Anne Hering

Written in just 10 days as a tribute to his sister Susan by playwright Robert Harling, Steel Magnolias explores the relationships between a tight-knit group of Louisiana southern ladies who gather in Truvy's small-town beauty parlor, celebrating the milestones in each other's lives.

The William Daniel Mills Apprentice program has announced auditions for the 2023-24 Apprentice Program! The program provides elite high school and early college talent around central Florida with professional training through expert master classes and professional paid opportunities. 

The William Daniel Mills Apprentice program presents CARRIE: The Musical at the new Orlando Fringe Artspace!

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

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 you could just study Michael Frayn’s masterpiece of a comedy NOISES OFF, which is currently playing at Orlando Shakes as the opening production of their 2022 – 2023 season.

1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies. 3. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose. 4. Me. In the face of severe depression, a child begins a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. The list soon takes on a life of its own in this captivating play by Duncan Macmillan, with Jonny Donahoe.

Thanks to the generosity of Rosy and Harold Mills, Orlando Shakes has announced the W. Daniel Mills Apprentice Program will begin year-long professional training for High School students, creating opportunities to participate and perform in The Young Company (TYC) this upcoming summer and receive continuing training from Orlando Shakes' professional artists. 

Webster’s dictionary defines the word family as “a group of people who are related to each other”, which on its surface may seem simple and straightforward, but as many of us can attest, often that can be the farthest from the truth. What happens when relatives share a bloodline but practically nothing else? Do the benefits of being part of a particular family extend to all members? Throw race into the mixture and a southern town with a history of discrimination and you have the formula for Gloria Bond Clunie’s “serious comedy” SWEET WATER TASTE, which plays at Orlando Shakes through January 22nd.

Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival announced today the 2022 summer season. The upcoming season will be the Festival's 31st summer of productions, and the final season led by Producing Artistic Director Patrick Mulcahy.

Orlando's Suzanne O'Donnell stars as the story's narrator. A fixture in Central Florida's arts scene, the veteran actor has performed with Orlando Shakes since 1993, when she played Rosalind in As You Like It and Adriana in The Comedy of Errors. Since then, she has acted in numerous Shakespeare plays, while also giving life to characters in many new productions at Orlando Shakes.

In William Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, a motley cast of characters find themselves in an idyllic forest filled with magic and wonder. So, it is quite apropos that Orlando Shakes’ current production of this timeless classic is being offered outdoors, at a park (Lake Eola Park) in a beautiful setting by the water. And like the young lovers and the “Mechanicals” who enter the woods not knowing how their lives will change before the night is through, audiences seated in the Walt Disney Amphitheatre are in for an evening of magic and merriment – one that, I must say, is long overdue.

A romantic evening of music and verse, Kiss Me, Shakespeare! A Valentine’s Cabaret will run February 12 - 14, 2021 in Orlando Shakes’ new outdoor performance space, the Darden Courtyard tent, behind the Lowndes Shakespeare Center. Patrons will be seated at socially distanced, cabaret-style tables. Tickets starting at $15 per person are on sale now.

Inspired by a true friendship, Deborah Brevoort’s My Lord, What a Night produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF will be available to stream February 3 - 14, 2021. This Video on Demand production of My Lord, What a Night is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.

Just in time for the holidays, Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF brings Central Florida two heartwarming holiday offerings. Return to the theater in person for The Laura Hodos Holiday Cabaret! The Darden Courtyard will be transformed into an outdoor performance space with a new tented canopy for all to enjoy the incomparable Laura Hodos in a charming, holiday cabaret performance. 

Acting master classes for adult performers now offered by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF's professional teaching artists. Actors of all skill levels are invited to brush up their acting skills by joining professional instructors for a Zoom class.

In response to COVID-19, Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF has reshuffled and updated its upcoming season.

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF will provide an on demand video of the company's 2017 production of Showtime With Shakespeare: A Magic Tree House Adventure to all Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) fourth grade students (approx. 15,000 students) with a post-show digital quiz and 'Magic Tree House Alive! Distance Learning Workshop' to be assigned to students with built in video homework for assessment.

As school, work and social interactions go online, Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF announces a series of free online classes for adults. From Storytelling for Seniors to Interview skills to Shakespeare technique, these stand alone classes are ideal for adults seeking to broaden skills and develop new ones in the safety of their own homes. Participants will be able to livestream the class with Orlando Shakes professionals via webcam.

As school, work and social interactions go online, this Saturday Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF offers a creative break for kids to experience their performing arts classes for ages 4 through grade 12 online to comply with social distancing and CDC recommendations.