Wicked After Dark at the Abbey.

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The Broadway National Tour cast of Wicked came to The Abbey,  (100 S Eola Dr #100, Orlando, FL 32801) for a one-night only charitable cabaret concert benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity fights AIDS and the GLBT Center of Central Florida. Net proceeds (ticket sales included) from the benefit
will specifically help fund counseling for the community, survivors,
and family members affected by the Pulse tragedy. Counseling services
will be needed for at least the next five years, and The Center Orlando
has pledged that it will make these services available to the community
on walk-in basis, free of charge, for as long as it is needed.

The opening act was by Wicked Alumna, Broadway veteran, X-Factor star, Nashville recording artist and Florida native Rachel Potter with her band, Steel Union. Rachel had a new born and she said that the baby had slept through the night for the first time ever on the evening before the performance. She had worked at Disney World as The Little Mermaid for five years after college. After a full set with Steel Union she offered to sing as Ariel. The audience joined in as she sang, “I want mooore.” Her Disney roots won the audience. She played down her X-Factor experience saying that at least s gained a few twitter followers. Rachel went on to perform a solo from Wicked that got a standing ovation.

Song and dance performances by the cast members of Wicked followed. The Abbey house lights went black, and I had to stop sketching for fear that my tablet glow might ruin the experience for other audience members. The opening number featured wicked actresses in sexy black lace and garters dancing to the sexy and risque Cabaret. “We have no troubles here. Here life is beautiful!” Rosy, Lulu, Frenchy, and Texas gyrated with abandon.All our troubles were left outside.

Wicked After Dark was produced by the company members of Wicked themselves. This post-Wicked performance cabaret was an opportunity for cast members to step out of their roles in the musical and kick up their heels performing some of their favorite non-Ozian material. On actor who is the understudy for OZ took to the stag with a guitar and cowboy hat. His microphone had to be adjusted endlessly. As a tech struggled, he said, “Well this had better be worth it. No pressure.” The audience laughed. He then sang an original balled about love lost. The gentle lyrics bemoaned his confusion and pain. Then be paused. The next line was something like. “What I wish for you is… Herpes.” The audience went crazy. Michael Wanzie shouted out, “It was so worth it!

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organization. It offers an ongoing, committed response from the American theater community to an urgent worldwide health crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of this community, The organization raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States. Since its founding in 1988,  more than $150 million has been raised for critically needed services for people with AIDS, HIV and other serious illnesses. For more information, visit www.broadwaycares.org.
 

The Center was the first agency on the scene of the Pulse Orlando tragedy on the morning of June 12, 2016; within two hours had more than 600 volunteers and community members inside its doors, had rallied more than 600 crisis counselors to the area, and had coordinated the distribution of supplies to first responders, hospitals, families, blood banks and more. Since that day, as well as its regular operations, The Center now also staffs the Orlando United Assistance Center which is the mail portal for the survivors and the families of the deceased; The Center was described as “Ground Zero for victim and family recovery” by President Obama. For more information, visit www.thecenterorlando.org.

Pride, Prejudice & Protest: GLBT History in Greater Orlando.

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October 1, 2016  through January 26, 2017 the Orlando Region History Center presents an exhibit called Pride, Prejudice and Protest: GLBT History in Central Florida. Admission is free on October 8th, the day of the Orlando Come Out with Pride Parade. In the second floor gallery. The history of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) community has been defined by periods of pride, prejudice, and protest. This exhibit from the nonprofit GLBT History Museum of Central Florida shares the progress and setbacks of the Central Florida GLBT community over the past five decades of change.

A rainbow flag circles the room’s walls. The stripes are divided into three sections. The bottom section covers the history of blatant prejudice in Orlando’s laws and actions. The central two stripes cover moments of protest in the GLBT communities attempts to be accepted with equal rights. The top two stripes cover moments of pride, the victories in the ongoing struggle.

Pamela Schwartz was on a ladder putting up rainbow lettering that said, Central Florida GLBT. The second line got tricky as s tried to figure out the correct spacing. Vinyl letters were on sheets of transfer paper. In theory when the paper w rubbed the letters would transfer to the wall. However the job wasn’t as ease as is sounds.

