On Your Feet

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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

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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.

Pre-Pandemic: Cruz N Car Show on Plant Street

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The Cruz and Car Show was in Downtown Winter Garden (300 West Plant Street Winter Garden, FL 34787).  The Orlando Urban Sketchers met at the Winter Garden City Hall and then branched off to eplore the car show with sketchbooks in hand. After cruising
the streets, all the artists fueled up and cooled off in the Plant Street Market and
the event was finished off with a Drink n Draw at the Crooked Can. This sketch
outing was free of charge, with all skills welcome.

 
The sketchbook
throw down was at  the patio of the Crooked Can (426
West Plant Street, Winter Garden FL). After sharing sketches, lingered for a
social hour with a drink and or meal from the many
fabulous options within Plant Street Market.

Martin Luther King Day in Winter Garden

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Pam Schwartz and I drove to Winter Garden to experience the Martin Luther King Day parade. When we arrived, we realized Plant Street was closed off for the parade, so we parked a block East in a small park on the biking trail. When we walked back to the intersection of Dillard and Plant Street, the parade had just started. The parade was organized to celebrate and honor this great leader of the civil rights movement. This was the first time the parade was being held in downtown Winter Garden. The parade staging area was in an empty parking lot across from the Foundation Academy North Campus. Two police motorcycles were flashing their lights.

Young cadets in white uniforms held a banner and stock marching rifles. The U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps is a national youth leadership development organization that
promotes interest and skill in naval disciplines while instilling strong
moral character and life skills through leadership and technical
programs modeled after the Navy’s professional development system.

The parade was small to say the least. Maybe 20 to 30 people and a few miniature ponies were in the parade line up in the parking lot. Because of this, I knew that I didn’t have enough time to sketch. Pam and I decided to walk along with the parade towards the park where the Farmer’s market is usually held. We walked the parade route at the same pace as the parade. The most interesting “float” was a pick up truck with a lawn maintenance trailer behind it. A preacher shouted a sermon from the back of the pick up towards his “congregation” who sat in the trailer. I never actually heard what he was shouting.

When we got to the end of the parade, at the Downtown Pavilion, we followed the sound of music to the main stage. A blues band was on stage along with two red, white, and blue balloon pillars topped by large Mylar stars. One guitarist got up to the microphone at the front of the stage, and I thought he was going to sing so I started sketching him. His guitar strap broke and he sat back down to fix it. He was replaced by Willie C, who is 94 years old and knows his way around the blues.

A line of kids from an art group called Art After 5 stood on stage, and each in turn got up to the mic to say what their dream for the future was. It is heart warming to hear kids innocently proclaim that they would like to see a world without racism or sexism. The sun blinded me from the sketch page and I had to wipe a tear from my eye. One of the children had a fine set of lungs, and she sang “Climb Every Mountain.”

Winter Garden Farmer’s Market

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The Winter Garden Farmers Market (104 S Lakeview Ave, Winter Garden, FL
) is open every Saturday from 9:00am to 2pm in beautiful Historic Winter Garden.  It has quickly grown into a community staple and offers a large selection of vendors from locally grown produce and baked goods, to homemade soaps and fresh flowers. Dogs are welcome.

Enjoy live music every Saturday from 10:00am to 2:00pm. There are Holiday Carriage Rides through downtown Winter Garden on December 8, 15 and 22, 2018 from 5pm to 9:30pm  starting at the Winter Garden Downtown Pavilion.

Other Winter Garden Holiday Events to watch for this season…

December 7

A Merry Winter Garden Light

Show at City Hall, 6 to 9 pm

Holiday Music – Friday’s on

the Plaza, 7 to 9 pm

  

December 8

A Very Merry Farmers Market

with Santa, 9 am to 2 pm

Holiday Music and Horse Drawn

Carriage Rides, 5 to 9 pm

A Merry Winter Garden Light

Show at City Hall, 6 to 9 pm

Sleigh Ride with Santa! 6 to 9 pm

December 14

Holiday Music – Friday’s on the

Plaza, 7 to 9 pm

December 15

A Very Merry Farmers Market

with Santa, 9 am to 2 pm

Holiday Music and Horse Drawn

Carriage Rides, 5 to 9 pm

Holiday Movie Night

(Carolers Pre-Show), 6 to 9 pm

A Merry Winter Garden Light

     Show at City Hall, 6 to 9

 

December 16

Holiday golf cart parade, 4 to 7 pm 

December 21

Holiday Music – Friday’s on

the Plaza, 7 to 9 pm 

December 22

A Very Merry Farmers Market

with Santa, 9 am to 2 pm

Holiday Music and Horse Drawn

Carriage Rides, 5 to 9 pm

A Merry Winter Garden Light

Show at City Hall, 6 to 9 pm

December 28

Holiday Music – Friday’s on

the Plaza, 7 to 9 pm

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 16th and 17th.

