Alphabet Soup: An A – Z Guide to the LGBTQIA+ at Orlando Fringe Artspace

The Ugly Dog Presents

Alphabet Soup: An A – Z Guide to the LGBTQIA+

at OutFest presented by Orlando Fringe on June 28-29

The Ugly Dog Presents partners with invisible arts project’s Chad Lewis (Nathan Mosher is Injured; Fish Tales & Swan Songs), to produce the world premiere of Alphabet Soup: An A - Z Guide to the LGBTQIA+, a family-friendly musical about finding your identity and expression in the Queer community. This production will be featured at the first annual Orlando Outfest: A curated festival produced by Orlando Fringe, celebrating exclusively LGBTQIA stories, artists, and history. Outfest will be June 28-30 at the Orlando Fringe Artspace off Church Street in Downtown Orlando, with Alphabet Soup showing on June 28 at 8:30pm & June 29 @ 3:30pm.

Story & music written by Alexander Hehr (Biodegradable Seagulls; Planet Earth Arts Prize Winner, Born Ugly Yesterday; Orlando Fringe 2022), Alphabet Soup focuses on Xan, a young puppet full of wonder, who finds itself at a loss for words, literally. When Xan is called queer by classmates, they visit their favorite diner to find some answers. With an order of extra hot Alphabet Soup, the owners of Marsha’s Diner sing along with more puppet friends to teach Xan all about how the LGBTQIA+ Community expresses themselves. 

“This play was originally inspired by the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill, which was introduced while I was teaching theatre and music at a local high school,” says Hehr. “The idea that queer people, identity, and history were topics too taboo for any age felt destructive to queer youth. Because of this, I wanted to create a show that used Florida State Standards of Education to discuss expression and identity for young people in a positive and entertaining way.”

In many ways, this play is not just for children 7-10 years old, it speaks to a larger demographic of people who are interested to learn more about the queer community, or are interested in learning how to define themselves at any age. “The show celebrates all forms of expression and unravels the mystery behind some of the terms that define them,’ says show director, Lewis. “For me, the core of the show is personal identity and the fact that no one has the right to tell you who you are but you.” 

From Left to Right: Sean Dunphy, Daisy McCarthy, Arius West, and Al Milburn with Xan the puppet.

The cast includes Arius West (Love Crumbs,Orlando Fringe 2024; Allie Kazan and the Magic Mansion, Orlando Family Stage), Daisy McCarthy (MEDDLIN’ The Doosical, Orlando Fringe 2024; Winner of the Splash Award for Favorite LGBTQ Performer), Al Milburn (Spider Queen, Orlando Actor’s Guild), and Sean Dunphy (The Adventures of BabyDale; The Ugly Dog Presents).

The world premiere at Outfest is only the beginning for Alphabet Soup; the producers plan to tour the show and present this one-of-a-kind family friendly production in different parts of Florida. They hope to shine a light on how easy it is to educate families on the queer community and identity. With members of the Florida Government continuing to backtrack queer rights and education in the state, Alphabet Soup hopes to become a stopgap in that purposefully diminishing educational area. 

Tickets for Alphabet Soup are on sale now for $15 and can be purchased at https://orlandofringe.ssboxoffice.com/events/. Performances are June 28 at 8:30pm & June 29 at 3:30pm on the MainStage at the Orlando Fringe Artspace, located at 54 W Church Street, Suite 201.  

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Media Contact

Alexander Hehr

Artistic Director

The Ugly Dog Presents

Theuglydogpresents@gmail.com

727-265-5783