I read one panel which hadn’t been mounted on the wall yet. In 1989 Orlando County Sheriff, Walt Gallagher was fired after an investigation found that he was bisexual. Michael Wanzie decided to stage a Rally against Homophobia at the Constitutional Green in downtown Orlando. The Ku Klux Klan staged a counter protest. It took three years of lawsuits for Walt to eventually get his job back. You would be amazed at how many laws existed that limit who you can love.

There is a secton of the exhibit devoted to Pulse memorial items collected from around the city. Photos of each of the 49 victims are mounted behind candles. The museum staff will keep the candles burning for the duration of the exhibit. The flickering lights will illuminate the faces in a warm glow. Colorful scraps of paper each hold messages of love and remembrance. Many letters and notes left at the memorials were never opened or read until they were collected and preserved.

This is an excerpt from one such letter: “None of you know me, but I know you. I know you as one of the 49 people who were killed in the worst mass shooting in US history. Now all I can do is visit this memorial, pray, and write you this letter. A letter no one, but me will ever read, and I can only hope you feel. You were loved. And you didn’t deserve this. You deserved to live. To fall in love…   I am continuously reminded each day that the world doesn’t stop turning. That everyone is still expected to go about their lives. But I can’t. I feel so hopeless and helpless just thinking about how hopeless and helpless you must have felt… I feel like a fraud. Like I’m taking away someone who actually knew your grief. But I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you… I’m so sorry we live in a world that let this happen to you. Forgive us. The weather is beautiful. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping and you are here. You are with us all.

All my love, Bri”

The Whale pulls at every heart string.

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The Whale, written by Samuel D. Hunter, and Produced by Beth Marshall Presents will make its Central Florida Regional Premiere on March 18th. I arrived at a dress rehearsal about an hour before the run through of the show. Director, Rob Winn Anderson, wanted to revise several scenes that had kinks to be worked out. Ellie,Rachel Comeau read a book review she had written about Moby Dick. The play is book ended by her heart felt review, and it’s significance only becomes clear as her relation ship with her father Charlie, Michael Wanzie comes to light. The stage set by Tom Mangeri, felt like a diorama on stilts. At key moments in the play, blue and green lights would flicker on beneath the stage making it seem like the set were floating above dock moorings.

Charlie is effectively eating himself to death. His marriage to Mary, Beth Marshall, fell apart when he fell in love with another man. Estranged from his daughter, he wants to get to know her at the end of his life. He bribes her to spend time with him, by offering to help her with her school work, and offering her what turns out to be a sizable inheritance since he never leaves his apartment. Ellie is strong willed, smart, vicious, and sharp tongued but bored by school and her classmates.  She created a blog in which she complains about everyone she knows. 

Liz, Jamie Middleton, is Charlie’s health aid. She also seems scarred by life, and her morose barbed dialogue offers some of the shows biggest-laughs. Elder Thomas, Anthony Pyatt Jr. a Mormon missionary enters Charlie’s apartment to give Charlie gods word. When Liz finds Thomas preaching to Charlie she rips into his beliefs. When Ellie an Thomas meet, she manages to erode his holy facade and she has him smoking weed and confessing that he isn’t exactly who he claims to be. 


Ellie’s harsh embittered view of the world is fueled be be parents divorce. Charlie teaches an online writing course, and his lessons to his students reflect what he wishes he could pass on to his daughter. He implores his students to stop editing and rewriting every sentence. Instead, he begs them to just write from the heart. This brings us back to the moment when he asks Ellie to read her book review. The paper had been given an F because it was a review of the wrong book. Ellie was furious at her father and hadn’t bothered to read the review. She cursed her father’s request to read, not because she hated him, but because she loved him and was furious at how he had let his health go. She had written the book review years before and it highlighted how the book seemed to reflect what was happening in her own life. Although she was angered by life, this paper proved that she had a heart and cared a bout everyone around her. Anyone who could write such a heartfelt review would also have the talent to share many more stories that would touch others. My eyes welled up as she read her paper. Ellie’s eyes welled up as well. For the first time, Charlie rose from his chair and he struggled to cross the room to reach out the his daughter. She was amazing, beautiful and his life’s greatest accomplishment. 


