Here are reviews of the shows presented at the 2018 Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest. (Note that in most cases the reviews reflect a show's production at the May 2017 Fringe Festival.) To buy tickets for shows and get more information to to OrlandoFringe.org
The scent of pine is already strong and mixing with the sweet aroma of gingerbread coming from the room to my right. It’s a combination of smells that sends the memories flooding in. This is the Festival of Trees, the Orlando Museum of Art’s starting pistol shot for the holidays for the past 31...
Theater producer Michael Jackowitz was listening to CDs of new musicals while driving, hoping to find his next project. It wasn’t going well. “I listened to 30 seconds of the first CD and hit eject,” recalls Jackowitz, who grew up in Winter Park. “I listened to more of the second CD but didn’t...
The great Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca is having a mini-renaissance on Central Florida college campuses this season. In the spring, Theatre UCF will stage a musical version of his classic “The House of Bernarda Alba.” Right now, Seminole State College is presenting Emily Mann’s new...
One wonders what several latecomers thought when they arrived at “An Octoroon” just in time to see a black actor in whiteface makeup put a straw into a bottle of vodka — and start chugging. At least they were seated before the large Disney-esque rabbit costumed character made his appearance. “An...
Michael Wainstein is new to the University of Central Florida, but he is enthused about a longtime local event — the annual Young Composers Challenge. “To be 16 years old and hear your work played by a symphony orchestra…” he exclaims, “it’s just incredible.” Wainstein has been director of the...
It’s a big week for Central Florida’s music fans. Central Florida Vocal Arts is staging “Double Jeopardy” Thursday through Nov. 19. The program is a double bill of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta “Trial By Jury” and the Central Florida premiere of “The Trial of B.B. Wolf” by St. Augustine composer...
Actress Vivica A. Fox reaches millions through her role as Cookie’s sister on TV’s “Empire.” She reaches far smaller audiences through the stage version of “Two Can Play That Game,” her 2001 film, but she hopes patrons take a vital message. “I just want them to enjoy black theater more than anything...
Celebrating the holidays in Florida is easier than remembering the names of Santa's reindeer this season, with a multitude of events across the state. Florida's theme parks and other attractions won't disappoint this year. Universal Orlando will feature Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry...
For the Czech opera “Brundibár,” there was no red-carpet premiere — its 1942 debut took place in an orphanage in Prague. The subsequent run happened in even more dire circumstances about 40 miles away, as the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp staged 55 performances — the only time they...
Bands often don’t survive the loss of a member. Such was nearly the case with Ministry, when longtime guitarist Mike Scaccia died in 2012. Scaccia had joined the industrial pioneers in 1989, first appearing on the album “The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste.” While Al Jourgensen (pictured) is...
When fan-favorite superstars record together, there is always the hope that they will find their way onto the same live stage. The excitement for these sort of shippings grows when the stars are as undeniably sexy as Latin sensations Juanes and Mon Laferte. So to hear that the Colombian rocker...
The Florida Strawberry Festival always brings in big-name entertainment for its 11-day run, and 2018 is only different in that it isn’t just country music headlining the event. Sure there’ll be current country juggernauts like The Band Perry, Brad Paisley and Trace Adkins and older fan favorites...
In 2017, Central Florida made a splash on the big screen, and that was a top story in the arts. The region came across as colorful and compelling in “The Florida Project,” Sean Baker’s remarkable film about impoverished children living near Walt Disney World. Brooklynn Prince of Winter Springs...
What’s the going rate for a Spacey-ectomy? Ten million dollars isn’t all the money in the world, but it’s a lot. And it’s the amount director Ridley Scott’s backers paid to remove Kevin Spacey from an already completed version of the brisk, medium-good kidnapping drama “All the Money in the World.”...
Director Alexander Payne got our votes when he offered a brilliantly satirical look at politics and popularity with his insightful high school-based comedy "Election." He showed with "Sideways" that he could present a story as firm and dry as a prized red wine. He's done neither with his latest...
Molly Bloom’s 2014 memoir “Molly’s Game” was more of a tell-some than a tell-all. In the book, the former freestyle skiing Olympic hopeful discussed the accident that derailed her athletic career. Mainly, she wrote about her improbable career running a pricey, underground poker game in Los Angeles...
They imagined the postcard version of Orlando, the one with sunny skies and soaring temperatures. Instead, they got whitecaps on the Seven Seas Lagoon and whispers of a four-letter word: Snow. But vacationing theme-park fans persisted through Wednesday’s inclement weather, which included temperatures...
Three cheers to the cast and crew of “La Nouba,” which after 19 years of thrills bowed out with a spectacular performance on New Year’s Eve. Theatergoers were treated to a balloon drop at the show’s finale (“La Nouba, 1998-2017” the balloons read, with “Goodbye” printed in multiple languages representing...
SPRINGHILL — A Florida state park is looking for new mermaids. Or at least humans who can pretend to be mermaids. The Tampa Bay Times reports Weeki Wachee Springs State Park will hold auditions Jan. 13 for its world-famous mermaid squad. There are currently 17 performing mermaids and three princes....
The Orlando Fringe’s second Winter Mini-Fest opened Wednesday night with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was both chilly and silly. In the whimsical spirit of the avant-garde Fringe, that opening ceremony was carried out by finger puppets. The downsized ribbon and participants — led by “Finger Charles...
Mad Cow Theatre has made official what Orlando’s theater community deduced months ago: The downtown Orlando theater will present the musical “Fun Home” this summer. Because of contractual obligations, Mad Cow couldn’t reveal the title until the very end of 2017. But the theater had provided some...
The Orlando Fringe’s Winter Mini-Fest is back — and bigger. After the festival’s successful debut last January, organizers have added a day — running Wednesday-Sunday this year — and two additional venues will host the short plays, dance shows and comedy familiar to Fringegoers. “The Winter Mini-Fest...