ReportWire

Tag: Walt Disney Theater

  • Broadway musical ‘& Juliet’ revamps well-known romance story in Central Florida Jan. 6-11

    [ad_1]

    Broadway musical ‘& Juliet’ revamps well-known romance story in Central Florida Jan. 6-11

    The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.

    IS TAKING CENTER STAGE WITH A MODERN TWIST. THE BROADWAY MUSICAL AND JULIET BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO THE ROMANCE TRAGEDY ROMEO AND JULIET. JOINING ME NOW IS 2025 JIMMY AWARD WINNER AND THE SHOW’S LEAD, FABIOLA. FABIOLA. CARABALLO. QUIJADA. FABIOLA. GREAT TO SEE YOU. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. AND LET ME JUST SAY, MY FAMILY AND I GOT TO SEE THE SHOW LAST NIGHT AND IT IS JUST A CONCERT AND A PARTY, AND YOU GO ON THIS EMOTIONAL JOURNEY WITH YOUR CHARACTER. SO I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EVEN DESCRIBE THE STORY TO SOMEBODY. WHAT DO YOU SAY? YEAH. SO AND JULIET, YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF TAKES A TWIST ON THE CLASSIC ENDING OF OF ROMEO AND JULIET. YOU KNOW, SHAKESPEARE’S INFAMOUS PLAY. AND SO, YOU KNOW, THIS ENDING, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THE QUESTION, WHAT IF JULIET HADN’T ENDED IT ALL OVER ROMEO? AND SO, YOU KNOW, SHE REALLY STARTS HER JOURNEY OF, OF SELF-EMPOWERMENT AND SHE GOES AND MAKES MISTAKES AND LEARNS FROM HER FRIENDS, AND SHE ULTIMATELY DECIDES THAT HER JOURNEY IS, YOU KNOW, HER DESTINY IS IN HER OWN HANDS. YEAH. AND YOU, YOU PLAY JULIET? OF COURSE. THE LEAD HERE. IT WAS OPENING NIGHT. WE’RE REALLY THANKFUL THAT YOU GOT UP EARLY AND YOU JOINED US HERE. HOW WAS THE ORLANDO AUDIENCE? WHAT WAS THE ENERGY LIKE? YEAH. WE’RE INCREDIBLE. IT WAS INSANE. I HAD NEVER FELT AN ENERGY IN, LIKE, THE FIRST OF ALL, THE THEATER IS JUST INCREDIBLE. IT’S BEAUTIFUL AUDITORIUM. AND YOU GUYS JUST FILLED IT WITH SO MUCH SOUND AND JOY. IT WAS REALLY INCREDIBLE TO FEEL ON STAGE. WELL, AND THEN WE’LL GET TO THIS QUESTION LATER. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE’VE GOT A BIG ORLANDO TIE IN I’M TALKING ABOUT. YEAH, YEAH, MAYBE A BOY BAND MEMBER, YOU KNOW, WHO LIVES HERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. BUT FIRST, JULIET, I MEAN, THIS IS A CHARACTER THAT WE KNOW FROM SHAKESPEARE’S WRITING. IT’S A BIG ROLE TO FILL THESE SHOES. HOW DO YOU DO IT NIGHT AFTER NIGHT? YEAH. SO, I MEAN, WE’VE GOT TO START WITH, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF JULIET, YOU KNOW, LIKE, SHE’S YOUNG AND SHE’S A LITTLE BIT SHELTERED. SHE JUST WANTS TO DO, YOU KNOW, SHE’S KIND OF REBELLIOUS. AND SO WE USE MOST OF THAT IN THIS NEW ADAPTATION. BUT WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, SHE IS JUST WILD AND YOUNG. AND WE TAKE THAT ON. AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO INCLUDE LIKE THE POP ELEMENT OF IT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WE KIND OF JUST MIX THE, THE Y2K ELEMENTS WITHIN THE ENTIRE SHOW. AND JULIET IS JUST, OH, SHE’S JUST A ONE BIG BALL OF ENERGY. AND THEN IT BRINGS HER THROUGH SO MUCH IN HER JOURNEY, AND IT LEADS HER TO MEET SO MANY NEW PEOPLE. AND SHE GOES THROUGH A LOT EMOTIONALLY, YOU KNOW, SHE SHE IT’S AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER FOR JULIET. AND SHE ENDS UP SHE WITH THE VICTORY IN THE END. YES. AND FABIOLA, YOU DO A FANTASTIC JOB WITH THIS SHOW. YOU MENTIONED THE MUSIC. IT IS WHAT THEY CALL A JUKEBOX MUSICAL. SO THESE ARE SONGS ALL OF US SHOULD KNOW? YES. INCLUDING CAST MEMBER HERE THAT WE KNOW FROM A BOY BAND, NSYNC MEMBER