Winter Park Playhouse to Reopen Renovated Theatre With Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DiCiccio will attend the invitation-only event.
Winter Park Playhouse will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 7, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. to mark the reopening of its newly renovated theatre at 711 N. OrangeAvenue in Winter Park, Florida, following ten months of construction.
The invitation-only event will feature remarks from Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DiCiccio, along with city and county commissioners and other community leaders. The renovated facility includes a theatre with expanded seating capacity and Broadway-style seats, a new lobby and restrooms, a new cabaret space, and a range of structural upgrades funded in part by an $8 million Tourist Development Tax grant awarded by Orange County on October 29, 2024.
After 10 months of hard work and anticipation, The Winter Park Playhouse will unveil its newly renovated theatre home at a celebratory ribbon-cutting on July 7, 2026 at 5:30 pm. This invitation-only event will include cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music, a champagne toast and speeches by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DiCiccio. City and County Commissioners, community leaders and other dignitaries plan to attend.
This event will offer the first look at the renovated building, which includes a new theatre with expanded capacity and Broadway seats, a new lobby and restrooms, a new cabaret space and a host of structural upgrades.
In 2024, The City of Winter Park and non-profit Winter Park Playhouse partnered to apply for an $8 million Tourist Development Tax (TDT) grant to acquire, enlarge, remodel and improve the theatre's building at 711 N. Orange Avenue in Winter Park. The grant was officially awarded on October 29, 2024, and construction began in November 2025.
This generous TDT grant from Orange County is ensuring the survival of a beloved cultural cornerstone that attracts visitors from around the world and makes a $2.3 million-dollar economic impact on the region.
Founded in 2002, The Winter Park Playhouse is a professional musical theater dedicated to building community and enhancing the quality of life for Central Florida residents and visitors through professional musical theatre experiences that are accessible, inclusive, uplifting and inspiring.
The newly renovated theatre will open just in time to kick off its new 2026 - 2027 Series of Professional Musicals in August 2026.
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