Beauty and the Beast at the Garden Theater

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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.

Little Shop of Horrors in Eustis

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Clandestine
Arts in conjunction with the Bay Street Players presents the hilariously
kooky musical favorite, “Little Shop of Horrors” as part of the State
Theatre Studio Series. Derek Critzer produced and directed the show while also taking the lead role. This was a herculean task and he pulled it off. Pam Schwartz and I rushed up to The Historic State Theater (109 N Bay St, Eustis, Florida 32726) after I had taught my weekend Urban Sketching class. We negotiated our way into seats in the very back row feeling our way in the dark. We had missed some of the first act, but I was intent on getting a sketch. The soundtrack to the musical Little Shop of Horrors with music by Howard Ashman and lyrics by Alan Mencken got me through some rough times as I struggled to survive as an artist in NYC. I always felt I was trying to escape from skid row. As an artist you are always trying to make magic happen on a shoe-string budget.

When we arrived Audrey (Savannah Pedersen) was on a date with Orin Scrivello the dentist (Robb Ross). His maniacal laughing was unnerving and abrasive. As he suffocated in his laughing gas helmet I felt claustrophobic for him. Could he get enough air in that fish bowl of a helmet? Seymour Krelborn (Derek Critzer) who raised the mysterious plant gets the girl but needs to feed the plants insatiable appetite for blood in his hope to keep her. The meek, plant shop apprentice is thrown into the public eye.

The voice of the plant (Eduardo Rivera) was silky and enticing. One trumpet player in the live orchestra kept blatting out his notes and some voices in the cast seemed worn. In some ways this was fitting for the urban grunge aesthetic, but the 3 woman chorus (Camila Camilo, Nyeshia Smith, and  Felichia Chivaughn Wright) was on point doing a stellar job.


Overall this was a fun day of theater, well worth the drive. 

Remaining show dates are today and tomorrow, 

Tickets are $21 

Saturday April 14, 2018

8:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Sunday April 15, 2018

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Phone: (352) 357-7777
Email: boxoffice@baystreetplayers.org
Website: http://www.baystreetplayers.org

Kara Martinez remembers friends lost at Pulse.

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Michael Pilato held a 49 hour painting marathon in his new studio above Anthony’s Pizza on the corner of Colonial Drive and Mills Avenue. Kara Martinez stopped by to help with some of the paintings done of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. She remembered two of the victims, Juan Rivera Valazquez, Luis Conde who owned D’Magazine Salon down in Kissimmee. 


Kara was nervous about how she would look, going to her high school prom. She turned to Juan and Luis and they reassured her and made her feel like a princess. Actually, Kara is a princess. She plays the part of Ariel from Disney’s Little Mermaid for a local talent agency. She goes to parties to play the part. She talked lovingly about Juan and Luis describing how playful they were and how much she will miss them. Juan and Luis had been a couple for 14 years, and they owned the salon for seven years. Today the salon has shut down, another vibrant beacon that has gone dark in Orlando.


As we painted the 49 portraits, she began singing Ariel’s song. The music by Alen Menkin and Howard Ashman is contagious. Kara sang about her trinkets and baubles from the people who lived above the water. “I want to be where the people are, I want to see them dancing. Wish I could be part of that world.” We all sang along as we painted, but under the joy lingered pain. On June 12th so many people were joyfully dancing. Then in a split second of madness, loves were cut short. Some died quickly, while others slowly bled out in agony. Others would survive but be left with scars and nightmares. This is not your typical Disney ending.