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Saturday December 16, 2017

5 PM to 9:30 PM –  Free.  Orlando Zine Fest 2017.  (Will’s Pub, 1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803).  Orlando’s
local zinesters, artists, and writers–plus some folks from farther
afield–celebrate and support independent publishing and DIY/T with what they think may be the tenth consecutive annual Orlando Zine Fest outside of Will’s Pub/Lil Indie’s in the
ambitiously appellated Dirty Laundry Amphitheatre.

Accessible venue – swap and/or buy!

Bar at lil indies just inside where we’ll be hosting.

Record store pop-ups and screening movies again!

Coffee/tea by Danny
~food trucks – vegan options

REGISTER HERE:
https://goo.gl/CTHSZN
no registration fee.

All are welcome

growing list of participating zines:

Citrus Beat Press/ troykodycunio.com, Event Horizon/Orlando Area SF Society / oasfis.org, Gnome Comics / instagram.com/gnomedraws, Love Your Rebellion / Loveyourrebellion.org
Nickname / nicknamezine.com, Reflections on Gun Control
Street Type Zine / streettype.bigcartel.com/product/gdm, Florida is Loud will be ongoing throughout the weekend and Saturday night at Will’s.

5:30 PM to 7:30 PM –  $10.  Orlando Cringe IX – The Holiday Show! SAK Comedy Lab, (29 S Orange, Orlando, FL 32801.) For the last show of 2017, Cringe is teaming up with SAK Comedy Lab for a very special Cringemas Show! They are bringing back a very special reader from Cringe’s and SAK’s amazing team will be performing improvised scenes completely based on their journals. They also have other surprises, so naughty or nice, it’s going to be a great show!

2 PM to 11:30PM – Free.  Kaleidoscope Open House – Yoga, Music, Drawing, Painting Event. 

Kaleidoscope Venue For The Arts (1991 Corporate Square #1, Longwood, FL). 

Kaleidoscope will be having their first free ‘Open House’ in conjunction with the
Surrealistic Dreams art show on Saturday. The Open House begins at
2:00pm with Free Yoga at 2:00pm and at 6:00pm, Live Model Drawing with
Music begins at 7:30pm, the Art Show is from 7:30pm to 11:30pm and they
may be adding more things to see and do to this event as it draws
closer!

Sunday December 17, 2017

10 AM to 7 PM – Free.  Grandma Party Bazaar 2017! Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 Winter Park Rd, Orlando, FL 32803.) It’s the fifteenth Grandma Party Bazaar and you’re invited! Bring your
friends for the best Sunday of the year. Grandma Party
is you and me and all of us making it happen, so you’d better be there
because it just won’t be the same without you. As always, the party will be held in the parking lot of Stardust Video and Coffee starting at 10 a.m. and closing at Sundown. You can get a
taste of what good ol’ Gran has to offer this year by following her on
Facebook and Instagram (@Grandma_Party). Orlando has some seriously
creative artists and makers that were hard to choose from, but she has
picked some of the best of the best to share their craft with you. There will be a raffle,  interactive booths and DJ sets by Nigel John and
Oled Dad and live music from Von Nacht, Tiger Fawn, TV Dinner and MORE!
Of course, lots food and drinks too.

If you are new to the bazaar, be sure to bring your cash (most vendors
take cards too), and finish up your holiday shopping with one of a kind
treasures. While you’re at it, buy yourself a little something too!
Parking can be a challenge on this day, but it’s a good thing they are
located in the great neighborhood of Audubon Park where there are lots
of streets. Other options are carpooling, biking and Uber.

4 PM to 9 PM – Free. Winter Garden Christmas Golf Cart Parade. Bradford Park (220 West Division Street, Winter Garden, FL.)  Are
you ready for the 2017 WG Christmas Golf Cart Parade?! They will begin their 5th annual Golf Cart Parade by gathering at
Bradford Park early to socialize and compare decorations before heading
out to tour Downtown Winter Garden and ending near Walker Field near the
Plant Street Market. They will have prizes for the best decorated golf carts so take this
seriously. All money raised will be graciously donated to the
Edgewood Children’s Ranch as they have done in past. Golf Carts only and all traffic laws still apply.

7 PM to 9 PM – $10 donation Give ME Cheer. Marshall Ellis Theatre (1300 La Quinta Dr #3, Orlando, FL 32809.) Get
in the Christmas spirit and join Give ME Cheer, ME Dance’s first
charity ball benefiting local dance organizations, events and
scholarships. Enjoy performances, food, drink, meet-and-greets, a silent
auction and raffle.

