Orlando Theater Reviews Page 3

Review: OLIVER! at Osceola Arts
by Joseph Harrison - December 04, 2022

'Please, sir. I want some more.' These words, spoken by Oliver Twist at the beginning of Lionel Bart's  musical OLIVER! kick off a tumultuous journey for the young boy, hurling him into a world destined to change his life forever. It’s a story familiar to many, and one that continues to inspire, eve...

Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Theatre South Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - December 04, 2022

Behind the spectacle, sets, large casts and costumes of many classic musicals are the relatable, human stories, the conflict, the hope and the pure joy of life. Often, however, as audience members we don’t see those things as clearly when distracted by falling chandeliers or giant dance numbers. But...

Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Titusville Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - November 21, 2022

The holidays are about traditions - that special dish on the table, the favorite decoration that was handmade by your child, or a familiar song playing on the radio. And for many, nothing says tradition like watching a classic holiday film. Even though we take comfort in watching these familiar stor...

Review: With a Surprise Appearance by Jodi Benson, DISNEY PRINCESS - THE CONCERT Brings Big Talent to Dr. Phillips Center
by Aaron Wallace - November 17, 2022

The Disney Princesses were only five songs into their set when the iconic Jodi Benson made a surprise appearance on stage. The original voice behind Ariel in 1989's The Little Mermaid, Benson may be best known on screen as a princess, but to a crowd of theatre aficionados and adoring Disney fans, sh...

Review: Regarding HAMILTON at Dr. Phillips Center, Come for the American Adventure, Stay for the Revolutionary Revision to History
by Albert Gutierrez - October 31, 2022

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.S. history from 2015 onward may better know the intimate details of this Founding Father through Lin-Manuel Miranda’s...

Review: Why a 'Weird Al' Concert Without Any Parodies Is the Most 'Weird Al' Concert of All
by Aaron Wallace - October 19, 2022

An evening with 'Weird Al' on stage is always a blend of concert, comedy, and community. The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour feels like an opportunity to give back — letting Al show us everything else he can do while indulging our own inner geeks at the...

Review: Theater West End's RENT Lovingly Preserves the Urban Fantasy That Influenced Generations of Musical Acolytes
by Albert Gutierrez - October 12, 2022

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. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1996 and subsequently became a phenomenon that’s influenced virtu...

Review: THE WORLD GOES ROUND by New Generation Theatrical
by Joseph Harrison - October 09, 2022

“Somebody loses, and somebody wins, and one day it’s kicks, then it’s kicks in the shins. But the planet spins. And the world goes ‘round and ‘round.” So goes the title song of the musical revue THE WORLD GOES ROUND – capturing the essence of life, love, loss and everything in between – and setting ...

Review: Six Ex-Wives Tear Down the Patriarchy Rather Than Each Other in SIX: THE MUSICAL at Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts in Orlando
by Albert Gutierrez - October 05, 2022

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....

Review: Ghost Light Theatricals' LILIES Answers Questions We Shouldn't Be Afraid to Ask at Theatre South Playhouse
by Albert Gutierrez - September 26, 2022

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....

Review: SH-BOOM! LIFE COULD BE A DREAM at The Winter Park Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - September 25, 2022

The Winter Park Playhouse, in Winter Park, FL is extremely good at producing intimate, sometimes lesser-known, but always high-quality musicals. In my short time here in Orlando, I have had the pleasure of visiting the Playhouse on a few occasions, and each time have been thrilled at my experience –...

Review: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN at Osceola Arts
by Joseph Harrison - September 20, 2022

There’s no arguing that musicals made from movies can be hit or miss. Broadway has had it’s share of them over the last few decades. Sometimes they work well (e.g., HAIRSPRAY, LEGALLY BLONDE, THE PRODUCERS) and sometimes not so much (e.g., CARRIE, KING KONG, DRACULA) but there is something particula...

Review: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' at Titusville Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - September 17, 2022

Thomas “Fats” Waller, a pioneer in jazz piano, was a prolific composer, writing over 400 songs in his lifetime, with hits like “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose” even making it into the Grammy Hall of Fame. So, it is no surprise that in 1978 a Broadway Musical, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ premiered fe...