The show combines humor with absolutely heart wrenching sadness. It celebrates what it truly means to be alive, and the strong bond of family even when it is dysfunctional. Although dark and bitter, the show also exudes hope, despite all odds. This
play was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding
New Off-Broadway Play. It won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and
won a Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.


The Whale 

March 18 to April 3, 2016

Thursday 8pm, Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm (April 2) & 8pm, Sunday 2pm
Industry Night: Monday, March 28

Winter Garden Theatre 160 W Plant St, Winter Garden, Florida

Tickets: $21 – $28

The Whale surfaces at the Winter Garden Theater.

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On June 22, 2015, I went to the Winter Garden Theater (160 W Plant St, Winter Garden, FL) to sketch auditions for “The Whale.” March 18th will be the Central Florida Regional Premiere of this play written by Samuel D. Hunter and staged by Beth Marshal Presents. I love sketching auditions, I get to witness so many talented actors that all bring their own creative take to the characters. This isn’t a story about a great white whale, but instead an intimate look at a father daughter relationship. 

On the outskirts of
Mormon Country, Idaho, a six-hundred-pound recluse hides away in his
apartment eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his
long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously
sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. In this gripping and big-hearted
drama, The Whale tells the story of a man’s last chance at redemption,
and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places. This play was
nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New
Off-Broadway Play. It won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play and won a
Drama Desk Special Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre.

Cast
Charlie – Michael Wanzie
Ellie – Rachel Comeau
Liz – Jamie Middleton
Elder Thomas – Anthony Pyatt Jr.
Mary – Beth Marshall

Production Team
Rob Winn Anderson – Director
Anastasia Kurtiak – Stage Manager
David Merchant – Assistant Stage Manager
Tom Mangeri – Set Design
Amy Hadley – Light Design
J.G. Lantiqua – Sound Design
Marcy Singhaus – Costume Design

Dates:  March 18 to April 3, 2016
Thursday 8pm, Friday 8pm, Saturday 2pm (April 2) & 8pm, Sunday 2pm
Industry Night: Monday, March 28 

Tickets: $21 – $28
Special pricing for opening night, Thursday performances, seniors and students.

This show contains adult language and scenes. Recommended for mature audiences.

Doubt, A Parable leaves the audience questioning the truth long after the curtain dropped.

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I went to the final dress rehearsal for “Doubt, A Parable” based on a. book by John Patrick Shanley. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama follows a Catholic high school priest’s battle for truth and personal integrity.
It is produced by Beth Marshall Presents
and directed by Beth Marshall in the historic Winter Garden Theatre (160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden FL).

When the theater went dark, Father Flynn (Michael Wanzie) began his sermon in the isle at the back of the theater. He spoke about how the country pulled together after John F Kennedy was assassinated.  The moving monologue rallied the audience behind the father. He was clearly a well loved man among his parish. Michael Wanzie seemed perfectly cast for this role. I’ve seen him in past productions and he always seems to be in roles where he must question the faith he grew up with.

Sister James (Chelsey Panisch) is a young and enthusiastic teacher loves to get the children excited about history. Her superior, Sister Aloysius (Ginger Lee McDermott) is a hard edged disciplinarian. She views every situation with suspicion and doubt and advises Sister James to do the same. Eventually a situation arises in which the one black student in the school is called away for a meeting with Father Flynn. The boy returned from the meeting acting strange and he had the scent of liquor on his breath.

Sister Aloysius assumes the worst and begins a personal vendetta to expose Father Flynn as the monster she imagines he is. Her black and white view of right and wrong is greyed by the Fathers compassion and a simple straight forward explanation. He gives another sermon, this time about gossip. In this parable he has a woman cut open a down pillow on a city building roof top. Feathers fly everywhere in the wind. She is told to repair the damage and recover the feathers. That of course is impossible, the damage is done.

The play haunted me on the entire drive home. Without an admission of guilt, there is always doubt. The father was clearly a gifted orator who cared for the children in his charge. Yet sister Aloysius’s steadfast conviction at times swayed my view of the man. He clearly had human weaknesses. The show was just an hour and a half long but the questions still linger.

