Gabe Friedman

The Tony Award-winning musical is based on Miguel de Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote, and is set within the prison walls of the Spanish Inquisition.

Spanish tale weaves adventure, madness and virtue! Sound the drums, mount the steeds, sally forth and join Sierra Rep on an inspiring adventure.

This Thursday night, May 4th, Broadway Sessions welcomes the '17 graduating Music Dance Theatre class from BYU alongside Broadway alumni.

Feinstein's/54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents students and alumni of Theatre UCF from the University of Central Florida in 'ReuKnighted: UCF Sings 50 Years of Hits' on Monday, May 8, 2017 at 11:30 p.m. 

Let's get this out of the way first, the 'hardbody' in the title is a truck, a Nissan pickup truck to be exact; and while the name of the musical, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, might sound a teensy bit risque, it is filled with encouraging messages and life-affirming themes set to a high energy modern score. Presented by TheatreWorks Florida, the musical runs through February 21st at the Garden Theatre, and features an extremely game and talented cast, who unfortunately is not used in a way that comes close to maximizing their immense collective talent. The musical by Doug Wright (book), Amanda Green (music and lyrics), and Trey Anastasio of the band Phish (music) is based on a 1997 documentary of the same name about a Texas contest in which the person who keeps his or her hand on a truck the longest, wins it. While the show's ensemble construction gives nearly every cast-member multiple moments to vocally shine, it seems like a substantial amount of them have been shoehorned into roles that don't exactly match up with their particular vocal ranges, resulting in fairly regular pitch issues. That not-so minor issue aside, the show is a joyous, toe-tapping celebration of all the things, good and bad, that make people special.

The Garden Theatre is proud to present TheatreWorks Florida's production of Hands on a Hardbody showing January 29 - February 21, 2016. Hands on a Hardbody is sponsored by Joe Worsham and Becky Worsham Farrant at Pacific Global Investment Management Company, Insight Credit Union and Toole's Ace Hardware.

What could be more exciting than a stage full of musical theatre students performing the roles they dream to play in the decade that lies ahead? Answer: Absolutely nothing.  I was one of the fortunate audience members to share in the experience of night two of the Dream Roles Concert, performed by the UCF BFA Musical Theatre Senior Class (with half the class performing on December 12 and the other half on December 13). From the opening medley to the finale, all of the students had stars in their eyes and a fire in their hearts.  UCF is known for attracting impressive talent and I can only imagine the pride felt by the staff, family and friends in the audience. I only wish I'd witnessed night one to have captured the complete essence of the pseudo recital.

UCF Cares: The Journey in cooperation with Theatre UCF is the second annual cabaret benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and will be performed one night only on October 30th at 7 PM in the Visual Arts Building Auditorium on UCF's campus.

Since its Off-Broadway debut in 1967, HAIR has become a touchstone for musical theatre fans with a fondness for the decade's counter-culture revolution. Having won both a Tony and a Grammy, there is no doubt that this musical, which defies nearly every theatrical convention, has become as important a part of the genre's cannon as any of the Golden Age's classics. However, it is a show that I have just never 'got.' Perhaps I am too square to appreciate the flower-power sensibility, or too straight-laced to understand the era of psychedelic drugs and free love. Nonetheless, the score by Galt MacDermot (music) and James Rado and Gerome Ragni (lyrics) contains some of the theatre's best 'rock' songs with pop cross-overs 'Aquarius,' 'Good Morning Starshine,' and 'Let the Sunshine In.' Theatre UCF's production of 'The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical,' which runs through October 25th, might not have been able to make me appreciate the show's trippy conceit, but it did confirm that the program has just as much talent as nearly any of Central Florida's professional theatres.

If you've ever seen a show on Broadway or even professional companies touring nationally, you may have hear a curtain call speech requesting donations for a charity called Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This non-profit group uses the funds to help those suffering from HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS affects people across the nation and that fact was not lost on UCF Senior Gabe Friedman. Gabe and other UCF students are hosting a fundraiser cabaret on October 30th to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Below, Gabe discusses with Broadway World what he's been up to and a little more about this fundraiser.

UCF Cares: The Journey in cooperation with Theatre UCF is the second annual cabaret benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and will be performed one night only on October 30th at 7 PM in the Visual Arts Building Auditorium on UCF's campus.

Currently playing at the Athens Theatre in DeLand is the classic musical YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. Based off the comic strip made famous by Charles M. Schulz, the musical revolves around Charlie Brown and his group of friends. Here is a moment with Gabe Friedman, who plays Charlie Brown, to chat about his involvement in this show.