Orlando Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 13

BWW Review: Mad Cow's PAINTING CHURCHES is a Touching 'Memory' Play with a Top-Notch Cast
by Matt Tamanini - February 26, 2016

'Last scene of all,/ That ends this strange eventful history,/ Is second childishness and mere oblivion,/ Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.' PAINTING CHURCHES, running through March 20th at the Mad Cow Theatre, is a memory play, but not in the way that THE GLASS MENAGERIE is. Inste...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's Silent REELING Recreates Buster Keaton Silliness
by Matt Tamanini - February 24, 2016

We've all heard the saying, 'They don't make 'em like they used to.' Now, thanks to Theatre UCF's REELING, running through February 28th, they actually do still make 'em like they used to, complete with banana peels, pratfalls, and not a single spoken word. This one-of-a-kind play recreates the zany...

BWW Review: KINKY BOOTS is a Fabulously Good Time that Just Might Change Your Mind
by Matt Tamanini - February 24, 2016

I have a confession to make; when the 2015-2016 Broadway Series was announced for Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, KINKY BOOTS was not one of the shows that I was most excited to see. Yeah, I knew that the show had won six Tony Awards including Best Musical; yeah, I knew that i...

BWW Review: Brilliant EXPECTING ISABEL Balances Humor and Heartbreak at Annie Russell
by Matt Tamanini - February 18, 2016

There is simply no overstating how fortunate Central Florida theatre fans are to have quality collegiate theatre programs in the area. While ticket sales are obviously still important for Theatre UCF and the Annie Russell Theatre at Rollins College, ultimately, their mission is not to produce the mo...

BWW Review: THE TEMPEST Delivers a Wave of Top-Notch Talent at Orlando Shakespeare Theater
by April Montgomery - February 15, 2016

A tale of mysticism, betrayal, love and the ultimate choice. THE TEMPEST is arguably one of Shakespeare's most cohesive works, with its central plot all taking place on the same day in one location. The storyline is easier to follow than some of the Bard's earlier plays, which is brought to light by...

BWW Review: High-Energy HANDS ON A HARDBODY is Enjoyable, but Uneven at the Garden Theatre
by Matt Tamanini - February 04, 2016

Let's get this out of the way first, the 'hardbody' in the title is a truck, a Nissan pickup truck to be exact; and while the name of the musical, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, might sound a teensy bit risque, it is filled with encouraging messages and life-affirming themes set to a high energy modern score....

BWW Review: Mad Cow's Biting Comedy, ART, Makes You Question Nature of Friendship
by Matt Tamanini - January 29, 2016

Do you have a prized piece of art hanging above the mantle in your home? Above the sofa? In your bedroom? What does the choice to invest in a particular work of art say about you? What does your best friend's choice in art say about him or her? Does your friend's choice say something about you? Thes...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's Energetic SPUNK AND THE HARLEM LITERATI is Weighed Down by its Own Ambition
by Matt Tamanini - January 27, 2016

Ambition can be a dangerous thing, whether you are a guitar-playing drifter in early Twentieth Century Orlando, or a playwright attempting to recontextualize an outdated work. In SPUNK AND THE HARLEM LITERATI, running through January 31st, UCF Theatre professor Be Boyd attempts to take an existing p...

BWW Review: I LEFT MY HEART: A SALUTE TO THE MUSIC OF TONY BENNETT is Full of Rhythm, Music and More at The Winter Park Playhouse
by April Montgomery - January 24, 2016

Tony Bennett is an icon.  He has helped write music history and manages to reach generation after generation of fans. So, what is his secret?  Why is his music still relevant today and how do audience members continue to connect with him after all these years? I LEFT MY HEART: A SALUTE TO THE MUSIC ...

BWW Review: Orlando Shakes Rings in the New Year with Brilliantly Scripted DANCING LESSONS
by April Montgomery - January 11, 2016

Going to the theater is an intimate experience.  We are pulled out of our everyday lives and isolated realities to immerse ourselves collectively in a story.  We give over the reigns of control for a set amount of time and just absorb.  On rare occasions, we find a story that moves us so thoroughly ...

BWW Review: Finding the True Meaning of Christmas with MIRACLE ON 34th STREET at Garden Theatre
by Kimberly Moy - December 14, 2015

I am a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas time. I'm that person who hasn't seen any holiday classic movies. I decorate enough to blend into society and usually only listen to Christmas music on rotation at your favorite theme park. So it takes a lot to warm the coldness of my heart and while Garden ...

BWW Review: UCF Seniors Leap for the Stars in Dream Roles Concert
by April Montgomery - December 14, 2015

What could be more exciting than a stage full of musical theatre students performing the roles they dream to play in the decade that lies ahead? Answer: Absolutely nothing.  I was one of the fortunate audience members to share in the experience of night two of the Dream Roles Concert, performed by t...