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

33 Variations

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On March 28th I went to The Winter Garden Theatre to see 33 Variations written by Moises Kaufman and staged by Beth Marshal Presents. I had been to a dress rehearsal and hopefully that write up generated interest for this incredible production. Though it was the second to last performance, I had to see the set and lighting to feel the shows full impact. Aradhana Tiwari directed this stellar cast in this show about Beethoven’s struggle to create late in his career as he went deaf and a modern day researcher obsessed with understanding his motives as her health also fails. The 33 variations were written by Beethoven based on music written by a lesser known composer and music publisher.

I was touched by the idea that the music researcher felt the need to travel to Vienna to see and touch Beethoven’s original sketchbooks. I wrote out every compositional idea, so the sketchbooks were a way to see his every thought. The minimalist set acted as a multi media projection space at times covered in notes and in one scene becoming a bustling subway. At one point a ghostly silhouette of Beethoven was projected walking from stage left to stage right. The sound, lighting and projections became a creative escape into two tortured minds.  Modern day events and historic Viennese events overlapped and intermingled. I was swept away.

Peg O’Keef who played Katherine Brandt, the music researcher, did an astonishing job performing with the advancing stages of sclerosis. After the show, she explained to me that she had found a series of You Tube videos made by a gregarious and vibrant man who recorded himself repeatedly as he succumbed to the muscle debilitating illness.  In one daring scene Peg disrobed for an MRI. In the nude isolation, she and Bethoven were back to back.  The magical moment wag gone in a flash.

After the show, Aradahna hooked her arm in mine and asked me to have a drink with the cast at the bar next door. I only stayed for one drink but the party was just starting. It seems sad that such an amazing show should have such a short run. But, like Beethoven, a creative life can’t last forever. The music and inspiration does last forever. There is a link above to all of the 33 Variations. I suggest you listen to it while your surfing the web or social media. They are inspiring in their entirety.

33 Variations

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On February 25th I went to the Winter Garden Theatre ballroom ( 160 West Plant Street, Winter Garden, Florida) for a Designer Run of the show, 33 Variations, a play written by Moises Kaufman. Stage Manager Jay Ferrence was the first person I met when I entered the ballroom. He informed me that the purple tape marked the front of the stage. Actress Becky Eck entered soon afterwards and introduced herself. She had played Jane in “Alice Lost in Wonderland” and she did an amazing job grounding that production. A designer run is a full run through of the show that gives the set designer an idea of where characters will be blocked during the production. Producer Beth Marshall and director Aradhana Tiwari sat behind a folding table to watch the show. Pianist Julian Bond will be performing Beethoven‘s 33 Variations live on stage in the final production, but for now a recording was used and Julian watched to see how the performers would be moving on the set.

This was a dress rehearsal so some actors were in period outfits from Beethoven’s era and the rest of the cast was wearing modern clothing. Photographer Kristen Wheeler was shooting the show this night and she set up two lights to illuminate the actors. Beth warned her not to shoot the feet of some of the period costumed actors since they didn’t have the right shoes yet.  During the show, Kristen had total access to the stage and she moved around the actors catching every emotional moment while also switching on and off lights to get the shots. It was an impressive ballet that didn’t once phase the actors.

The plot examines the creative process of Beethoven’s obsessive variations build from a rather plane and uninspired composition by Diabelli (Brett P. Carson). At the same time, the play follows musicologist Katherine Brandt (played by Peg O’Keef) who yearns to understand Beethoven’s obsession. Brandt’s relationship with her daughter (Becky Eck) is strained as she succumbs to a disabling Sclerosis and at the same time Beethoven (Chris Gibson) goes deaf. I had watched a number of performers audition for the part of Beethoven and I must say Chris is compelling as the anger driven compulsive composer.

 The musicologist traveled to Vienna to inspect Beethoven’s original sketchbooks. By flipping through the pages she could see his every thought as he composed. She wondered if he might be mocking Diabelli’s composition with his variations or perhaps he just wanted to one-up Bach who had 32 variations. Beethoven’s loss of hearing may have actually helped him break new ground as he reinvented the very process of creation. Though cloaked in anger and bitterness, he found an amazing joy in the process even as the world grew silent. Minor composers like Diabelli could be satisfied and complacent with their insignificant contributions.

One moment in the rehearsal was absolute magic. I stopped sketching and was drawn in to the moment. Katherine Brandt disrobed as if in a doctors office. I imagined she was preparing for an MRI full body scan. She stood in a spotlight facing the audience with her arms out in a Christ like gesture. Beethoven stood behind her and they leaned back to back. His head leaned back on her shoulder and her head leaned back on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and shuddered with quick breaths of ecstasy. I noticed Becky Eck off stage began to cry, and my eyes welled up as well. There is a certain magic that happens when actors are no longer reciting lines, but they are emotionally invested in every moment.

Mark Your Calendars! The show runs from March 14-30, 2014
Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, Sundays at 2pm,
PLUS Monday, March 24 at 8pm- INDUSTRY NITE

 Tickets: $25 ($21 students/seniors) BethMarshallPresents.com or GardenTheatre.org