Edward Smith News

The 43rd Season of the BBT - a Season of Love and Passion - kicks off in November with a what has been called "the most charming musical ever written."

This season's PlayFest lineup will be dedicated to new works that have a direct correlation to themes relating to the Pulse shooting that took place in Orlando on June 12, 2016. The groundbreaking new works will include Israel Horovitz's The Day Before Yesterday, Karen Zacarias'Native Gardens, Allison Gregory's Motherland, Lee Blessing's Minneapolis/St. Paul, and John Biguenet's Ever After.  

Orlando Shakespeare Theater (Orlando Shakes) in Partnership with UCF invites audiences to take a risk on new plays at PlayFest presented by Harriett's Charitable Trust from November 3 - 6, 2016. This year's four-day event titled PlayFest: After Pulse will feature six new plays that explore issues surrounding the Pulse tragedy. Tickets to individual PlayFest readings ($10) may be purchased online at www.orlandoshakes.org, by phone at (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street). PlayFest Passes ($49) and PlayFest VIP Passes ($100) are on sale now and may be purchased by phone or in person.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to rethink a centuries-entrenched conception, it must be done with ideas audacious and revolutionary enough to forever upset the status quo. That was true in a small, stuffy Philadelphia room in 1776, and it is true now at Orlando's Mad Cow Theatre. While the newest production from the Church Street company might not have the same lasting impact as the creation of the United States, it is undoubtedly one of the best theatrical productions that Central Florida has seen in recent years.

Chelsea Ingram's KEEP CALLING is a gripping look at the lasting effects of a dark family secret.

What really happened last summer on the beaches of Cabeza de Lobo where young Sebastian Venable mysteriously died?  Catharine Holly knows, but Sebastian's mother Violet will go to any length to keep the truth hidden forever.  Suspenseful and shocking, this is Tennessee Williams at his most poetic and revelatory.

What happens behind closed doors?  After the death of a father, an estranged brother and sister are forced together to confront their forbidden past. New-York based Australian actors Luke Edward Smith and Chelsea Ingram are set to star in the Australian premiere of Ingram's thrilling, provocative play, KEEP CALLING, running 13-17 Sept late show at the PACT Theatre Erskineville as part of the Sydney Fringe festival.

Next month, Mad Cow Theatre will open its 20th season with 1776, the Tony Award-winning musical which celebrates the creation of America's Declaration of Independence. Mad Cow's unique production, which features an exclusively female cast, will run from September 23 through October 23 in Mad Cow's Harriet Theater, located on the second floor of 54 West Church Street in Downtown Orlando. Regular tickets range from $38-$45, available at 407-297-8788 or madcowtheatre.com.

Not sure what you're in the mood for for dinner tonight? How about five generations of an American family with a side of laughs, tears, and introspective reflection? If that sounds like something you could munch on, then the Mad Cow Theatre's THE BIG MEAL is for you. This outstanding play by Dan LeFranc is directed by Mark Edward Smith and serves up the story of two characters - Sam and Nicole - and their journey through the feast that is life.

What really happened last summer on the beaches of Cabeza de Lobo where young Sebastian Venable mysteriously died?  Catharine Holly knows, but Sebastian's mother Violet will go to any length to keep the truth hidden forever.  Suspenseful and shocking, this is Tennessee Williams at his most poetic and revelatory.

Charles Edward Smith, a dedicated author, has completed his new book 'Hate, Revenge, and the .44': a pulse-pounding pursuit of the violent rectification of a wrong in the old west.

Mad Cow Theatre is delighted to announce the cast and creative team for the poignant comic drama The Big Meal, which will take the stage Aug 5, 2016 as the ninth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 19. Originally scheduled to be produced on the Harriett stage at Mad Cow, The Big Meal will be presented on the more intimate Zehngebot-Stonerock stage as a result of the extension of Mad Cow's popular Avenue Q.

Miners Alley Playhouse presents, 'Little Shop of Horrors' July 15 through August 21 in Golden.

Mad Cow Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for the poignant comic drama The Big Meal, which will take the stage Aug 5, 2016 as the ninth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 19. Originally scheduled to be produced on the Harriett stage at Mad Cow, The Big Meal will be presented on the more intimate Zehngebot-Stonerock stage as a result of the extension of Mad Cow's popular Avenue Q.

Miners Alley Playhouse presents, 'Little Shop of Horrors' July 15 through August 21 in Golden.

Lion Heart Autographs, for nearly forty years an internationally recognized dealer of autographs and manuscripts focusing on art, history, literature, music and science has announced the opportunity to own several pieces of exceedingly rare memorabilia about the Titanic.

Sometimes I forget how many things can rhyme with 'OMIGOD YOU GUYS.' If you need some ideas, look no further than the opening number of Town Hall's current production of Legally Blonde The Musical.

Started in 1998, Spotlight Theatre Company begins its 19th season this August. After beginning in Westminster, they made their home in the quaint 70 seat theatre in the West Colfax E-vents Center located in the heart of Lakewood and in 2008 made the move to Old Towne Lowry to the John Hand Theater in Colorado Free University.

Eugene O'Neill's epic LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT is undoubtedly one of the most venerated works of the American theatre. With a star-studded Broadway revival set to open in April, it is a show that is never far from the theatergoing public's consciousness. While that can be a blessing for theatre companies anxious to attract audiences based on the title's Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning resume, it can also mean that memories of previous incarnations can set the bar unattainably high. Orlando's Mad Cow Theatre has assembled an impressive cast for their production running through April 17th, however, for nearly all of the show's four-hour running timing, the four incredibly talented actors seem to be performing four very different versions of the play. Irrespective of each other, they each have moments where they are moving, and even mesmerizing, but when placed together into the show's larger context, the disjointed perspectives become distracting. From mismatched accents to the production's ever-shifting tone, it's difficult to hone in on director Mark Edward Smith's specific voice for this masterpiece of family drama.

Mad Cow Theatre is delighted to announce the cast and creative team for Eugene O'Neill's dramatic masterpiece LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, opening March 18, 2016 in the Harriett Theatre as the sixth production of Mad Cow Theatre's Season 19.