Lance Around Orlando

Historic Athens Theatre in DeLand is a Great Venue

No matter how long you explore Central Florida, you can still discover hidden treasure.

That’s what happened to us on Sunday.

We read in the paper that the Sands Theatre Company was doing a live performance of Sweeney Todd–Number One Daughter’s favorite movie. So Mrs. LanceAround, Number One Son and I piled into the van with Number One Daughter and drove to the Athens Theatre in downtown DeLand.

This Theatre is Majestic

The Athens Theatre opened in 1922 as a vaudeville and silent movie house. It has recently been restored to its 1920′s grandeur with the addition of state-of-the-art rigging, lighting and sound. It is a palatial theatre with a regal feel. The theatre’s name was derived from the vision of town founder, Henry DeLand, who sought to create a city that would be the “Athens of Florida.”

A visit to the Athens Theatre website shows a fascinating photo montage of how the theatre transformed from the 1920′s into a modern 60′s movie house, then into disrepair before being restored to its original grandeur. Another extensive slide show details the loving care that went into creating a modern venue of historic significance.

This place is very special.

In addition to enjoying the old-time theatre, the production of Sweeney Todd by the Sands Theatre Company was outstanding–as good a community theatre as I’ve ever seen.

I did several Google searches while researching this post and could not find many reviews of Sweeny Todd or much information about the Athens Theatre in DeLand. But for the lucky readers of my blog, it’s a great treasure waiting to be discovered by those travelers to Central Florida seeking “more than a mouse.”™

# 1 Son Prepares to Experience the Longest Fringe Show Ever in Orlando

Guests vacationing to Central Florida read my blog because they love to discover those off-the-beaten-path treasures available to the well informed traveler seeking “more than a mouse.”™  

The really lucky ones come to Orlando during the last week of May and experience the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival.  

You see, in 1947 in Edinburgh, Scotland, you could only participate in the Edinburgh International Festival by invitation of the General Director. Several performing artists, who were snubbed, decided to produce their own works in the empty store fronts and church basements “on the fringe” of the established festival. This concept was an immediate success and the “Fringe” became more popular than the “official” festival.  

The concept of a fringe festival grew in scope and popularity across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. It provided artists the opportunity to show their work in an uncensored and unjuried environment where 100% of the ticket sales goes directly to the performers. Fringe festivals, like the one held each year for 12 days in Orlando at the end of May, now include live theatre performances, dance, artwork that is for sale, kids fringe, food and other vendors and madness to all types and ages.  

The Orlando Fringe is the longest running US Fringe Festival.  

The mainstay of the Fringe is the live theatre shows. They range in scope from individual performers telling a story on a bare stage to elaborate productions with costumes and scenery. They can last as short as 15 minutes or as long as two hours. Some are G rated and others a definite NC-17. They can be funny, poignant, offensive, absurd and god-awful!  

When attending the Fringe, it’s a good idea to do your research; ask others what shows they liked, view websites and explore the information provided in the programming. It costs between $5 and $15 for each performance. In addition, since all the ticket money goes to the performers, attendees purchase a Fringe Button for $8 (you only need one to attend as many shows as you like.) This helps defray the administrative costs of producing a festival as large and varied as the Fringe.  

This year Number One Son decided to do the “Fringe of Nature.” This unusual concept was executed by Brian Feldman, dubbed as Orlando’s greatest living performance artist by Orlando Weekly. Typical of Brian, it was a simple, yet quirky idea. His “performance” is that he drives the audience to a State Park in a Mini Cooper, they hike 3.5 miles to a remote campsite and then he pitches a tent and they camp for the night. Only two tickets are available for each “performance.” When Number One Son attended, he was the only “audience member.”  

Number One Son really enjoyed his Fringe of Nature. Meanwhile, Number Two Son and I enjoyed a two person, hour long play that was a comedic exploration of who really wrote the works of William Shakespeare. We followed that with The Bike Trip which was one mans energetic and creative story of his attempt to retrace the steps of the first person to have invented and experienced an LSD trip. Yea, it was trippy. Number Two Son loved it.  

