Anne Hering News

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.

Inspired by a true friendship, Deborah Brevoort's My Lord, What a Night produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF - Central Florida's largest professional theater company, runs from March 18 - April 26, 2020. This production of My Lord, What a Night is part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

A few weeks back, I attended the opening night of The Three Musketeers at Orlando Shakes. I marveled, in particular, at a rotating stage and staircase designed by Bert Scott. The way the production team used that stage always impressed me. Imagine my delight when I came back to Orlando Shakes for the opening weekend of HENRY IV, PART 1 and saw that same exact stage now being used to represent 1492 England rather than 1628 France. Part of it is my fault, I didn't know they'd be using the same stage and assumed another theatre space at Orlando Shakes would house HENRY IV. But now knowing that this same space was used for two plays got the wheels in my head turning. It's a genius move on Orlando Shakes' part, creating a very fitting double-feature of entertainment. The same cast, the same stage, but two wholly different stories unfold.

Shakespeare's epic Fire and Reign series continues with a dynamic production of Henry IV, Part 1, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF. This production will run in repertory February 19 - March 21, 2020 along with Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, as adapted by Catherine Bush. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

From the theater's greatest endeavor, staging Shakespeare's turbulent epic, to a comedic, sci-fi musical, Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF is offering a diverse array of classic, contemporary, and children's plays for their 2020-2021 Season.

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. They were a holy trinity of masculinity and friendship, the #SquadGoals of the 19th century. But unless one were intimately familiar with Alexandre Dumas' novel or its many adaptations, five will get you ten the average Joe today would be remiss to actually name all of them. That's not the fault of the average Joe, but rather the reputation that precedes these fictional characters. Most would be familiar with what they are, not necessarily who they are.

Swashbuckling sword fights and romance lie at the center of this thrilling take on Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers by Catherine Bush, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from February 5 - March 22, 2020. This bold production will run in repertory with William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from December 4 - 29, 2019. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Miss Nelson is Missing!, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from October 17 - November 22, 2019. This musical is based on the book Miss Nelson is Missing and Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall. Tickets (starting at $15) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Miss Nelson is Missing!, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from October 17 - November 22, 2019. This musical is based on the book Miss Nelson is Missing and Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall. Tickets (starting at $15) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon., produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from December 4 - 29, 2019. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Miss Nelson is Missing!, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, runs from October 17 - November 22, 2019. This musical is based on the book Miss Nelson is Missing and Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall. Tickets (starting at $15) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF continually looks for new and effective ways of breaking down barriers to offer accessible and inclusive programming for all. Over the past two years, the company has experimented with live stream technology by broadcasting Children's Series productions. The Children's Series productions at Orlando Shakes aim to give students, particularly those in marginally served schools and communities, exposure to high quality, professional productions; broadcasting live performances to schools across the state is another step toward bringing arts engagement to every classroom.  

Snow White, adapted by Brandon Roberts, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF appears in the Goldman Theater from June 13 - July 28, 2019. Single tickets will become available May 2, 2019. Group tickets ($10 - $20) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online through orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita  Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

William Shakespeare's Richard II produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF runs from March 27 - April 28, 2019. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF announces the upcoming productions for their 2019-2020 Season. The theater celebrates classic, contemporary, and children's plays with a season featuring an Andrew Lloyd Webber hit musical, three Shakespearean classics, a new Christmas staple, two new works that shed new light on history, and three children's stories brought to life.

Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2 produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF runs from January 2 - February 3, 2019. Tickets (starting at $30) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online at orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).