ORLANDO THEATER REVIEWS

From the moment you entire The Venue and see Amanda Hudson-Giese sitting in a rocking chair on stage, there is a dream-like quality to Unseen Images Theatre's production of Caryl Churchill's 2000 play, FAR AWAY. This dream-like quality continues as the play-proper begins, but it quickly spirals into...

'Why, Tom- are you always so restless?' These words from a worried mother to her only son in Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE could very much be used to describe Beth Marshall Presents' ambitious telling of this seminal American memory play. The production, which runs at the Garden Theatre th...

Opening just three weeks before the presidential election, a play analyzing the confluence of religion and politics on a personal level should be a perfect theatrical opportunity. However, in light of this particular presidential contest, the handling of the issue feels simplistic and dated in THE G...

Last week, I wrote an article looking at why Central Florida's collegiate theatre programs, and in particular Theatre UCF, consistently produce content at or above the level of local professional theatres. The next night I went to see UCF's production of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, the musical a...

Good and evil. Purity and sin. Divinity and hell. These things are complete opposites and many would argue that people can be either one or the other. But is it possible that both of these traits can live inside of us? Can each of us have a darkness inside of them yearning to be free? In Orlando Sha...

We've all heard the phrase, 'If it was easy, then everyone would do it.' Well, that axiom is never truer than when applied to visionary artists attempting to create a new form. In the theatrical world where trial and error is built into the developmental process, invariably, you are bound to have an...

Unless you have no sense of humor, no joy in your heart, or no sex drive to speak of, it's impossible to not enjoy yourself....

Lately, it seems that no matter where you turn you are assaulted with frightening news, disheartening images, and arguing politicians. It's gotten so upsetting that no one would fault you for thinking that this is the worst of all possible worlds. However, if you are tired of thinking the worst of s...

'Blood is too precious a thing to be spilled,' the titular character says in the production of DRACULA playing at Carmine Boutique in Orlando through October 15th. Directed by Jeremy Seghers, this ensemble piece by playwright Steven Dietz brings to life Bram Stoker's classic characters with intimate...

The cast for TheatreWorks Florida's Central Florida Premiere of the musical ROCK OF AGES is dynamite; easily one of the two or three best collections of talent that I have seen on an Orlando stage in my three-plus seasons of Central Florida theatergoing. Director and choreographer Scott A. Cook has ...

1942 - it was the time of the big band, war bonds for the troops, and radio. Winter Park Playhouse's ALL HANDS ON DECK transports the audience back to that time with classic tunes, hilarious jokes, and so much more. Based on Bob Hope's 1942 USO tour during World War II, this roadshow turned radio ...

Last year, Orlando's Mad Cow Theatre opened a powerful production of Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play CLYBOURNE PARK, and while their version still holds up a year later, the environment in which we find ourselves in 2016 adds an extra level of resonance to Theatre UCF's production, runnin...

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to rethink a centuries-entrenched conception, it must be done with ideas audacious and revolutionary enough to forever upset the status quo. That was true in a small, stuffy Philadelphia room in 1776, and it is true now at Orlando's Mad Cow Th...

It's a Broadway classic with show tunes that have permeated popular culture. This year Orlando Shakes brings WEST SIDE STORY to its mainstage to kick off its 28th season. With everything that Orlando has endured this Summer, WEST SIDE STORY has never been more relevant. At the start of the show, two...

Throughout all of human history, there has been something sexy and intoxicating about the fine line between good and evil; the dangerous desire to understand it, to conquer it, to control it. The Greater Orlando Actors' Theatre production of the musical JEKYLL & HYDE, running through Sunday, Septemb...

There is much to love about the Garden Theatre's production of Frank Wildhorn's musical BONNIE & CLYDE; the cast is breathtakingly talented, the set, lighting, and costume designs are gorgeous, and the live (unseen) band is pitch perfect. Unfortunately, there is one major thing not to love about Fra...

Perfectly encapsulating the great singer Billie Holiday is no easy feat. The legendary jazz singer with a career spanning over thirty years was a mystery to many people - she was beautiful and talented but her personal life was shrouded in drug and alcohol addiction and a myriad of abusive relat...

For the second summer in a row, Pseudonym Productions has given Central Florida something special; not to mention something surprising, something a little bit sexy, and something altogether sinister. Their new interactive, immersive theatre piece, which they refer to as a 'real-life video game,' ble...

Not sure what you're in the mood for for dinner tonight? How about five generations of an American family with a side of laughs, tears, and introspective reflection? If that sounds like something you could munch on, then the Mad Cow Theatre's THE BIG MEAL is for you. This outstanding play by Dan LeF...

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Based on the quintessential British comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Athens Theater's production of SPAMALOT will have you not only crying of laughter, but wishing you could see it again and again. Whether you're the number one Monty Python fan in your family and know every line of the fi...

EQUUS, presented and directed by Jeremy Seghers, now playing through July 24th at Orlando event site The Acre, is not a show that will appeal to everyone, as it treads not so lightly on a number of rather taboo issues. That being said, if your sensibilities are not easily rattled, the story of a sta...

Mad Cow Theatre's latest production, THE BROTHERS SIZE, is an emotionally charged, yet fulfilling journey that leaves the audience yearning for more by the end. Named “the greatest piece of writing by an American playwright under 30 in a generation or more” by the Chicago Tribune, THE BROTHERS S...

The Summer of teenage angsty themed musicals continues with BARE: A POP OPERA. It is one of those shows that never quite made it to Broadway, the closest being an off-Broadway run in 2004, but still has a cultish fan base. It is also a regional favorite with productions as far as the Philippines and...

After what can only be described as the worst week in history for Orlando, we are all healing and trying to find answers amid so much loss. The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has been a gathering place and public memorial for people to gather and leave tokens of remembrance. Theater has...