Orlando Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 11

BWW Review: History Comes Alive in BEN FRANKLIN: AN INGENIOUS LIFE with Ray Flynt
by Kimberly Moy - January 13, 2017

Benjamin Franklin: one of America's Founding Fathers and man on the $100 bill comes to life in Ray Flynt's BEN FRANKLIN: AN INGENIOUS LIFE. Known as a philosopher, inventor, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the guy with the kite and key in thunderstorm, Ben Franklin is the stuff of lege...

BWW Review: Falling in Love with AN AMERICAN IN PARIS at the Dr. Phillips Center
by Kimberly Moy - December 15, 2016

Paris is the city of love and this allure draws people to find themselves surrounded by art, light, and human connection. Set to the music of George and Ira Gershwin, the music of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS are instantly recognizable, but come with a twist in interpretation. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS harks bac...

BWW Review: A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Warms Hearts at the Garden Theatre
by Kelli McGurk - December 08, 2016

Christmas time is here, indeed, with A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Garden Theatre. Adapted for the stage by Eric Schaeffer, this live-action transfer is almost an exact carbon copy of the beloved television special....

BWW Review: Pass the Eggnog and Settle in for EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD at Orlando Shakes
by Kimberly Moy - December 05, 2016

Let's face it there are a lot of Christmas stories out there. From the moment Thanksgiving is over, the holiday movies begin to play non-stop and people begin blasting Christmas music. For theaters around the world Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL is that holiday staple sure to bring in audiences ...

BWW Review: Exploring the Parallels of AMERICAN BUFFALO at Theater on the Edge
by Kimberly Moy - November 21, 2016

Capitalism is encapsulated in Theater on the Edge's portrayal of AMERICAN BUFFALO. Written by David Mamet, AMERICAN BUFFALO sits among the best modern American plays. While the play is a microscopic look into the lives of three men just trying to make a buck, it draws parallels to the underlying g...

BWW Review: Attending A MARVELOUS PARTY at Winter Park Playhouse
by Kimberly Moy - November 14, 2016

The Winter Park Playhouse brings to life the musings and music of English playwright, composer, master-of-all-things theater Noel Coward. As a playwright, many of Coward's works still make their way into modern theater repertoire including BLITHE SPIRIT, PRIVATE LIVES and many more. A MARVELOUS PART...

BWW Review: CURIOUS INCIDENT is a Beautiful, but Distant Look at the Life of an Outsider
by Matt Tamanini - November 02, 2016

In THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, running through November 6th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the world is full of chaos, and one special boy named Christopher is intent on figuring it out. With a dizzying assault of sights, sounds, and information that over ...

BWW Review: ROCK THE PRESIDENTS is a Rockin' Ride Through Presidential History
by Matt Tamanini - November 01, 2016

As our presidential election (thankfully) moves into its final days, the Orlando Repertory Theatre is currently serving up a delightful injection of fun and patriotism that might just do the trick to get your spirits up about exercising your civic duty. Directed by Jeffrey M. Revels, ROCK THE PRESID...

BWW Review: Orlando Shakes' STUART LITTLE is the Pick-Me-Up We All Need
by Kimberly Moy - October 31, 2016

Orlando Shakes' STUART LITTLE delights young audiences and keeps the grown ups entertained too. This play is filled with colorful adventure, limitless optimism, and easy laughs that is exactly the pick-me-up needed this time of year. While most of the performances are sold-out to school audiences, t...

BWW Review: Unseen Images' FAR AWAY Creates a Disturbing Dream World at The Venue
by Matt Tamanini - October 29, 2016

From the moment you entire The Venue and see Amanda Hudson-Giese sitting in a rocking chair on stage, there is a dream-like quality to Unseen Images Theatre's production of Caryl Churchill's 2000 play, FAR AWAY. This dream-like quality continues as the play-proper begins, but it quickly spirals into...

BWW Review: Beth Marshall Presents' THE GLASS MENAGERIE is Restless Blend of Anger and Ambition
by Matt Tamanini - October 29, 2016

'Why, Tom- are you always so restless?' These words from a worried mother to her only son in Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE could very much be used to describe Beth Marshall Presents' ambitious telling of this seminal American memory play. The production, which runs at the Garden Theatre th...

BWW Review: THE GOD GAME Provides Unrealistic Look at Religion and Politics at Mad Cow
by Matt Tamanini - October 27, 2016

Opening just three weeks before the presidential election, a play analyzing the confluence of religion and politics on a personal level should be a perfect theatrical opportunity. However, in light of this particular presidential contest, the handling of the issue feels simplistic and dated in THE G...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN Shatters Lofty Expectations
by Matt Tamanini - October 26, 2016

Last week, I wrote an article looking at why Central Florida's collegiate theatre programs, and in particular Theatre UCF, consistently produce content at or above the level of local professional theatres. The next night I went to see UCF's production of Mel Brooks' YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, the musical a...