BWW Review: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS: THE MUSICAL Gets Orlando into the Christmas Spirit
by Danielle Ashley - December 09, 2015

The Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has been transformed into Whoville this week as it welcomed Dr. Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS: THE MUSICAL to the Orlando area. The Whos had no problem spreading Christmas cheer and reminding audience members that the...

BWW Review: Orlando Shakes' PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is Childlike Fun, but Lacks Potential Magic
by Matt Tamanini - December 10, 2015

Ahoy mateys, two ships with very special cargo have docked at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. The H.M.S. Wasp and Neverland have brought a thoroughly enjoyable production of the Tony-winning play PETER AND THE STARCATCHER to town for the holidays. Framed by a group of touring British actors, the pl...

BWW Review: Mad Cow's THE SECRET GARDEN is Bleak, Uninspired Adaptation
by Matt Tamanini - November 25, 2015

Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved novel THE SECRET GARDEN has been thrilling the imaginations of readers young and old since 1911, and in 1991 Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's musical adaptation won three Tony Awards, bringing the classic story to life in a brand new way. Their musical, which is playi...

BWW Review: Rollins College's TARTUFFE is Fun, but Thin Comedic Classic
by Matt Tamanini - November 18, 2015

What if instead of encouraging Jay Gatsby to find the greatness in his true self, Nick Carraway had led his rich friend down a path of phony-spiritualism that brought him to the brink of bankruptcy? That is the premise behind the Jazz Age-inspired production of Moliere's TARTUFFE running at Rollins ...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's Entertaining MAN AND SUPERMAN Miss Shavian Mark
by Matt Tamanini - November 18, 2015

For many modern audiences, George Bernard Shaw is the guy who wrote the play that MY FAIR LADY is based on, or the guy whom John F. Kennedy misquoted in 1963, but as director Lani Harris points out in the program for Theatre UCF's production of MAN AND SUPERMAN, running through November 22nd, Shaw w...

BWW Review: Jump Start Your Holiday Spirit with FOREVER PLAID: PLAID TIDINGS at The Winter Park Playhouse
by April Montgomery - November 15, 2015

FOREVER PLAID: PLAID TIDINGS is a holiday sequel to the 1990 Off-Broadway show, FOREVER PLAID, written by Stuart Ross. I have not seen the original show, but can now promise that it is totally unnecessary to have seen the original in order to enjoy the heaven out of the sequel. It is an uncanny and ...

BWW Review: RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA is Fantastic Mix of Fresh and Familiar at Dr. Phillips Center
by Matt Tamanini - November 11, 2015

The 2015-2016 Orlando Broadway Series kicked off in royal style last night as the wonderful RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA set up shop at downtown's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. This reimagined take on the classic musical will be in town through Sunday, November 15th, and is a gl...

BWW Review: MY NAME IS ASHER LEV Elegantly Examines Crossroads of Art, Religion
by Matt Tamanini - November 10, 2015

For millennia, both art and religion have been the focus of some of the theater's best work's, however, rarely has one play combined and commented on both as elegantly as Mad Cow Theatre's stirring production of Aaron Posner's MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, running through December 6th. This riveting work, d...

BWW Review: Orlando Shakespeare's BAKERSFIELD MIST is Thrilling Examination of the Nature of Art
by Matt Tamanini - October 19, 2015

To whom does art belong? Is it something for only the elite and educated to analyze and appreciate, or is the opinion of the average viewer just as valid? That and many other complicated questions about the nature of art are examined in Stephen Sachs' thrilling two-hander BAKERSFIELD MIST, running a...

BWW Review: Theatre UCF's Talented HAIR Cast 'Trips' Back to 1968
by Matt Tamanini - October 18, 2015

Since its Off-Broadway debut in 1967, HAIR has become a touchstone for musical theatre fans with a fondness for the decade's counter-culture revolution. Having won both a Tony and a Grammy, there is no doubt that this musical, which defies nearly every theatrical convention, has become as important ...

BWW Reviews: ME Dance's SERENITY Finds Itself in Moments of Clarity
by Kimberly Moy - October 16, 2015

ME Dance was founded in 2011, so if you've never heard of this dance group it is definitely time to check them out. ME Dance is a professional dance company with dancers whose day jobs are at many of our local theme parks....

BWW Review: Gen Y's BAT BOY is a Nearly Perfect Halloween Production
by Matt Tamanini - October 16, 2015

There's really no getting around it, BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL is weird, albeit wonderfully so. It's an audacious musical comedy ripped from the headlines of a supermarket tabloid. Inspired by the on-going Weekly World News articles that began with 1992's 'Bat Child Found in Cave!,' the musical tells the...

BWW Review: ONE MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY at Dr. Phillips Center is for Super Fans Only
by Matt Tamanini - October 14, 2015

With the continued integration of the Star Wars Universe into the Disney fold, there will undoubtedly be legions of fans in Central Florida who will appreciate every hyper-speed second of Charlie Ross' ONE MAN STAR WARS TRILOGY, unfortunately, I am not one of those fans. Admittedly, I'm not exactly ...