Because
Community Theater Matters
--Welcome to Orlando Theater Reviews!
The purpose of this website is to acknowledge and highlight the tremendous amount and quality of the work done by the actors, directors, producers, costumers, set designers, construction crews, and all the other backstage people working in the Greater Orlando area. Most Community theaters don't widely publicize their productions and rely on word-of-mouth from their workers and social media updates; this site aims to be a one-stop shop for most of the theater offerings in the area as well as reviews for those shows.
Constructive criticism on Community theater is sadly lacking locally - usually news articles are about the show, but not a review of how it's being done, spotlighting the best parts and pointing out negatives where they appear.
Here you'll also find a calendar of the shows ongoing for the theaters being reviewed, something else not available online without going to each theater individually. Eventually, the page will show even the theaters not being reviewed and aims to be the center of local theater information.
Theaters I'm not reviewing fall into three categories: those professional and semi-professional (i.e. paid acting) that ARE being reviewed routinely by the Orlando Sentinel's Matt Palm and the Orlando Weekly; the few approaching professional levels that aren't always reviewed elsewhere but don't really require additional help such as Icehouse Theater in Mt. Dora, CFCarts in Winter Park, and Osceola Arts in Kissimmee (These venues frequently sell out and offer top-of-scale productions - any of these are worth a visit on any given show), and theaters predominately featuring children (reviewing children acting seems rude at best).
I hope you enjoy the page, and especially the rich local Community Theater experience!
- Cypher Incognito, reviewer
Update for 5-2-2021:
The first May production review is up (short version - go see Noises Off!).
This weekend: "Play it Again, Sam" at Melon Patch, and next weekend is 'While the Lights were Out' at Living Drama Theater. So much more to come!
The Little Radical Theatrics website is offline; their FB page and Instagram haven't been updated since before March. If someone with knowledge of the theater's future can advise, it would be appreciated - I'll give it another month or so and then be forced to assume COVID has claimed another theater.
The next three months are very lean, although the first three weekends of May each have an opening. June is empty, and Tavares opens one show in July (The Sunshine Boys). Then - the next show is WDPAC in October with The Addams Family. As I noted before, It's not unusual to announce new seasons during summer so I'm hoping the calendar fills up as the weather goes hot and rainy.
***
The future of this endeavor and the website is in question. Feel free to email me at orderlandotheaterreviews@gmail.com with an opinion about what you see here. I currently intend to continue until theater in general reaches a level closer to normal, then decide.
So tell me - what do YOU think?
-CI
**************************************************************************
Friends, it's working. All of these theaters, casts and crews deserve a little love, and the more word gets out, the more they'll get. THANK YOU for all your help, and keep it up!
Also - you can follow me on Twitter @CypherIncognito .
Now - a favor. The only way this project will be successful is by word-of-mouth. We need our visitors to link to the reviews and help drive people to the site. By getting word out about the site, the Theaters themselves get promoted and do better - we all win. But messages from an anonymous person asking for a little social media mention simply isn't working - we need your help!
Thanks all! Break legs! -CI
The purpose of this website is to acknowledge and highlight the tremendous amount and quality of the work done by the actors, directors, producers, costumers, set designers, construction crews, and all the other backstage people working in the Greater Orlando area. Most Community theaters don't widely publicize their productions and rely on word-of-mouth from their workers and social media updates; this site aims to be a one-stop shop for most of the theater offerings in the area as well as reviews for those shows.
Constructive criticism on Community theater is sadly lacking locally - usually news articles are about the show, but not a review of how it's being done, spotlighting the best parts and pointing out negatives where they appear.
Here you'll also find a calendar of the shows ongoing for the theaters being reviewed, something else not available online without going to each theater individually. Eventually, the page will show even the theaters not being reviewed and aims to be the center of local theater information.
Theaters I'm not reviewing fall into three categories: those professional and semi-professional (i.e. paid acting) that ARE being reviewed routinely by the Orlando Sentinel's Matt Palm and the Orlando Weekly; the few approaching professional levels that aren't always reviewed elsewhere but don't really require additional help such as Icehouse Theater in Mt. Dora, CFCarts in Winter Park, and Osceola Arts in Kissimmee (These venues frequently sell out and offer top-of-scale productions - any of these are worth a visit on any given show), and theaters predominately featuring children (reviewing children acting seems rude at best).
I hope you enjoy the page, and especially the rich local Community Theater experience!
- Cypher Incognito, reviewer
Update for 5-2-2021:
The first May production review is up (short version - go see Noises Off!).
This weekend: "Play it Again, Sam" at Melon Patch, and next weekend is 'While the Lights were Out' at Living Drama Theater. So much more to come!
The Little Radical Theatrics website is offline; their FB page and Instagram haven't been updated since before March. If someone with knowledge of the theater's future can advise, it would be appreciated - I'll give it another month or so and then be forced to assume COVID has claimed another theater.
The next three months are very lean, although the first three weekends of May each have an opening. June is empty, and Tavares opens one show in July (The Sunshine Boys). Then - the next show is WDPAC in October with The Addams Family. As I noted before, It's not unusual to announce new seasons during summer so I'm hoping the calendar fills up as the weather goes hot and rainy.
***
The future of this endeavor and the website is in question. Feel free to email me at orderlandotheaterreviews@gmail.com with an opinion about what you see here. I currently intend to continue until theater in general reaches a level closer to normal, then decide.
So tell me - what do YOU think?
-CI
**************************************************************************
Friends, it's working. All of these theaters, casts and crews deserve a little love, and the more word gets out, the more they'll get. THANK YOU for all your help, and keep it up!
Also - you can follow me on Twitter @CypherIncognito .
Now - a favor. The only way this project will be successful is by word-of-mouth. We need our visitors to link to the reviews and help drive people to the site. By getting word out about the site, the Theaters themselves get promoted and do better - we all win. But messages from an anonymous person asking for a little social media mention simply isn't working - we need your help!
Thanks all! Break legs! -CI
Proudly powered by Weebly