BWW Review: Good and Evil Collide in Orlando Shakes' DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE
by Libby Champion - October 21, 2016

Good and evil. Purity and sin. Divinity and hell. These things are complete opposites and many would argue that people can be either one or the other. But is it possible that both of these traits can live inside of us? Can each of us have a darkness inside of them yearning to be free? In Orlando Sha...

BWW Review: Pseudonym Productions' Odd CATHARSIS Misses Haunted House Mark
by Matt Tamanini - October 18, 2016

We've all heard the phrase, 'If it was easy, then everyone would do it.' Well, that axiom is never truer than when applied to visionary artists attempting to create a new form. In the theatrical world where trial and error is built into the developmental process, invariably, you are bound to have an...

BWW Review: Unless You Hate Fun and Sexiness, Death-Defying THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW is Giddy Perfection
by Matt Tamanini - October 16, 2016

Unless you have no sense of humor, no joy in your heart, or no sex drive to speak of, it's impossible to not enjoy yourself....

BWW Review: Orlando Phil's CANDIDE is Delightful Antidote for Disheartening World
by Matt Tamanini - October 14, 2016

Lately, it seems that no matter where you turn you are assaulted with frightening news, disheartening images, and arguing politicians. It's gotten so upsetting that no one would fault you for thinking that this is the worst of all possible worlds. However, if you are tired of thinking the worst of s...

BWW Review: The Intimate DRACULA at Carmine Boutique Provides Powerful, Personal Thrills
by Matt Tamanini - October 12, 2016

'Blood is too precious a thing to be spilled,' the titular character says in the production of DRACULA playing at Carmine Boutique in Orlando through October 15th. Directed by Jeremy Seghers, this ensemble piece by playwright Steven Dietz brings to life Bram Stoker's classic characters with intimate...

BWW Review: ROCK OF AGES is a Runaway Train of Sexiness and Head Banging
by Matt Tamanini - October 02, 2016

The cast for TheatreWorks Florida's Central Florida Premiere of the musical ROCK OF AGES is dynamite; easily one of the two or three best collections of talent that I have seen on an Orlando stage in my three-plus seasons of Central Florida theatergoing. Director and choreographer Scott A. Cook has ...

BWW Review: Swingin' with Winter Park Playhouse's ALL HANDS ON DECK
by Libby Champion - September 28, 2016

1942 - it was the time of the big band, war bonds for the troops, and radio. Winter Park Playhouse's ALL HANDS ON DECK transports the audience back to that time with classic tunes, hilarious jokes, and so much more. Based on Bob Hope's 1942 USO tour during World War II, this roadshow turned radio sh...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's CLYBOURNE PARK is Central Florida Theatre at its Best
by Matt Tamanini - September 30, 2016

Last year, Orlando's Mad Cow Theatre opened a powerful production of Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play CLYBOURNE PARK, and while their version still holds up a year later, the environment in which we find ourselves in 2016 adds an extra level of resonance to Theatre UCF's production, runnin...

BWW Review: Mad Cow's All-Female '1776' is Stunningly Moving, Revolutionary Theatre
by Matt Tamanini - September 29, 2016

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 Th...

BWW Review: Feeling Pretty at Orlando Shakes' WEST SIDE STORY
by Kimberly Moy - September 19, 2016

It's a Broadway classic with show tunes that have permeated popular culture. This year Orlando Shakes brings WEST SIDE STORY to its mainstage to kick off its 28th season. With everything that Orlando has endured this Summer, WEST SIDE STORY has never been more relevant. At the start of the show, two...

BWW Review: GOAT's JEKYLL & HYDE Is Sexy, but Safe High-Quality Theatre
by Matt Tamanini - September 21, 2016

Throughout all of human history, there has been something sexy and intoxicating about the fine line between good and evil; the dangerous desire to understand it, to conquer it, to control it. The Greater Orlando Actors' Theatre production of the musical JEKYLL & HYDE, running through Sunday, Septemb...

BWW Review: Garden Theatre's Exceptional BONNIE & CLYDE Cast Makes the Most of Mediocre Material
by Matt Tamanini - September 16, 2016

There is much to love about the Garden Theatre's production of Frank Wildhorn's musical BONNIE & CLYDE; the cast is breathtakingly talented, the set, lighting, and costume designs are gorgeous, and the live (unseen) band is pitch perfect. Unfortunately, there is one major thing not to love about Fra...