Review: NOISES OFF at Orlando Shakes
by Joseph Harrison - September 11, 2022

What’s the formula for a perfect farce? First take a bunch of unwitting characters thrown together in an unlikely scenario, add to that a lot of slamming doors, physical comedy and costume malfunctions (and maybe a bunch of sardines) and let boil over until you have immense amounts of laughter. Or y...

Review: A CHORUS LINE Dazzles and Delights at Theater West End
by Albert Gutierrez - August 29, 2022

Nothing lasts forever, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the moments as they pass into memory. A CHORUS LINE teaches the audience this through a story that is rooted in the classic vein of 'let's put on a show,' but contains a universal message that rings true to anyone with a passion, whose li...

Review: Encore! Performing Arts Celebrates Milestone 20th Anniversary with COME ALIVE: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ENCORE at Steinmetz Hall of Dr. Phillips Center
by Albert Gutierrez - August 20, 2022

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. Inspired by an Andrew Lloyd Webber 'Birthday Concert' in which stars got together to celebrate the acclaimed composer, they likewise set out to ...

Review: THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL at Titusville Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - August 14, 2022

Audiences in Titusville have their own chance to journey to Bikini Bottom and visit SpongeBob and friends in Titusville Playhouse’s 58th season opener – THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL – a visual feast of a show featuring an outstanding cast which delivers a fun, family-friendly, and highly entertaining night...

Review: ON YOUR FEET: THE STORY OF EMILIO & GLORIA ESTEFAN is a Triumphant Homage to Trailblazing Icons at The Garden Theatre
by Albert Gutierrez - July 12, 2022

These are the moments that make ON YOUR FEET such a strong musical, and the Garden Theatre's production such a monumental one. Within the intimacy of this theatre, through this masterful direction of performance and light and sound, we've been transported. ...

Review: SWEENEY TODD by New Generation Theatrical
by Joseph Harrison - July 09, 2022

How do you take a brilliant piece of classic musical theatre and improve upon it? Orlando’s New Generation Theatrical's production of SWEENEY TODD, does this by breaking down the typical stage barriers and immersing the audience in the material, creating a fresh (and fantastic) production....

Review: SCHOOL OF ROCK at Theatre South Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - June 23, 2022

What happens when you take a popular comedy film, add in new music by the king of musical theatre, and put it on stage with a talented cast? You get the Orlando premiere of SCHOOL OF ROCK presented by Theatre South Playhouse in Dr. Phillips - an energetic, entertaining, and eminently electric experi...

BWW Review: Florida Theatrical Association's BLOOD BROTHERS at The Abbey
by Joseph Harrison - June 12, 2022

“So, did you hear the story of the Johnstone twins? As like each other as two new pins. Of one womb born, on the self-same day, how one was kept and one given away?” These are the words spoken by the Narrator at the beginning of BLOOD BROTHERS, the long-running West End musical by Willy Russell whic...

BWW Review: Even Refreshed for its 50th Anniversary, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Remains Dated & Divisive — Dr. Phillips Center
by Aaron Wallace - June 09, 2022

What did our critic think of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Dr. Phillips Center? The show remains fundamentally a relic of the precise moment in time that Short summed up so well, when the convergence of counterculture and rock & roll meant that an irreverent but ultimately thin concept like this one — “...

BWW Review: PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES at The Winter Park Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - May 22, 2022

Somewhere on Highway 57 between Frog Level and Smyrna sits a little diner across from a service station where the pie is fresh, the beer is cold, and the gas is cheap (if that’s even possible these days). Such is the setting for the Off-Broadway hit musical PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES. And in its latest ...

BWW Review: BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Returns to Dr. Phillips Center; Still Better Than Most Jukebox Musicals
by Aaron Wallace - May 16, 2022

But BEAUTIFUL is structured differently than most 'backstage biomusicals.' It's not a rags to riches story, exactly, nor the routine tale of one woman's ascent to superstardom. Mercifully, we are spared the obligatory plot points of that particular formula. King never learns her contract is unconsci...

BWW Review: LEGALLY BLONDE at Titusville Playhouse
by Joseph Harrison - May 08, 2022

There are some musicals that just make you smile and can do so regardless of how many times you have seen in them. For me, one of those shows is (and will always be) LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL. Read our critic's review about this production of this fun and uplifting musical,. Titusville Playhouse de...