On Your Feet

Posted on by Thor

Pam, her niece and I went to a final dress rehearsal for On Your Feet at the Garden Theater in Winter Garden, Florida. This exuberant show is about Gloria Estefan‘s rise to stardom from her humble beginnings in Cuba.When Gloria met Emilio Estefan her life changed forever. He saw her raw talent and his tireless salesmanship built the Miami Sound Machine group into an international sensation. Gloria had other career goals, but her Mima and Emilio convinced her that she was born to be a singer. He Mima said it best, “This is what you’re meant to do. You just don’t know it yet. Why write all these beautiful songs if no one gets a chance to hear them?”

I had no expectations going in to the show and I was blown away. There were some stellar singing voices in the cast and by the end the cast literally had the audience of volunteers who attended, dancing in the aisles.

I didn’t know much about Gloria Estefan’s life prior to the show, but the basic theme of her life and career is that you can always choose to rise up despite what others might tell you. Never accept the limitations other impose in “your best interest.” A career as a creative involves endless faith that someday people will recognize the value in what is created.

I welled up at several points in the show as Gloria sang about the loving support of her Mema, and when fans wrote in loving support of Gloria though troubled times. These moods could quickly swing to joyful song and dance that had me dancing in my seat as I sketched.

All theater staff were masked but very few in the audience were masked. I am fascinated with peoples half hearted masking attempts. The guy in front of me had his mask off as he spoke to others in the audience and then he put his mask back on to watch the show. Needless to say, Pam, her niece and I had our KN-95 masks on for the whole show.

On Your Feet runs through July 31, 2022. Tickets range from $17 to $32. The program is online should you like to learn more about the cast and crew. Trust me, this is an amazing night of theater. The July 20 and 21, 2022 performances are canceled due to a positive CIVID-19 test among the cast or crew.

Beauty and the Beast at the Garden Theater

Posted on by Thor

Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton is at the Garden Theater through May 22, 2022.

Trapped in her provincial life, an intelligent young woman risks everything to save her father from a terrifying Beast in an enchanted castle. Belle becomes the heroine of her own story as she discovers the power in daring to be different and breaks free from the expectations of her quiet village. Filled with dancing teapots, gorgeous costumes, and theatre magic, this international best-selling sensation has been re-imagined like never before for the Garden stage.

What I love about this production, which is produced in the Don’t Say Gay and Anti-Woke Bill state, is that the theatre selected a diverse cast, including Belle, a white role in the Disney movie, instead as powerful woman of color. The show also ignored conventional gender roles or identities, as well as infused African design motifs into the elegant costuming. The wardrobe in particular was fabulously dressed and knew how to belt out the tunes. The dusters in the castle wore tight red corseted costumes as they performed their Rockettes style kick dance routines. Chip managed to steal every scene he was in riding around the stage on a small tricycle. I am delighted the the show likely ruffled a few feathers in Winter Garden.

I sketched the show from the nose bleed section shoulder to shoulder with the tech crew. I was quite relived that all the theater staff wore masks and took every COVID precaution including  clear plastic shields in front of the tech equipment. From what I saw in the lobby, the audience was mostly unmasked and the show was close to being sold out. A fog machine demonstrated the movement of aerosol particles through the theater.

Another nice touch is that the Garden Theater will present an American Sign Language-interpreted performance and a Sensory Friendly performance for families that have members (both children and adults) with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and special needs.

Ben Hur

Posted on by Thor

I went to a rehearsal of Ben Hur by Patrick Barlow at the Garden Theater (160 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL 34787). Director Jason Horne said that I had sketched a performance he was in years ago at Shakes, so he knew of my mission to document the arts with my sketches. I entered the theater through the stage door in the back and lead through the rickety stage set held up by 2 by 4 braces.

Cast was back stage trying on costumes. That gave me plenty of time to sketch the stage before they started to rehearse. The lighting techs were set up in the middle of the audience and they went through lighting cues as I worked. The theater went black quite often as they switched lighting effects. I used my cell phone to light the page when the theater went dark. I was concerned about the battery running out on my phone, so I would switch it off every time the theater lights went back up. One tech noticed my ongoing dance with my phone for light and he brought over a book light and clamped it onto the theater seat in front of me.That made life so much easier.

The premise of the show is that an amateur theatre troupe tries to perform the epic story of Ben Hur.
As the struggling actors rehearse the grand tale of the fictional
Jewish prince and merchant, offstage rivalries and romances interfere
with their chariot races and sea battles. Patrick Barlow’s new
adaptation of Ben Hur is a light-hearted comedic take on the timeless story.

While the actors were back stage, a stage hand on a ladder worked
diligently to get a banner hung above and entrance door. With a light
tug of a string offstage, the banner can unfurl. Another stage hand worked on a banner which had a mountain range on it. Both props would play a part in the scene about to be rehearsed.

The one scene I got to see rehearsed was the epic chariot race. Of course in the 1959 movie starring Charlton Heston the Chariot race is set in a huge coliseum with a cast of thousands. To simulate the crowd, 4 panels were rotated to show photos of a crowd on the stage set. Pontius Pilot (Adam Graham) entered through the door on house right. The banner was unfurled and it settled right in front of his face. It was an organic hilarious moment that is now integral to the show. His wife (Kristin Shirilla) also ducking the banner acting like Vanna White. Pilot walked over to the box center stage which was an orange crate that had Winter Garden Oranges printed on it. With a grand flourish he introduced the race. When the crowd was to Boo, Pilots wife held up a poster board.

Panels opened to show the chariots which were retiree medical mobility scooters. Ben Hur, (Daniel Veil) raced against a Roman Captain, (Mason Criswell), They circled center stage at top speed until one flew off stage and crashed. Smoke hinted at flames. Pilots wife suddenly had a fire extinguisher and she blasted the freezing spray on the chariot. The race and battle were over in an instant, hilarious and chaotic. Ben Hur did his victory dance like a seasoned WWF wrestler.

I loved how relaxed the cast were in their parts. New bits of slapstick humor were being developed on the fly. This show promises to be a very fun romp.

Ben Hur

Tickets are $20 to $32.

Remaining Show Dates…

Sun, March 1, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Wed, March 4, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Thu, March 5, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Fri, March 6, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Sat, March 7, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Sat, March 7, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Sun, March 8, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Wed, March 11, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Thu, March 12, 2020 – 2:00 PM

Thu, March 12, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Fri, March 13, 2020 – 7:30 PM

Sun, March 15, 2020 – 2:00 PM