Orlando Interviews - Page 2

Charlie Ross performs the entire original Star Wars trilogy by himself in ONE MAN STAR WARS at the Orlando Fringe. In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I sat down with Ross to talk about his adventures touring the show, doing what feels right, and more!...

The creative team behind last year's HELLO at the Orlando Fringe returns this year with GOODBYE, a play inspired by actor Robbie Pigott's experience of his father passing away.  In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talked with John Mark Jernigan (Writer/Actor) abou...

After a successful career as the CEO of several prominent companies, Keith Alessi retired to pursue his life-long passion of playing the banjo. Weeks later, he received a deadly cancer diagnosis. TOMATOES TRIED TO KILL ME BUT BANJOS SAVED MY LIFE at the Orlando Fringe tells Alessi's story of how mus...

Parker James Fullmore has been playing Billy Elliot across the country for the past three years. His latest stop is at the Garden Theatre, where he'll be performing the role through June 2. I sat down with Parker to talk about Orlando, the importance of Billy's story, advice for future Billys, an...

Orlando Shakes' reimagined version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, originally produced in 2014, returns this holiday season. The production is set in an attic, where a family recounts Dickens' classic story to its youngest member.  I sat down with Laura Hodos (Mrs. Cratchit and others) to discuss her past,...

Already a few cities into their 27-city national circuit, the touring company of COME FROM AWAY has landed in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson. Helmed by its Tony Award-winning director Christopher Ashley, COME FROM AWAY runs through January 6, 2019. Still fresh and reeling from the audience's passiona...

The Jimmy Awards celebrate outstanding high school performers from across the nation. Each year, around 80 students are chosen to participate in a week of workshops and masterclasses in New York City, all culminating in a final showcase at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.  The event is attended ...

This summer, the Orlando Shakes takes audiences under the sea with Brandon Robert's new telling of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairytale, THE LITTLE MERMAID.  I talked with the little mermaid herself, Jillian Gizzi, about what she's learned from playing Allura, human shoes, and more! ...

'People need theatre in small towns. People need theatre in smaller cities, in different cities. We need it everywhere. It's important as an artist to remember that. It's not just about going for the brass ring - sometimes the brass ring is right there, sitting at home.'...

With St. Patrick's Day is a couple months away, you can get an early dose of Irish culture by seeing RIVERDANCE, which is coming to the Dr. Phillips Center later this month. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the beloved RIVERDANCE still delights audiences around the world. For 23 year old princi...

As we prepare to sit with our families this Thanksgiving, we all experience joy or dread about seeing our relatives. Like it or not, these people are blood - flaws and all. ORPHANS tells the story of two brothers. I had a chance to catch up with director, Marco DiGeorge about Theater on the Edge's l...

LOVE NEVER DIES: The Phantom Returns is very high on my list to see. Based off a sequel novel, The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth, LOVE NEVER DIES continues the luxurious love story that will be soon celebrating 30 years on Broadway....

Eleemosynary is now a word I use in my daily vocabulary after learning about this play at Rollins College's Fred Stone Theatre. Written by Lee Blessing, it is the story of three strong women with distinct character traits. I had a chance to chat with student director Kaitlyn Harrington about her pro...

UCF Senior Kyle Laing recently appeared in Theatre UCF's OF THEE I SING. We had a moment to chat with Kyle and his experience at UCF....

Before Gloria Estefan became a Latin pop superstar, she was a young performer whose family immigrated from Cuba. Gloria's mother, Gloria Fajardo, made her own career sacrifices for her family, which caused strife between her and her daugher. I had a chance to speak with Nancy Ticotin who plays Glori...

West Orange High School Theatre kicks off their season with the high school premiere of BRIGHT STAR. Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the musical follows the story of Alice Murphy at two different points of her life. I talked with director Tara Whitman about premiering the show, the live b...

Kavin plays Lun Tha, who is Tuptim's secret lover. Tuptim is of course a young slave girl brought to the King of Siam as a gift from the king of Burma. Lun Tha escorts her to the Siamese king's court. The pair hide their love, until Anna finds out and Tuptim and Lun Tha go on the run....

The first ever New Musical Festival comes to Orlando this week at Winter Park Playhouse. If you've ever wondered where musicals are born, this is how. With the help of arts organizations like Winter Park Playhouse, musical creators can refine their pieces and use it as a stepping stone towards publi...

Written by Tracy Letts in 2008, the play jumped to Broadway in 2009 and is now a sitcom on CBS. The original play is also now appearing at Theater On The Edge. I had a chance to catch up with Artistic Director, Marco DiGeorge about the show....

It's the season of graduations and as high schoolers head off to college, it great to look back on all they've accomplished. Two local theater teens, Jasmine Forsberg and Tony Moreno are moving on to the next steps in their training and theater careers, but before they do they will perform in a Wint...