Mark Your Calendars!

February 6 – 22, 2015
Thursdays – Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm
Industry Night: Monday, February 16 at 8pm

Tickets: $25 ($21 seniors/students)
Industry Nite Feb. 16th -$15 (post show cast meet/greet Pilars Martini) 

Garden Theatre Box Office
160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden
407-877-GRDN (4736)
gardentheatre.org

The Lady’s of Eola Heights take the Abby by Storm.

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I went to a dress rehearsal for The Ladies of Eola Heights at The Abbey. I contacted Beth Marshall who plays the part of Pearl. This is the first time in a long time that she wasn’t producing or directing a show. She felt a bit at ease just being an actor rather than worrying about the overall production. Beth introduced me to the director Kenny Howard who thankfully knew of my work and was enthusiastic to have me sketch. He warned me that none of the actresses would be wearing make up. The set wasn’t finished yet as well, still needing a railing near the steps and a blue wall behind the center archway.

This is an original play written by Michael Wanzie. The estranged Locksdale sister reunited at their family home, in the historical Eola Heights neighborhood of Orlando, Florida, to plan their daddy’s funeral. It seems fiery-tongued Ruby (Blue Starr) dressed in a hot red zebra stripe dress, has taken to loose living and hard drinking, while older sister Opal (Peg O’Keef) has become a born again Christian. Matriarch Pearl (Beth Marshall) has gained weight and  had a Home Shopping Club addiction. In the opening scene Beth drove onto the set with one of those motorized scooters with an oxygen tank. It was a hilarious moment as she tried to parallel park it next to the dining table while Ruby waited.

As the sisters interacted for the first time in years, their dark past surfaced and it became clear that they are all dealing with their horrible past in their own ways. Each scene is punctuated by an appearance of their brother (Miss Sammy) who danced down stairs in gorgeous gowns to light hearted show tunes. His way of coping was to live in a beautiful fantasy world as a woman. Although the sisters are all polar opposites, they come together to bury their past.

The show is as funny as it is touching, a comedy with serious themes that take the audience on an emotional roller coaster ride. I was laughing out loud throughout the show and yet identified with themes that affect many estranged families. The abuse that surfaced at the heart of the show happens all too often in Central Florida.  I had a friend who couldn’t cope with that past. Don’t miss this locally grown gem.

The show runs July 10- July 28 at the Abbey (100 S. Eola Drive Orlando, FL) tickets are $30 to $45.

Fringe Lottery

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On December 2nd the Fringe Lottery was held in the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 E. Rollins St, Orlando, Fl).  This was an opportunity to see which shows would be selected for Fringe 23. Michael Mariaccio and George “Fringe” Wallace hosted the lottery. Lottery tickets were picked from green buckets. The Fringe is a completely non-juried week of theater and any show could be selected. The theater was packed full of producers and directors who hoped their shows would be picked.

  1. Participants were selected on a
    non-juried basis, through a first-come, first served process, a lottery,
    or other method approved by the Association.
  2. The audience must have the option to
    pay a ticket price, 100% of which goes directly to the artists
    (government taxes notwithstanding.)
  3. Fringe Festival producers have no
    control over the artistic content of each performance. The artistic
    freedom of the participants is unrestrained.
  4. Festivals must provide an easily accessible opportunity for all audiences and all artists to participate in Fringe Festivals.

 Orlando city commissioner Robert Stuart did the actual picking from the bucket.When he selected “Boylesque” from the bucket he had to hesitate before pronouncing the title. Michael Wanzie shouted out from the audience, “Your going to have to learn how to pronounce “Boylesque” if you want the gay vote!” He got quite a good laugh. Later the politician assured his votes by shaking Michael’s hand and kissing him on the cheek. The audience erupted. So, take a glance and anticipate this year’s line up.

