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 12-2-2020:
We have a steady core of people checking the site, which is great - tell your friends to visit!
The overdue Calendar update has been completed:
- 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!), BUT they are performing Godspell for one weekend only, in April, at the Clermont Performing Arts Center.
- Melon Patch has their second show of the season opening this Friday - Neil Simon's Rumors
- Wayne Densch PAC has no theater events until March 2021 when Sister Act opens; they do have a number of musical and one night events until then, check their website for more information (site is linked off our Calendar page)
- Living Drama HAS re-opened, the theater facelift has gone spendidly, and they say they have more to do! They plan on extending the stage, adding a balcony and with that, supporting touring Broadway shows! Their next in-house production is Making God Laugh, which opens Dec 11th.
- Tavares Community Theater has announced they're ready to audiences to visit their newly-constructed home! It's been a long, grueling labor of love for the Miners, who founded the theater and have completed the necessary renovations with the assistance of a dedicated base that want the theater to succeed. The first (and so far only show of the season - none have been announced after this one closes is Say Goodnight Gracie, opening January 8th.
- Little Radical Theatrics completed auditions for their first show here, Into the Woods, which opens January 15th.
- 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
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 12-2-2020:
We have a steady core of people checking the site, which is great - tell your friends to visit!
The overdue Calendar update has been completed:
- 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!), BUT they are performing Godspell for one weekend only, in April, at the Clermont Performing Arts Center.
- Melon Patch has their second show of the season opening this Friday - Neil Simon's Rumors
- Wayne Densch PAC has no theater events until March 2021 when Sister Act opens; they do have a number of musical and one night events until then, check their website for more information (site is linked off our Calendar page)
- Living Drama HAS re-opened, the theater facelift has gone spendidly, and they say they have more to do! They plan on extending the stage, adding a balcony and with that, supporting touring Broadway shows! Their next in-house production is Making God Laugh, which opens Dec 11th.
- Tavares Community Theater has announced they're ready to audiences to visit their newly-constructed home! It's been a long, grueling labor of love for the Miners, who founded the theater and have completed the necessary renovations with the assistance of a dedicated base that want the theater to succeed. The first (and so far only show of the season - none have been announced after this one closes is Say Goodnight Gracie, opening January 8th.
- Little Radical Theatrics completed auditions for their first show here, Into the Woods, which opens January 15th.
- 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
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
Proudly powered by Weebly