Weekend Top 6 Picks for November 10 and 11, 2018

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Saturday November 10, 2018

4pm $10 PlayFest: I Can Go by Meridith Friedman. Orlando Shakes 812 Rollins Street Orlando FL. Armed with sharp tongues and dry wit, Richard and David
navigate complex family relationships on the eve of their wedding. Despite
hindrances ranging from white lies to life-altering secrets, I CAN GO uncovers
human truths about the ones they love most. This contemporary and wryly
humorous dramedy is the final installment in a series of three plays by
Meridith Friedman, following The Luckiest People (produced by Orlando
Shakes in April 2018) and Your Best One (read at PlayFest 2017). 

6:30pm $15 per person in advance; $18 per person at the door. PlayFest Party. Orlando Shakes 812 Rollins Street Orlando FL. Share a drink and dinner with your fellow PlayFest attendees, playwrights, and artist between readings in the Dr. Phillips Patron’s Room. Buffet dinner provided by Tako Cheena.


8pm $10 PlayFest: The Great Beyond by Stephen Deitz. Orlando Shakes 812 Rollins Street Orlando FL. Despite their differences, sisters, Monica and Emily, reunite
to tie up loose ends after their father’s death. With the help of a medium, the
siblings attempt to summon their father’s spirit to gain forgiveness and
discover the truth. 

Sunday November11, 2018  

Noon to 1pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola near the Red Gazebo. Bring your own mat.

1pm to 4:30pm Free. Family Day on Second Saturday. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803. The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents
are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in
the galleries until 4:30 p.m.


1pm $10 PlayFest: My Lord What a Night by Deborah Brevoort. Orlando Shakes 812 Rollins Street Orlando FL. When famed African-American singer Marian Anderson is refused lodging
because of her ethnicity, she finds an unlikely friend in Albert
Einstein. Quick witted debates attempt to solve the nation’s problems
over tea. Inspired by true events, this story explores the racial,
religious, and gender-based struggles plaguing two of the most iconic
entities of the 20th century.

PlayFest: I Can Go

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I sketched the first read through rehearsal for  I Can Go by Meridith Friedman
which is a Comic Drama at the Orlando Shakes (812 Rollins Street Orlando FL).

Armed with sharp tongues and dry wit, Richard (Dan Bright) and David (Alexander Mrazek) navigate complex family relationships on the eve of their wedding. Despite hindrances ranging from little white lies to life-altering secrets, I Can Go uncovers human truths about the ones they love most. This contemporary and wryly humorous dramedy is the final installment in a series of three plays by Meridith Friedman, following The Luckiest People (produced by Orlando Shakes in April 2018) and Your Best One (read at PlayFest 2017).

I had seen and sketched a production of The Luckiest People but missed Your Best One. Despite that I felt quickly up to speed and familiar with this family and cast who had already won my heart. The patriarchal father had passed away but the family had a way of resolving any differences with humor. Richard and David now have an adopted son, Josh (Connar Vidman). Josh didn’t have a large part in the section of the rehearsal I sketched, but I heard him rehearsing in the Shakes lobby and thus knew something of his back story.  Richard’s sister, Laura (Suzanne O’Donnell) spilled a family secret in her attempts to get the attention of her son Matt (Terance Lee) who seemed largely shut off, tuned in to his headset. Nancy (Kate Denson), David’s mom sat with her back to me. She had a calming voice and seemed the anchor of fairness and reason as wedding plans escalated into petty arguments.



For me, this was time well spent with a family I already had grown to love, and a fun cast who seemed at home in this family’s skin. You don’t have to have seen the previous two dramas by Meridith Friedman for this show to make sense. There was a relaxed humor as they eased into the comedic drama. This is clearly going to be a fun performance.

Director: Tara Kromer,
Stage Manager: Jackqueline Hilliker, Stage Directions Reader: Kaley Pharr.

The performance will be on Saturday, November 10, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.

The Luckiest People at the Shakes

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The Luckiest People written by Meridith Friedman will rip your heart out. Oscar Hoffman (J.D.Sutton) and his son Richard (David Lane) enter Oscar’s retirement in an assisted living facility along with David’s partner David (Alexander Mrazek.) David is carrying what I presumed to be ashes. They had just returned from a funeral burring Oscar’s wife. Oscar finds himself alone in the world and he is cantankerous and angry. Richard is blindsided when his father demands to leave his
assisted living facility.

With his sister Laura (Suzanne O’Donnell) living in Shanghai, and his plans to soon to become a first time father with his partner, he is less
than thrilled at the prospect of housing his–to put it mildly–difficult
father. Accusations begin to fly and defenses are drawn, spiraling
father and son, brother and sister, and spouses into a heated game of
finger pointing with unintended consequences.

When Richard has second thoughts about adopting a child with his partner, their relationship is strained to the point of breaking. David knows he wants to raise a child but suddenly Richard is faced with having to possibly care for his father. He also discovers that his sister Laura is planning to meet an old boy friend behind her husband’s back. She yearns to be with someone who knew her before life set so many demands on her. This contemporary and wryly humorous play touchingly explores the
middle years of life when competing priorities from children, spouses,
and parents create challenges and self-examination.

I laughed, I cried, I sketched. Seemingly comedic at first, the play delved deep into this family’s relationships, demands, and blunt trauma.  The injuries of childhood surface and the injustice of being treated like a child as an elder become a driving theme. “You are lucky to have somewhere to runaway to. Someone to run to.” Everyone had hidden scars and no one seemed particularly lucky to me. This is the first play in a
trilogy about the Hoffman family.

The Luckiest People runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.

Tickets are $25 to $50

John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803

The remaining show dates are:

Thursday, April 12, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Friday, April 13, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 14, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, April 15, 2018 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 19, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Friday, April 20, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 21, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, April 22, 2018 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 26, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Friday, April 27, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 28, 2018 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, April 29, 2018 – 2:00 PM