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Review: GOTHIC SEAS: FATHOMS OF INTOXICATING FORTUNE by New Generation Theatrical

“What do you do with a drunken sailor?” An age-old question sung by scalawags and ne’er do wells as they drank rum on the deck of a ship on its way to pillage and burn. Sound familiar? For any fan of pirate popular culture, this conjures a particular image. Maybe it’s of Captain Jack Sparrow stumbling around and getting into all kinds of misadventures or the local fan favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom. Maybe your reference is more of the classical nature, Blackbeard or Treasure Island. Whatever your pirate point of reference, it is likely you haven’t seen pirates like the ones inhabiting the latest offering from New Generation Theatrical (Sept 19-29 at the Abbey), GOTHIC SEAS: FATHOMS OF INTOXICATING FORTUNE – an original play that offers comedy, a touch of improv and of course, plenty of drinking to ensure audiences have a jolly good time. A Jolly Roger, that is.
Review: THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG at Osceola Arts

It is rare to sit down in a theatre to see a play and literally laugh non-stop from before the curtain all the way to the final bows. Sure, there are hilarious comedies out there that garner many laughs in an evening but to create a raucous reaction from an audience with little time to take a breath until the next unbelievably funny moment – for almost every moment of the play - that is rare. So, when I tell you this is exactly the experience you are likely to have sitting in the audience at Osceola Arts’ stellar production of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, trust me, you should run, not walk, to get your tickets to what is likely to be the funniest and most entertaining Central Florida productions of the year. Fair warning – you should be prepared for your face and your sides to hurt by the end of the evening – and not just metaphorically – it is truly that fun.
Review: 42ND STREET at Osceola Arts

There are some standard musical theatre moments that never fail to take my breath away. From the powerful 11th hour “I want” song to a perfectly in sync kick line, certain musical mainstays will simply never get old for me. And one of the best examples of musical nirvana, I believe, is a well-choreographed and expertly executed tap number. Nothing thrills like seeing a group of performers executing the complex and rhythmically entrancing dances that are extremely difficult to master but seem effortless due to the skill and talent of those on stage. So, I was thrilled to have the chance to take in Osceola Arts’ latest production of the classic musical 42ND STREET and I am here to tell you, it did not disappoint. This fantastic production includes some of the finest choreography (and dancing) I have seen on stage here in Central Florida in my four years here and is a fabulous foray into a bygone era of classic movie musicals that provides non-stop entertainment and musical theatre magic in every moment.
Hannah McGinley Lemasters to Premiere Solo Cabaret BACKWOODS TO BROADWAY at The Winter Park Playhouse

Hannah McGinley Lemasters premieres solo cabaret - Backwoods to Broadway - in The Winter Park Playhouse Spotlight Cabaret Series.
RUTHLESS! THE MUSICAL to Take the Mainstage at The Winter Park Playhouse Beginning This Month

The Winter Park Playhouse will continue its 21st season as Central Florida's professional musical theatre with the hit Off-Broadway musical comedy - Ruthless! The Musical!
Review: DESPERATE MEASURES at The Winter Park Playhouse

Sometimes a production comes along that finds the perfect synergy between content, cast and creative vision ultimately delivering an elevated theatrical experience. And when that show is lesser known, but wildly entertaining that makes this perfect alignment seem even more rare. I am thrilled to say that The Winter Park Playhouse has found just such a production in DESPERATE MEASURES, the final offering in its 20th season. This rollicking, hilarious and superbly performed musical comedy is sure to thrill and shows off why The Winter Park Playhouse is truly a gem in the Orlando theatre community.
Winter Park Playhouse Presents DESPERATE MEASURES Next Month

Closing the highly successful Winter Park Playhouse 20th Anniversary Series, the Off-Broadway hit - Desperate Measures - makes its way to the theatre's Mainstage May 12 - June 11, 2023. 
Review: OLIVER! at Osceola Arts

'Please, sir. I want some more.' These words, spoken by Oliver Twist at the beginning of Lionel Bart's  musical OLIVER! kick off a tumultuous journey for the young boy, hurling him into a world destined to change his life forever. It’s a story familiar to many, and one that continues to inspire, even today. In its latest production, Osceola Arts presents this classic tale with a dedicated and energetic cast that entertains and excites.
Review: Encore! Performing Arts Celebrates Milestone 20th Anniversary with COME ALIVE: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ENCORE at Steinmetz Hall of Dr. Phillips Center

