new work for the American stage. Notable productions include A Wonderful World (Broadway transfer, Tony Award Nomination), Seven Deadly Sins (director / Drama League Award Winner), Birthright, Bad Dog (also director), Lincoln Road Hustle (also director), Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard (a co-production with Tectonic Theater Project), Confessions of a Cocaine Cowboy (also director), ¡Viva La Parranda!, Papa Cuatro, The Cubans, The Museum Plays (also director), Fake, When Monica Met Hillary, Gente Ociosa (also director), Queen of Basel (also director), and a multilingual production of Our Town (also director).
Accolades for the Venezuelan-born theater director, producer, and writer include the Thornton Wilder Prize, a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship, three Knight Arts Challenge Awards, an IRNE nomination, multiple Silver Palm Awards, and a Richard Rodgers Award finalist distinction.
In a nomination submitted for this award, Hausmann was praised for “diligently and passionately (giving) voice to BIPOC artists and artisans” and for successfully “presenting multi-language productions and multicultural programming (that offer) voice and vision for not only South Florida but for the country.”
The award is named after the legendary playwright, actress and theater director who was the first African American woman to direct on Broadway and the first to receive a Tony Award nomination for directing, before moving to South Florida in the 1980s where she founded the Vinnette Carroll Repertory Company.
Previous winners: Director, actor, and college educator John Pryor (2024); Christie Alexander & Katie Christie for leading the South Florida Theatre League’s AntiRacism Theatre Strategies Cohorts (2023); and Marshall L. Davis (2022), managing director of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC) in Miami’s Liberty City, a venue that has since been renamed in his honor.
The presentation will be at the 48th Annual Carbonell Awards at 7:30 p.m. November 17 at 7:30 pm at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton — a change in venue for the program.
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, and the new Jan McArt Award to New City Players.
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 theatres across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.
The November gala will be produced and directed by Andrew Kato, Producing Artistic Director/Chief Executive of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, with Caryl Fantel as Music Director. Tickets for the ceremony and after party are $45 and will go on public sale in mid-September.
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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