JOEY FATONE IS ON STAGE WITH YOU HERE FOR THE ORLANDO SHOWS. YES, JOEY IS PLAYING OUR LANCE THIS WEEK AND THIS WEEK ONLY. HE IS JUST AN INCREDIBLE PERSON TO WORK WITH. HE’S SO, SO FUNNY, SO FULL OF ENERGY. HE REALLY BRINGS AN INCREDIBLE ENERGY TO THE STAGE AND IT’S SO MUCH FUN. IT’S DIFFERENT, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT’S WHAT KEEPS US ON OUR TOES ON STAGE. THE AUDIENCE LOVED SEEING HIM. HE HAS JUST SUCH A FUN PART, BUT IT DOES HAVE THIS EMOTIONAL ARC. I JUST THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO BE COMEDIC RELIEF LIKE WE FIND IN A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION. BUT THERE’S SO MUCH MORE TO TO WHAT JOEY BROUGHT. AND HE DOES LIVE HERE, YOU KNOW, HIS FAMILY’S ROOTED HERE AND WE LOVE SEEING HIM ON STAGE. HE ALSO JUST CAME OFF THE BROADWAY RUN. HE DID TWO STINTS ON BROADWAY OVER THE SUMMER, AND THEN EARLIER IN THE YEAR AT 2025, BIG YEAR FOR JOEY FATONE. BUT FOR YOU TOO, YOU JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. I SURE DID. I SAID HIGH SCHOOL THIS PAST SPRING. I MEAN, WHAT A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT. NOW IN A BROADWAY TOUR. WOW. THANK YOU. HOW DID THAT HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? YEAH, WELL, I GRADUATED IN MAY OF 2025, AND SHORTLY AFTER I WENT TO NEW YORK FOR THE JIMMY AWARDS, THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATER AWARDS. FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW. AND IT WAS A ONE WEEK, INCREDIBLE WEEK IN NEW YORK. AND I ENDED UP TAKING HOME THE PRIZE TO MY PARENTS AND MY FAMILY. AND, YOU KNOW, SHORTLY AFTER THAT, I WAS I WAS OFFERED THE AUDITION FOR ANNE JULIET, AND I WAS LIKE, HEY, I DIDN’T THINK THAT ANYTHING WOULD COME OUT OF IT. AND, WELL, HERE WE ARE. OH, HERE YOU ARE IN A BIG WAY. FANTASTIC IN THE SHOW. AND JULIET PLAYING JULIET. WE JUST WISH YOU CONTINUED SUCCESS. THANK YOU. IT WAS. IT WAS SUCH A FUN RIDE, EVERYBODY. WE WERE ON OUR FEET. IT WAS LIKE A PARTY AT THE END, CELEBRATING WITH. WITH JULIET HERE AND FABIOLA AS WE WRAP THIS UP HERE, WHAT’S THE MESSAGE FOR OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE, BROADWAY KIDS OR BROADWAY ASPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE? WELL, THE THING THAT I ALWAYS SAY IS JUST THAT IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SO MUCH THAT YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH. YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE A VISION OF WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, AND YOU NEED TO TRY EVERYTHING YOU DO, EVERYTHING THAT IS IN YOUR POWER TO TO TRULY TAKE THIS STEP FORWARD. OPEN DOORS. DON’T BE AFRAID TO STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE BECAUSE YOU KNOW A LOT CAN HAPPEN. THERE’S A LOT OF THINGS THAT YOU YOU, YOU DON’T KNOW THAT YOU CAN DO UNTIL YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE THAT STEP AND THERE YOU ARE. WE LOVE IT. GREAT WORDS. FABIOLA. THANK YOU. A REALLY FUN SHOW. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HITS THAT MAX MARTIN WROTE THAT. YES. HALF OF THEM CAME OUT BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN HERE. OH, BUT I KNOW HIM JUST AS WELL. OH, LET ME TELL YOU. BETTER THAN I THAN I OR ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE SAYS YOU’VE GOT IT. AND WE’RE GOING TO POST A LINK TO ALL THE SHOW INFORMATION. FABIOLA, WE’RE LOVING YOU AS JULIET. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR YOUR CAREER. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL THE INFORMATION IS U