Twenty years ago, a group of Walt Disney World cast members decided they wanted to put their talents to good use beyond their roles within the theme parks. Inspired by an Andrew Lloyd Webber 'Birthday Concert' in which stars got together to celebrate the acclaimed composer, they likewise set out to create a concert setting - all on their own time and dime - to help benefit the Central Florida community they call home. What began as a contingent of nearly seventy players has expanded and grown over the next two decades as hundreds of members come and go at their leisure, based upon the time they can give and the talent they can share. In a world filled with uncertainty and strife, it's a blessing that something as inherently good and selfless as Encore! Performing Arts continues to thrive.
BWW Review: Breathing Fresh Air Into a Cult Classic with LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Straz Center

Little Shop of Horrors is a horror comedy rock musical with somewhat of a cult following much like Hedwig & the Angry Inch, and Rocky Horror Show. Read our critic's review.
Celebration Theatre Company to Present TWISTED THE 3RD

Celebration Theatre Co. will kick off its 2022 Season with TWISTED THE 3RD, the latest in the company's series of 'miscast' cabarets, at The Abbey on Thursday, January 20, at 8pm.
Full Cast Announced For One Night Concert Supporting The Orlando Artist Guild

Proceeds from the event will go toward arts scholarships for students in need and in assisting the Orlando Arts Guild in creating brave and inclusive artistic spaces for all.
BWW Review: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at Celebration Theatre Company

Settings for musicals range from the rather ordinary to the extraordinary. Audiences can be transported to the pre-war Austrian countryside or the magical world of Oz, or in the case of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, Celebration Theatre Company’s latest production at Dr. Phillips Center, a county spelling bee. And though this may not sound like the most exciting of places to set a musical, this show is filled with quirky (but lovable) characters, a compelling story and great music – making for a fun couple hours of theatrical magic that is both touching and funny, and which also illustrates some of the challenges facing young people today – parental approval, pressure to excel, first crushes and the intense need to fit in.
Celebration Theatre Co. Presents THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

Celebration Theatre Company continues its fifth season with Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn's Tony Award-winning The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, running from April 30 - May 9, 2021 at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts' Alexis and Jim Pugh Theatre.
Next At The Garden: MATILDA THE MUSICAL!

Audiences in Central Florida will delight in seeing the classic characters of Matilda, Miss Honey, and Headmistress Trunchbull live on stage! Directed by Garden Theatre's Artistic Director Joseph C. Walsh, the production will run November 19 - December 20, with an ASL-interpreted performance on Thursday, December 3 and a Sensory-Friendly performance on Saturday, December 12. Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical is presented by AdventHealth.
STAGE TUBE: Highlights from the 2011 First Night Honors

SAVE THE DATE: The 2012 First Night Honorees, Most Promising Actors and the First Night Star Award winners will be revealed on Monday, July 23, at the First Night Preview Party...details to follow.
Musical Legacy of Garland and Rooney Spotlighted in BABES IN HOLLYWOOD at Gaslight Theatre

The musical review was created by David Grapes (the former artistic director of Tennessee Repertory Theatre), with musical arrangements and medleys by Andrew Philip Herron, and traces the careers of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney from early on, as the two made their way to Hollywood and became America's Sweethearts, through their sensational careers both in Hollywood and on Broadway.
BWW Reviews: BABES IN HOLLYWOOD Takes Audiences On a Nostalgia-Fueled Sentimental Journey

Granted, Babes in Hollywood isn't for all theater audiences-although, frankly, it should be…what's with you people?-and you'll certainly love it more if you're at least somewhat informed about the Garland/Rooney film oeuvre or the legendarily close relationship the two young stars forged as children and continued throughout their lives. Although that friendship was abruptly ended in 1969 when Garland died in London (I remember reading the news in the Memphis Press-Scimitar as a sixth grader), I've no doubt Mickey Rooney still has conversations with his old pal, somewhere within the recesses of his memory and his heart.
Musical Legacy of Garland and Rooney Spotlighted in BABES IN HOLLYWOOD at Gaslight Theatre

Dickson's Gaslight Dinner Theatre kicks off 2012 by bringing Hollywood and Broadway legends Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney to life via the musical revue Babes in Hollywood: The Music of Garland and Rooney, February 14-March 10.
Musical Legacy of Garland and Rooney Spotlighted in BABES IN HOLLYWOOD at Gaslight Theatre

The musical review was created by David Grapes (the former artistic director of Tennessee Repertory Theatre), with musical arrangements and medleys by Andrew Philip Herron, and traces the careers of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney from early on, as the two made their way to Hollywood and became America's Sweethearts, through their sensational careers both in Hollywood and on Broadway.

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