SOMETHING STRANGE at the Orlando Fringe Festival is an improvised play based on Netflix's 'Stranger Things.' Each night, a small town faces a different mysterious or other-worldly challenge. I talked with producer/director/performer Travis Ray about the show....

DUEL! centers around the infamous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and how two storytellers end up getting the story very, very wrong. I talked with director/producer Fiona Campbell about the inspiration for the show's creation, the stylized hair and makeup, if storytellers change his...

Beth Marshall Presents' COMMENCEMENT at the Orlando Fringe Festival centers around a school shooting. Beth Marshall plays Sarah Havermeyer, the mother of the shooter. I talked to Beth about her connection to the piece, why she chose to act in it, the challenges of her role, and more....

MURDER FOR TWO begins its run at Winter Park Playhouse this week. Promising to be better than most of those murder mystery diners in the tourist area, this cabaret-style show is played by just two men. I had an opportunity to interview MURDER FOR TWO stars Michael Swickard and Kevin Kelly as they pr...

There is something magical, and just a little bit naughty, in the air at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts this week. Starting tonight and running through Sunday, May 14th, the national tour of MATILDA THE MUSICAL sets up shop in Orlando. With a book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyric...

The Studio Theatre finishes its inaugural season with David Auburn's PROOF. The play follows Catherine, the daughter of a recently deceased mathematics professor, as she struggles with the mathematical genius she shares with her father, and the mental illness she fears she might have inherited from ...

The stories of Disney Princesses are quite literally tales as old as time, and often there's not much of a new spin that can be placed upon them. DISENCHANTED! is out to prove to princess fans that these ladies have so much more that they've got planned....

This week Disney's THE LITTLE MERMAID sails into the Dr. Phillips Center as The 5th Avenue Theatre, based out of Seattle, brings the show to life. I had a chance to chat with Jennifer Allen who plays the best Disney villain, Ursula....

The play, A FEW GOOD MEN, preceded the film, but bubbled up in popular culture with the line, "You can't handle the truth." BroadwayWorld Orlando chatted with Director Donald Rupe to get some perspective about bringing this play to life....

Last year BroadwayWorld Orlando interviewed Rollins student Kathleen Capdesuñer when she directed DETROIT. This year Kathleen directed CONSTELLATIONS as her final piece before graduation. I had a chance to catch up with Kathleen to talk about the show....

When A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER debuted on Broadway In October 2013, very few, if any, theatrical observers pegged the show for a two-plus-year main-stem run and four Tony Awards. After debuting at the Hartford Stage in Connecticut the previous November, and having another out-of-town tr...

WICKED is flying into Orlando this week and those familiar with the story know that it's a story about friendship, acceptance, and connection. I had the opportunity to chat with Drama Desk winner and Tony Award nominee Isabel Keating, who is currently playing Madame Morrible on the WICKED tour. From...

At some point in life you've probably pondered a career in the performing arts. For some that dream dies early, but for others they can turn their talent into a career. Orlando local Alexandra Pernice spent some time growing up here and learning how to be a professional performer. She now returns to...

Tomorrow night, for the first time a straight play will open at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando series. However, this play is unlike nearly anything else you've ever seen before. Based on the 2003 book by Mark Haddon, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT ...

Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida will be showing the critically acclaimed 13: THE MUSICAL starting this week. The show centers on 13-year-old Evan Goldman who moves from New York City to Indiana. Goldman must escape gossip and blackmail if he hopes to make friends and find peace and happiness...

Between theme parks, professional theatres, and arts organizations, Central Florida is one of the most fertile grounds for theatre artists in the country. Whether it is at Disney, Universal, Orlando Shakespeare, Mad Cow, the Orlando Rep, or any of the other wonderful organizations in town, you can f...

With a week and a half until Halloween, all theatre lovers know that can only mean that its officially ROCKY HORROR season! So, bust out your leather, fishnets, and platform boots and practice all of your favorite one-liners, because no matter where you live, there is likely a theatre company puttin...

Every year at the anniversary of 9/11, we stop and reflect about where we were, who was lost and the events that followed. It always catches me by surprise how much time has passed since 2001. DYING CITY is a play that follows one family's life after 9/11, but not in the way you may think. Student d...

With events ranging from horrific to not-so-scary, Halloween is a special time in Central Florida. Orlando's theme parks provide tried and true attractions for Halloween obsessives of all ages, but this fall there is a new seasonal experience in town that is unlike anything else in town. Over the pa...

BroadwayWorld sat down with Broadway Veteran Roy Alan, owner of the Winter Park Playhouse in Winter Park, Florida. Find out what happens when a Broadway Vet comes and owns one of the only musical theatres in Florida!...