    Broadway musical ‘& Juliet’ revamps well-known romance story in Central Florida Jan. 6-11

    The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.

    Updated: 10:02 AM EST Jan 7, 2026

    Editorial Standards

    The Broadway musical “& Juliet” puts a modern spin on the well-known Shakespearean romance story, “Romeo and Juliet,” as the national tour makes a stop in Central Florida. The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.The show will take center stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from Jan. 6-11, 2026. Orlando native and *NSYNC superstar Joey Fatone joins the Orlando stops of the North American Tour of the hit musical as “Lance.”Click here to learn more.

    The Broadway musical “& Juliet” puts a modern spin on the well-known Shakespearean romance story, “Romeo and Juliet,” as the national tour makes a stop in Central Florida.

    The show’s lead and a 2025 Jimmy Award winner, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, joins WESH 2 with a preview.

    The show will take center stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts from Jan. 6-11, 2026.

    Orlando native and *NSYNC superstar Joey Fatone joins the Orlando stops of the North American Tour of the hit musical as “Lance.”

    Click here to learn more.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Theater review: ‘The Wiz’ kicks off Dr. Phil’s 2025/2026 Broadway in Orlando season – Orlando Weekly

    [ad_1]

    Cal Mitchell as The Lion, Elijah Ahmad Lewis as The Scarecrow, Dana Cimone as Dorothy, and Alan Mingo Jr. as The Wiz in the North American Tour of “The Wiz” Credit: Jeremy Daniel/courtesy Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

    For older generations, The Wizard of Oz was a cherished childhood staple of springtime CBS broadcasts, which (unless you believe it’s a populist parable) delivered no deeper socio-political statement beyond “There’s no place like home.” But today’s audiences are largely experiencing L. Frank Baum’s fantasyland filtered through the lens of our fractured era, where the very concept of home feels fraught. Whether it’s Wicked’s wildly successful script-flipping allegory about fascism or the uncanny AI-assisted exploitation of the original Technicolor film flourishing inside Las Vegas’s Sphere, crowds still flock to Oz even as its interpretations become increasingly apocalyptic. 

    So it is somewhat surprising and ironic that the new touring production of The Wiz — which was Broadway’s original groundbreaking reimagining of the tale back in 1975, and whose 1978 film was set in a terrifyingly derelict Manhattan — arrives in Orlando this week with none of the angst or edge that accompanies its popular descendants. Instead, it dismisses almost all of Oz’s darkness and drama in favor of exuberantly expressing unbridled Black joy, an all-too-rare occurrence on the Dr. Phillips Center’s mainstage.

    Dana Cimone stars as Dorothy, a spunky orphan sent from the big city to black-and-white Kansas, where her Aunt Em (The Voice finalist Kyla Jade, doing double duty as Evillene) consoles her with a song before a cyclone of interpretive dancers whisks her house over the rainbow. During her mythic quest for repatriation, she teams up with a brainless Scarecrow (Elijah Ahmad Lewis, beautifully boneless), a heartless Tinman (D. Jerome) and campy cowardly Lion (Cal Mitchell), who all seek assistance from The Wiz (Alan Mingo, Jr., channeling RuPaul Andre Charles). Before you can click your heels three times [century-old spoiler alert] the wicked witch is waterlogged and Glinda (Sheherazade) brings down the house with a power anthem, so Dorothy can sing her way home with a Diana Ross megahit. 