– ORANGE –
The All New Nashville Hurricane [Chase Padgett – Burbank, CA]
Ennui [Circus Arts – Polk City, FL]
Boylesque [Sensuality N Motion / Visual EFX Productions – Orlando, FL]
Bless Me Father, For I have Danced [Yow Dance – Orlando, FL]
BARE: A Pop Opera [Penguin Point Productions – Winter Park, FL]
FLIGHT: A Crane’s Story [IBEX Puppetry – Orlando, FL]
Something’s Weird in Weeki Wachee [John Ryanand Diva Productions – Orlando, FL]
– SILVER –
Money Shot! [RUSH Theatrical Productions – New York, NY]
Grim and Fischer [Wonderheads – Portland, OR]
Oyster Boy [Haste Theatre Company – London, UK]
Under the Rainbow [Alan Gerber – Orlando, FL]
There’s No Place Like Home [Wanzie Presents / D-Squared Productions – Orlando, FL]
Smooch [PB and J Theatre Factory – Winter Park, FL]
TBD [The Downtowners – Orlando, FL]
Fifty Shades of Gay [Homicidal Orphan Productions – Orlando, FL]
– YELLOW –
Marathon [TJ Dawe – Vancouver, BC]
God Is a Scottish Drag Queen II: An All New Testament [Mike Delamont – Victoria, BC]
The Surprise [Martin Dockery – Brooklyn, NY]
Killer Quack [James Judd Entertainment – New York, NY]
Conversations with My Divorce Attorney [John Montgomery Theatre Co. – New York, NY]
Tappin and Yappin [J&J Pickle Productions: Ocoee, FL]
Pasion Flamenca [Flamenco del Sol Dance Company – Sanford, FL]
Frankenchrist! The Musical [Acting Passionate Productions – Lakeland, FL]
Professor Soap’s Musical Machine [Cadence Creative – Loughman, FL]
– PINK –
Ruby Rocket, Private Eye [Stacey Hallal – Portland, OR]
Chaotica [Christel Bartelse – Toronto, Ontario ]
House [Ribbitre Public Theatre: Edmonton, Alberta]
Black Stockings [Dangerous Theatre: Denver, CO]
Immortals [Wind Whistle Theatre – Nevada City, CA]
Donating Sperm to My Sisters Wife [Stewart Huff – Winterville, GA]
And Baby Makes Four [Utmost Productions – Orlando, FL]
The British Invasion [My Dream Tree Productions – Casselberry, FL]
– BROWN –
Jem Rolls [Big Word Performance Poetry – Surrey, UK]
TBD [Keith Brown – London, Ontario]
Train Your Man [Kirchmann Productions – Alberton, South Africa]
Taking Out the White Trash [Peemypants Productions – Savannah, GA]
Baba Yaga [It Ain’t Shakespeare – Dallas, TX]
Radio Free Fringe [RFF – Orlando, FL]
Hungry! The Musical [Madmymn Payne Prod – Kissimmee, FL]
All Shook Up: A Rockabilly Revival [Bare Ass Productions – Winter Park, FL]
– GREEN –
Roller Derby Saved My Soul [Broken Turtle Productions – Ottawa, Ontario]
The Death of Brian [A Zombie Odyssey: Theater Simple – Seattle, WA]
40 Something Still Single [Cougar Comedy Productions – Orlando, FL]
Alice Rocks Wonderland [Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth – Champions Gate, FL]
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson [BTW Productions / Ashley Willsey – Lake Mary, FL]
Escape from Baldwin Park [Carpenter Aunt Productions – Orlando, FL]
Liquid Courage [Tobo Productions – Orlando, FL]
20 Nothing [Last Minute Panic Productions – Winter Springs, FL]
– BLUE –
Papa Squats Store of Sorts [Ain’t True and Uncle False’s Hood – Indianapolis, IN]
My Brooklyn Hamlet: A Meshugenah True Story [Brenda Adelman – Spring Valley, CA]
Punk Grandpa [Cosmic Jello / Laura Force Scruggs – Chicago, IL]
Sperm Wars [Random Samples Collective – Toronto, ON]
Fire in the Meth Lab [2 Hoots Productions – Melbourne, Australia]
Shakespeare’s Histories: Ten Epic Plays at a Breakneck Pace [Timothy Mooney Repertory – Prospect Heights, IL]
Tuesday Mourning [Clandestine ARTS – Altamonte Springs, FL]
The Queer Diaries [Royal Entertainment – Orlando, FL]
TBD [Playwrights Round Table – Orlando, FL]
TBD [Kia Ora Productions – Kissimmee, FL]
– PURPLE –
VGL 5’4″ Top [Lucas Brooks – Brooklyn, NY]
Desperately Seeking the Exit [Peter Michael Marino – New York, NY]
Superhero’s Can’t Fly [botwot productions – Aspen, CO]
Us vs. The World [Improv Off the Grid – Orlando, FL]
The Float Boat [Comedy First CLC – Longwood, FL]
The Four Great Books of China (Condensed) [Emerson Productions – Casselberry, FL]
Battle of the Sexes: Male Surrender [John Chapman – Orlando, FL]
Tim and Spencer’s Yet Unnamed Magic Project [Corrupting the Kids – Orlando, FL]
Paisley the Clown [Paisley Productions – Orlando, FL]
TBD [JAR Productions – Orlando, FL]
– RED –
Mark Twain’s is Shakespeare Dead [Doctor Keir Co. – Montreal, Quebec ]
The Chronic Single’s Handbook [Randy Ross – Somerville, MA]
Tap Me on the Shoulder [Pack of Others – Northampton, MA]
Going On: A Inspiring True Story about Loss and Finding the Love Inside Yourself [White Rabbit – Portland, OR]
An Iliad [John Remke – West New York, NY]
Rendezvous La Petite Morte [Chloe J. Roberts – Tampa, FL]
The All-New Review [Portals Theatre – Orlando, FL]
Reincarnation Soup [Viet Nguyen – Orlando, FL]
Paranormal Stupidity [Brian Flaherty – Maitland, FL]
Helix by Tangent [Spur of the Moment – Winter Park, FL]
– BLACK –
A Brief History of Beer [Wish Experience – London, UK]
Ocean Fox [Castlereigh Theatre Project – Victoria, BC]
babyBlueStar Presents: VarieTEASE [babyBlueStar – Orlando, FL]
Exploring Her Kinkdom [Penguin Productions – Orlando, FL]
Tod Kimbro Does Everything [Tod Kimbro – Orlando, FL]
Seasons [Squeaky Wheel Theatre Project – Orlando, FL]
Home Free by Lanford Wilson [Gagne Productions – Orlando, FL]
TBD [Logan Donahoo – Orlando, FL]
Truth of Dare with Pepe [Pepe Productions – Orlando, FL]

