At the height of its fame, the musical Les Misérables was the Dorsia of Broadway, a hot-ticket event that reached Hamilton levels of excessive prices, elite A-list attendees, and legions of fans who’d revisit the show through repeat viewings, memorization of the cast recording, and fierce debates
Encore! Performing Arts’ production of HELLO, DOLLY! leans heavily into the relentless optimism and good time that’s made the musical a classic.
Encore Performing Arts has a long and varied history of selecting projects for their appeal to the audience, both within the immediacy of the moment, as well as in the endurance it will hold in the memory for years to come.
A record 16 of the 17 credited cast members are transplants from the Broadway run, including an astounding 97% of its behind-the-curtain crew.
“I haven’t laughed so much in my life,” the audience member me behind remarked as curtains drew to a close.
Unlike the traditional figures in Greek mythology, Orpheus is a hero, but not a warrior.
Much in the same way most students know about the Salem Witch Trials through the dramatization found in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it’s safe to assume virtually every student of U.
Although it’s been romanticized and idealized in sitcoms like “Friends,” the wilderness years of the modern twentysomething has been most accurately captured in Jonathan Larson’s seminal work RENT.
As a concert, SIX maintains the momentum and energy for its audience with a consistently good set list of songs, the brazzle-dazzle of lights on the stage, and playful choreography that add up to an exciting ninety minutes of sheer, unadulterated fun.
Director Joseph Walsh has mounted this production fifteen years previously in the UK and Ireland, but he's brought a new production to Central Florida during a year that has been, to say the least, a difficult challenge for both the LGBTQ+ and local theatre communities.
Nothing lasts forever, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the moments as they pass into memory.
Twenty years ago, a group of Walt Disney World cast members decided they wanted to put their talents to good use beyond their roles within the theme parks.
These are the moments that make ON YOUR FEET such a strong musical, and the Garden Theatre's production such a monumental one.
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, yet that is exactly what the intrepid team behind HEAD OVER HEELS sought to do.
Yet, even with the hardships this theatre has gone through, and the uncertainty of the future, all involved with WHILE THE LIGHTS WERE OUT made sure to go out on that stage and give it their all.
A few weeks back, I attended the opening night of The Three Musketeers at Orlando Shakes.
The last time I attended a production at Osceola Arts, the stage had been transformed into 1899 New York City for a production of Newsies.
Ask anyone to describe the Three Musketeers, and you'll get the usual answers: three heroes, bound together in brotherhood, inseparable in the most dire circumstances.
There's blood on my program.