    Writer Amber Ruffin has updated William E. Brown’s book with largely unnecessary new backstories for the characters, which nod at topical issues like bullying and climate change without ever going deeper than the surface; as well as a cutting collection of contemporary one-liners, which will land differently depending on your cultural awareness of topics like hair curl pattern. The script is mostly there to bridge between Charlie Smalls’ R&B score (funkily orchestrated by Joseph Joubert), which is stocked with all-time bangers including “You Can’t Win,” “Ease On Down the Road,” and “Everybody Rejoice,” along with a fistful of forgettable snoozers. 

    Unfortunately, those boring book numbers make up the bulk of the second act, which under Schele Williams’ presentational direction dragged the pacing to a halt following a promising beginning. The Wiz’s talented cast is truly wonderful, as is the energy they exude on stage, but there’s something fundamentally off about the balance in this production. It begins with a lack of focus on the main character in both the staging and the sound mixing; despite Cimone’s stellar vocal tone, her Dorothy struggles to be seen and heard above the din until the very last verses of her finale. 

    Likewise, technical elements like Hannah Beachler’s scenic design, Shren Davis’ costumes and Jaquel Knight’s choreography all draw upon decades of urban influences — from ’60s hippies and ’70s Soul Train through Y2K hip-hop — and smoosh them together in a way that’s initially dazzling, but ultimately aesthetically incoherent. Most egregious are Daniel Brodie’s distracting backdrop projections, which look like hastily Photoshopped stock art (at best), or Sora-generated slop (at worst). 

    If you don’t peek behind the curtain, there’s a lot of entertainment value to be had in this trip down the Yellow Brick Road, particularly for an audience that doesn’t often get to see themselves reflected in trauma-free theater. However, fans who have already fallen in love with Elphaba and her fight for freedom may have trouble identifying with this lightweight take on Oz. Either way, The Wiz gets Orlando’s 2025/2026 Broadway season off to colorful start that had me humming “Brand New Day” out the door.



    [ad_2]

    Seth Kubersky
    Source link
  • ‘Daily Show’ alumni Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper are coming to Orlando in December

    ‘Daily Show’ alumni Roy Wood Jr. and Jordan Klepper are coming to Orlando in December

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    Courtesy photo

    Jordan Klepper and Roy Wood Jr. come to Orlando for some serious comedy

    Daily Show stars and comedic firebrands Jordan Klepper and Roy Wood Jr. are teaming up to say hello/goodbye to “America, for the Last Time” in December.

    Billed cheekily as “a comedic town hall that digs into the issues that matter and many that do not,” Wood and Klepper are taking their show on the road to just two cities [so far announced] in this newest leg of their duo tour: Brooklyn in November and Orlando in December. A Q&A portion of the evening is tantalizingly hinted at.

    Both are longtime Daily Show correspondents who have branched out into a multiplicity of solo endeavors — stand-up tours, documentaries and solo specials. And both embody deadpan [Klepper] and exasperated [Wood Jr.] humor like few others.

    “America, for the Last Time” comes to the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center on Dec. 7. Tickets are on sale through the venue.


    Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

    Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

    [ad_2]

    Matthew Moyer

    Source link

  • Broadway in Orlando review: ‘Clue’ captures the madcap spirit of the cinematic board game-based cult classic

    Broadway in Orlando review: ‘Clue’ captures the madcap spirit of the cinematic board game-based cult classic

    [ad_1]

    click to enlarge

    photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

    The company of the North American tour of “Clue”

    Over the past several seasons, subscribers to the Dr. Phillips Center’s Broadway series have come to expect a certain formula from the seemingly endless parade of screen-to-stage adaptations: They take a favorite film, bloat the narrative with unnecessary new elements, pad the running time with a pastiche score of forgettable music, and generally suck out everything that made the original fun.