 Afterwards, some performers lamented not being picked. They are on a waiting list and sometimes shows drop out offering an opportunity for that slot to be filled. I recall laughing out loud when “Sharknado the Musical” was picked. Unfortunately I don’t see it in the listings so it must have been dropped. Thankfully “Sperm Wars” made the cut. Mark Your Calendar, there are many Fringe happenings leading up to the big event. Check the Fringe website for more details. Hey, if any local producers or directors are reading this, keep me in mind to sketch read throughs, or rehearsals.

  • February 07 – Loon
  • February 08 (2 shows) – Loon
  • February 09 – Loon
  • March 03 – Fringe at the Hard Rock
  • April 14 -Local Preview
  • May 14 – National / International Preview
  • Second half of May – FRINGE!

Fringemas

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Fringe is pulled out all the stops for the December First Monday Happy Hour. In the round Patron’s Room in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center there were tables set up with silent bidding items. George Fringe Wallace directed me to the Margeson Theatre, (orange venue) where the various performers were working on last minute tech issues. Laney Jones and Matt Tonner set to play guitar and ukulele. I had seen Laney perform twice before, both times in parking lots, so it was nice to see her on the stage. She has a sweet voice and her original folk tunes are humerus and heart warming. She sang a song about how she loves her therapist since he always listens and he has been her longest relationship. It was hilarious.

The announcers, Santa and Mrs. Claus (Michael Wanzie and Mitzi Morris) introduced each act. Joan Crawford offered a raspy and funny rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. The PB&J Theater Factory performed a crazy skit in which Brandon Roberts came out as a Gumbyesque foam Christmas Tree. The first time he appeared, he looked like a sad phallic shaped tree. Everyone laughed as he did an unenthusiastic dance. The tree costumes eventually got fuller and his enthusiasm, livelier.

