Michelle F. Solomon, who has kept coverage of Miami’s art scene vibrant despite cutbacks at many venues, has been named the recipient of the Carbonell Awards’ Charlie Cinnamon Award for “outstanding support of South Florida theater and the Carbonell Awards.”
Solomon is editor of Artburstmiami and miamiartzine.com and theater critic for Artburstmiami, She is credited with being instrumental in ensuring comprehensive theater criticism and coverage for local and regional theater companies.
She has spent her career chronicling the arts as a performer, journalist, editor, and on television as a reporter and producer.
According to Brooke Noble at Actors’ Playhouse, “At a time when arts coverage is increasingly scarce, Michelle Solomon has become one of the most important champions of our cultural community… She doesn’t simply review productions; she tells the stories behind them. She takes the time to learn about the people, the process and the purpose… She shows up. She listens. She celebrates the successes of others. And she works tirelessly to elevate the arts in South Florida.”
She began her journalism career as a theater critic and arts writer after earning a bachelor’s degree from Emerson College, Boston, with majors in theater and mass communication and a master’s degree from the State University of New York.
She went on to become arts editor/writer at major newspapers, including the Albany Times Union and the Detroit Free Press. She then joined NBC affiliate WDIV-TV in Detroit as an on-air entertainment reporter and managing editor of New Media before serving as executive producer of New Media at ABC affiliate WPLG-Local 10 in Miami, where, among other special projects, she created the syndicated original true-crime podcast The Florida Files.
Her theater reviews and feature stories are regularly republished by The Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald, and other publications. Solomon also serves as a Carbonell judge and is assistant professor in the Department of Communication, Media and the Arts at Nova Southeastern University, where she teaches digital storytelling, television, and video production.
The recognition is named after the dean of South Florida publicity agents Charlie Cinnamon, who died in 2016.
The award is one of nine special awards to be presented at the 49th annual ceremony Nov. 16 at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton.
The others are being announced here one a week.
All the 2026 Special Award recipients were nominated by members of South Florida’s theater community with the Carbonell Board of Directors making the final selection.
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