    So it’s something of a small-scale miracle that Clue (subtitled “Live on Stage!” or “A New Comedy,” depending on which page of the playbill you believe) not only manages to capture the madcap spirit of the cinematic boardgame-based cult classic without adding useless cruft, but even cuts nearly 15 minutes off of the movie’s already efficient 94-minute running time.

    The film’s Agatha Christie-meets-Parker Brothers plotline — involving six strangers trapped inside a mansion with a murderer — is patently absurd, and largely relied on its all-star cast’s comedic skill for its enduring appeal. Fortunately, the stage version’s touring cast capably steps into those enormous shoes with go-for-broke performances that fondly recall (rather than re-create) their famous forerunners.

    Standouts among the cast include Michelle Elaine’s sassy Miss Scarlet, Tari Kelly’s icy Mrs. White, and Mark Prince in the central role of Wadsworth the butler; his buttoned-up energy is more Ian Holm than Tim Curry, but his hyperkinetic accusatory monologue at the climax is a certified show-stopper. Most of all, John Shartzer steals the production with his spastic slapstick as the Gumby-eqsue Mr. Green, whose slow-motion back-bend puts a CGI-assisted Keanu Reeves to shame.

    The first credit for this unexpectedly entertaining show goes to Hunter Forster, who originally adapted Jonathan Lynn’s screenplay, and contributed with Eric Price to playwright Sandy Rustin’s script. They’ve wisely re-created verbatim nearly all of the quotable dialogue from the 1985 whodunit, then added just enough meta-context and inside winks to satisfy both die-hard fans and newcomers alike.

    Even with such funny actors and a faithful script, such a show could easily go wrong without the razor-sharp cue pickup and relentless pacing that director Casey Hushion has brought to this anything-but-bored game. Marvelously musical choreographed movement atop Lee Savage’s surprise-packed puzzle-box set makes for transitions that are cinematically seamless, and scenes that largely consist of characters talking become visually interesting with the help of Ryan O’Gara’s spookhouse lighting and Jen Caprio’s color-coded costumes.

    It may seem like a slender morsel compared to Les Miz, the three-and-a-half-hour Broadway behemoth coming back to town later this month. But after so many overcooked adaptations, Clue is a refreshing palate-cleanser that made me hungry to rewatch the original film again — and let me get home early enough to do so.

    Event Details

    [ad_2]

    Seth Kubersky

    Source link

  • Alanis Morissette-inspired musical ‘Jagged Little Pill’ comes to Orlando this month

    Alanis Morissette-inspired musical ‘Jagged Little Pill’ comes to Orlando this month

    [ad_1]

    Photo courtesy Jagged Little Pill/Facebook

    ‘Jagged Little Pill’ opens in Orlando March 19.

    Jagged Little Pill is coming to Orlando, bringing a Grammy-winning score of alternative rock music to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

    The musical, based on Alanis Morissette’s music, tells a coming-of-age story about a girl growing up in a seemingly perfect family Connecticut family and all of the very real issues going on behind closed doors.

    The musical covers complex themes of substance abuse and gender identity. The story is fleshed out with familiar songs from Morissette’s Grammy Award-winning 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.

    Directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus of Waitress and Pippin, and with a Tony-winning book by Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult, Tully), the production has resonated with audiences since it first opened on Broadway in 2019.

    The touring Broadway cast is in Orlando for less than a week, with shows running from Tuesday, March 19, through Sunday, March 24. Tickets are available with both matinee and evening performances with prices starting at $45,  available through the Dr. Phillips Center box office.

    Event Details

    “Jagged Little Pill”

    Tue., March 19, 8 p.m., Wed., March 20, 8 p.m., Thu., March 21, 8 p.m., Fri., March 22, 8 p.m., Sat., March 23, 2 & 8 p.m. and Sun., March 24, 1 & 6:30 p.m.


    Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

    Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

    [ad_2]

    Alexandra Sullivan

    Source link