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 9-27-2020:
Per the website metrics, the Calendar is the 3rd most popular page, and it's the first to appear on a Google search for 'Orlando Theater Reviews' - so it's received an overhaul.
Specifically, I've updated it to reflect the current status of the various theaters I cover (and again, I try to cover the Community Theaters local coverage tends to overlook):
- Moonlight Players are still looking for a space (and the results of the Clermont city council meeting that was to give them a leased space I can't find anywhere - if you've got news, email me!)
- Melon Patch kicks off their re-opening with Clue as of Fri, Oct 2nd, although you still can't buy tickets online - is the opening in doubt?)
- Wayne Densch PAC ends Spamalot this weekend, and the next show is in March 2021 (although they'll have a number one-off shows performed in the interim)
- Living Drama and Tavares Community Theaters have not yet re-opened, nor announced a date when they will do so
- Mimi's Community Theater was searching for a new venue, and have gone radio-silent; crossing my fingers they'll be back, and I'll re-add them to the calendar once they've returned
- And a new theater popped up: Little Radical Theatrics. They're new to Orlando, but not really 'new', in that they've been based in Yonkers, NY since 2009 and moved down here during the summer. First Production will be 'Into the Woods', and auditions are coming up! Check their website for more info - littleradicaltheatrics.com
Thanks for continuing to check in, and let's all go to the theater! (But wear a mask, ok?)
- 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 9-27-2020:
Per the website metrics, the Calendar is the 3rd most popular page, and it's the first to appear on a Google search for 'Orlando Theater Reviews' - so it's received an overhaul.
Specifically, I've updated it to reflect the current status of the various theaters I cover (and again, I try to cover the Community Theaters local coverage tends to overlook):
- Moonlight Players are still looking for a space (and the results of the Clermont city council meeting that was to give them a leased space I can't find anywhere - if you've got news, email me!)
- Melon Patch kicks off their re-opening with Clue as of Fri, Oct 2nd, although you still can't buy tickets online - is the opening in doubt?)
- Wayne Densch PAC ends Spamalot this weekend, and the next show is in March 2021 (although they'll have a number one-off shows performed in the interim)
- Living Drama and Tavares Community Theaters have not yet re-opened, nor announced a date when they will do so
- Mimi's Community Theater was searching for a new venue, and have gone radio-silent; crossing my fingers they'll be back, and I'll re-add them to the calendar once they've returned
- And a new theater popped up: Little Radical Theatrics. They're new to Orlando, but not really 'new', in that they've been based in Yonkers, NY since 2009 and moved down here during the summer. First Production will be 'Into the Woods', and auditions are coming up! Check their website for more info - littleradicaltheatrics.com
Thanks for continuing to check in, and let's all go to the theater! (But wear a mask, ok?)
- 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
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