The following night, Mrs. LanceAround and I enjoyed Fool For a Client; an hour and a half, one man comedy sketch which was a mostly true story about a man jailed for giving false information to secure a loan to open a Ben and Jerry’s franchise.There is something for everyone at the Fringe. If you want to go this year, you better hurry. It ends on Sunday. 

If you’re planning a trip to Orlando next year, however, you might want to consider coming at the end of May and taking in a few Fringe shows. You’ll be glad you did!

#1 Daughter Snapped This Photo of Bob Dolan Getting Ready to Tell the Audience to NOT Take Photos

Ever dream of writing a smash Broadway hit!  Now you can–by going to the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in Partnership with UCF’s PlayFest held from April 2 to 11, 2010 at the Orlando Shakes in downtown Orlando.

Well, sort of…

You see, PlayFest is a ten-day theatre event packed with dynamic new plays and new play programming for anyone who loves great theatre.  There are Readings, Workshops, special events, a Play-in-a-Day and even a world premiere!

So how does this help you write that new smash hit?

Well, here’s what I found out. 

Number One Daughter’s Montessori School went to see “All’s Well That Ends Well” at Orlando Shakes a few weeks ago.  Afterwards Patrick Flick, the director of New Play Development and PR for the Orlando Shakes, was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to speak with the students.

Patrick Flick and the Montessori Classroom

He explained that the PlayFest provides Workshops and Readings from both accomplished and novice playwrights.  At each of these events, the audience, actors and writers have a “talkback.”  These informal sessions are an opportunity for everyone to discuss and critique the work with professional and amateur theatre lovers of all ages.

Who knows, you might provide the feedback that helps the playwright further enhance the work.  You might be the difference between obscurity and a Tony Award!

At the very least, these workshops and readings will inspire and delight you.  Perhaps you’ll become motivated to begin a treatment of that story you always knew would make a fantastic piece of theatre.  Perhaps you’ll decide to get some friends together and extemporize over some scenes you’ve had mulling around your head.  Maybe you’ll discover that it’s much harder to write a play than you’ve ever imagined.  You’ll wonder if you’re up for the challenge that is faced by the playwrights who contribute to PlayFest.

One thing is certain–you will have a memorable theatre experience unlike any other.  For no one does theatre better than our friends at Orlando Shakes.

When I asked Patrick about the high caliber of theatre at Orlando Shakes, I’ll never forget his response.  Because of the major Theme Parks, the Orlando area attracts all kinds of performers.  Ambitious artists who want an opportunity to be more than just “2nd Princess on the right,” explained Patrick, “take their vacation and come to work at the Orlando Shakes.”

For a schedule of PlayFest Workshops and Readings just click on this link.  The Workshop is only $10 and Readings just $5.  Some special events are free.  And there is the much beloved annual tradition of the Play-in-a-Day.  Also don’t miss this year’s special guest, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, at 7:30 on April 10.  Tickets for this “Inside the Actor’s Studio” style interview with Orlando Shakes Artistic Director Jim Helsinger range from $25 to $100.

If you love the theatre, you do not want to miss this event.  For the lucky readers of my blog who are planning a trip to Orlando, the new play festival combined with the Florida Film Festival makes this the perfect time to come and discover so much “more than a mouse”™

For more information:
Orlando Shakespeare Theater In Partnership with UCF
PlayFest! April 2-11, 2010
The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays
812 E. Rollins Street
Orlando, FL 32803
407.447.1701
Email: Info@OrlandoShakes.org
Web: www.OrlandoShakes.org

Phillip Seymour Hoffman

One of my all time favorite, Academy Award winning actors is coming to Orlando on April 10, 2010 at 7:30pm.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman will have an “Inside the Actor’s Studio” type interview with Artistic Director Jim Helsinger at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF.

Tickets for this event are $50, $75 or $100 and according to my friends at Orlando Shakes, half of them are already sold.  For more information or to order tickets call 407.447.1700 or click on this link.

Phillip became well known for his early films such as ”Scent of a Woman” and “Twister” then gained international acclaim and an Oscar for his portrayal of Truman Capote in “Capote.” 

