Chris McKinney News

This deliciously dark and compelling drama, Mark Rector and Mark Brown's Poe: Deep Into That Darkness Peering, is about one of America's most haunting poets, Edgar Allan Poe. Produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, the Video on Demand virtual theater experience runs from October 22 - November 1, 2020.

WUCF, Central Florida PBS, collaborates with regional theater Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF to bring a broadcast of Jack and the Beanstalk to Central Florida. The live recording of this jazzy, modern interpretation of the classic fairy tale was written by music legend, and Central Florida local, Michael Andrew.

Four misfit actors playing dozens of characters, a shoestring budget, and an unrequited love. What can go wrong? Directed by Jason Horne, Garden Theatre's hilarious comedy Ben Hur will feature Central Florida's funniest actors. The show will run February 28 - March 15, with an ASL-interpreted performance on Thursday, March 12. 

There's just one final week to submit votes for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

The HBO comedy series HIGH MAINTENANCE, created by Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, returns for its nine-episode fourth season FRIDAY, FEB. 7 (11:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT). The critically acclaimed series uses The Guy (Sinclair), a marijuana dealer, to connect a variety of distinctly authentic, empathetic and insightful stories about the New York community, including his own. 

We're heading into the final week of voting for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The people have spoken nominations are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

There's just a few weeks left to make your voice heard and submit your votes for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The people have spoken nominations are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

It's December! Voting is now underway for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized. Check out the first set of stats below.

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 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).

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).

Grab your dance shoes, because Billy Elliot: The Musical is coming to town! Billy Elliot, a heartfelt story about a boy with a seemingly impossible dream, runs at Garden Theatre April 26 - May 26, 2019. Directed by Rob Winn Anderson, the production features local and national talent.

Grab your dance shoes, because Billy Elliot: The Musical is coming to town! Billy Elliot, a heartfelt story about a boy with a seemingly impossible dream, runs at Garden Theatre April 26 - May 26, 2019. Directed by Rob Winn Anderson, the production features local and national talent.

Jack and the Beanstalk, a new musical by Michael Andrew, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, appears in the Margeson Theater from April 4 - May 4, 2019. 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).

Jack and the Beanstalk, a new musical by Michael Andrew, produced by Orlando Shakes in partnership with UCF, appears in the Margeson Theater from April 4 - May 4, 2019. 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).

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF (Orlando Shakes) produces a new adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Brandon Roberts in the Goldman Theater from June 14 - July 29, 2018. Tickets ($9 - $20) are available now by phone (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, online orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

For many modern audiences, George Bernard Shaw is the guy who wrote the play that MY FAIR LADY is based on, or the guy whom John F. Kennedy misquoted in 1963, but as director Lani Harris points out in the program for Theatre UCF's production of MAN AND SUPERMAN, running through November 22nd, Shaw was a theatre critic turned playwright, who used his public acclaim to stir the political pot of late 1800s-early 1900s England. A committed socialist, Shaw imbued his plays with social commentaries that range from progressive to offensive by today's standards. Despite the playwright's intentions, Harris' production of this classic comedy of manners is well-performed by an excellent all-student cast, but never seems to settle on anything specific to say, despite admirable efforts.

'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.' For many, those words are the definition of what a love story should be about. However, in Theatre UCF's play '(a love story),' which runs through March 1st, three intertwining tales chronicle all of the fevered, messy emotions involved with falling in, and out, of love. The highly-stylized play casts a disapproving eye on love in the modern world, all the while casing the storytelling in the trappings of a classic tragedy. Playwright Kelly Lusk occasionally uses the familiar structure to illuminate the universality of love, but more often than not, he allows it to run roughshod over the story being told, robbing it of any genuine emotion. Nonetheless, Theatre UCF's production is marked with uniformly impressive performances and thrilling production design; reaffirming why Central Florida's colleges provide some of the best, cutting-edge theatre in the region.