A Varietease dancer performed a subdued strip tease, but a wardrobe malfunction had everyone in tears laughing. Pepe acted as a guest announcer and he kept the irreverent proceedings quite lively. The set was for “The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of ‘A Christmas Carol”. Try and say that five times fast! The audience was full of performers who will have shows in this year’s Fringe. Joe Rosier sat in the front row making a rather believable Santa with his real beard.

Play in a Day

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Beth Marshall invited me down to the Orlando Shakes on November 3rd to experience the creative process of Play in a Day. Play in a Day kicked off the festivities for Playfest, the Harriet Lake Festival of New Plays which ran from November 3-6. When I entered the Shakes, actors were already divided into six groups and they were doing the initial read throughs of of the scripts. Play authors had been given the theme of unexpected transitions and a twist, no props allowed, the previous day. Most scripts had been written overnight right up to the moment they had been turned in at 7am. There was then a thirty minute pow wow between the writer, director and actors. Then the writers were asked to leave to avoid endless re-writes. I decided to sketch actors Sarah Lockhard, John Connon and Steve Middleton who were reading and laughing. The play was short, only about seven minutes, but it was fun. Someone in the lower lobby shouted, “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s funny!” Beth Marshal who had just sat down said “That is the perfect review.” Rob Ward had also stopped in to read the part of Michael Wanzie. He did a hilarious, spot on impersonation.

The short play, titled, “Family Road Trip” was about a family road trip to Orlando. Sarah was the daughter riding in the back seat and John played the mom while Stephen was the dad behind the wheel. David Lee the author now lives in NYC but he had a long history at the Orlando Shakes. Beth explained the piece to the actors, “David writes for the audience, the whole thing is a poem. He’s not Anton Chekhov.” She asked the actors to try a read through with British accents which she didn’t like, then Southern accents which worked better. When they pointed out specific Orlando venues, like the Orlando Science Center, the Orlando Rep and the Orlando Museum of Art, she asked them to loose the accent. Stephen asked for some clarification so he could better memorize the lines. Much of the dialogue centered around groupings of three.

David Lee texted Beth from NYC, “Do they like the skit?” Beth texted back, “Steven found all the deep meaning, Sarah is playing Veruka Salt and John is playing me! “When asked to describe the short play she was directing, Beth said, ” It is HA-Larious!” I decided to stick with this group of actors and see how the rehearsal progressed. They would have to be ready to perform at 7pm that night.

Fringe Preview

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The Preview for the 20th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival was held at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Fringe is twelve days of art, music, dance and theatrical madness. Fringe begins May 18th through May 30th. I decided to sit in the mezzanine which was at the very back row right in front of the sound and lighting booth. I figured the green light issuing from the booth would give me enough light to sketch in and that theory worked out. There were 30 acts listed in the program so there is no way I can give you a taste from all of them. Each act had a thumbs up, a thumbs down and an F you hand gesture to rate the acts. Things got off to a great start when the “Downtowners” hobbled on to the stage. This singing and dancing group were all aged 70 to 95 and their rendition of “Stayin’ Alive” took on a whole new meaning. The audience loved them.

The festivities were hosted by Beth Marshall and Michael Wanzie. The smallest and Fringiest venue last year took place in a closet and Jeff Ferree will once again feature puppets in this cramped walk-in theater. In the preview if any act ran over three minutes, they would be interrupted by the Fringe Cheerleaders who would shout out Gimme an “F”, gimme an “R” until the audience spelled out and shouted Fringe! This kept the show moving at a fast clip. Kevin Thornton’s film where he tried to explain and justify his show “I love you (we’re f@#ked)” was hilarious.

I was disappointed when it was announced that “Dog Powered Robot” could not perform at the preview. Instead a show titled “Squatters” took to the stage. They set up a small cardboard shanty town and started an insipid act about hunting for Easter Eggs. They were then rudely interrupted by Dog Powered Robot sending Easter eggs flying and cardboard boxes tumbling. The audience didn’t know what hit them. It was a fun evening where anything could happen, and usually did. Fringe is fast approaching like a freight train with no breaks. Order tickets for your favorite shows now or you might be left in the irreverent dust.