Not many people are aware of his theatre work or his work in new play development as a member of the Board of Directors for LAByrinth Theatre Company in New York.

The Orlando Shakes is located in the Loch Haven Cultural Park complex in downtown, Orlando, just a half mile east of I-4 off the Princeton Street Exit

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF, 812 E. Rollins Street, Orlando, FL  32803
www.OrlandoShakes.org

The Blue Man Group is a live theatre show at Universal Orlando Resort. The venue is a converted sound stage located between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure–The two Universal theme parks. The show consists of three “blue men”–Actors who wear blue prosthetics on their face and hands–Along with a live band. There are very few spoken words. The entire show is a visual display of dazzling special effects, mime, and audience involvement.

To attend the show, you must park in the Universal Studios parking lot (price $12 as of 2008), take the long trek through the middle of Universal’s City Walk, and pass the entrance to one of the two theme parks. Then you need to shell out big bucks (upwards of $80+ although in the interest of full disclosure Universal gave my family hospitality tickets for $30 each.) There is a small concession stand inside the theatre where you can get hot dogs, soft pretzels, popcorn, sodas and various alcoholic drinks for the usual theme park mark ups. The theatre seats approximately 1000 people. Although the show makes an effort to occasionally bring the action out to even the upper reaches of the back row, this is one show where you will benefit from getting seats that are center and as close to the front as possible. If you are very close to the front, you might want to wear a poncho. Indeed, since the first four or so rows all wore identical clear ponchos, perhaps the theatre provides them if you are going to be sitting in the “splash zone.”

Most likely you have seen the Blue Men in either commercials and/or during some TV specials. The show itself is pretty much what you would expect from these glimpses. It consists of a number of “scenes” some very short and others lasting fifteen minutes or longer. Each of these scenes involves the group interacting with something that provides either a visual spectacle, sound spectacle, humorous expressions, or a combination of all of them.

Some of the more memorable moments occur when the three blue men invite someone to the stage to enjoy a snack cake with knife and fork (no doubt a lucrative product placement with the brand clearly displayed so even the back row could see it), when the blue men walk, literally, through the chair tops of the audience, when they beat their drums spraying colored paint into the air, and when gooey, paint like substances squirt out of the centers of their chests.

My thirteen year old daughter particularly liked the lessons in how to properly respond to rock and roll music and the climatic ending when rolls and rolls of toilet paper-like streamers sprawled from the back of the theatre, helped along by the audience, to the front of the stage. She really squealed with delight when one of the blue men pulled me out of my chair and wrapped me head to foot with the toilet paper. I thought I would get one up on him by falling over backwards after being wrapped, only to discover they had outsmarted me by having another person stand behind me who caught me in my attempt to steal the show.

My number two son requested this outing to The Blue Man Group in celebration of his impending departure to begin his Sophomore year of college at Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. He thought the show was excellent and I enjoyed watching him and his older brother get into the swing of things during the lessons in rock and roll appreciation.

Although the show started off slowly and I was somewhat annoyed at the obvious product placement for a popular kid’s breakfast cereal and another for a snack bar (since they are not paying me I will not expose the specific brands) as well as feeling that the actors were not always as crisp and synchronized as they should have been for a highly professional show in this price range, by the end of the evening I found myself smiling broadly if not outright laughing. The show lasted approximately two hours and the time seemed to pass too quickly.

My office manager and her friend saw the show last week and were not very impressed. So perhaps it works better if you attend with youthful spirit! However, there is no question that younger kids will love the show. Although I am long past the age of having toddlers, I suspect they will enjoy it as much as they do their early morning cartoons. At $30 I felt as though I got my money’s worth–I’m not sure I would feel the same if I had paid $80.

Overall I would give Blue Man Group a hearty thumbs up. Though if you have a choice between Blue Man Group at Universal and La Nouba at Disney (The other major live theatre show in Orlando)–Go to La Nouba where you get so much more for your money. Blue Man Group will tickle your funny bone. La Nouba will make your heart soar!