I started watching Dance Moms because Toddlers & Tiaras looked too creepy. Then Dance Moms got too ugly, so I switched to … um, Toddlers & Tiaras. Now I’ve seen Little Miss Fringe Festival, and I’m thinking I should probably be on a list somewhere. Jeff Jones plays our host, a sleazy kids’-pageant impresario who’s sort of like Marcus...
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This dizzying twirlabout is hardly an adventure. The show started off slow and never quite reached a crescendo. The underlying theme of the production was mankind’s inherent desire to fly. Aerial silks were the primary means of conveying flight and the aerial artists seemed fairly skilled. The problem lies with the venue. Although the...
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From the moment the violinist took the stage, I knew I was in for a treat. The Boy Who Stole the Sun chronicles the exploits of a prepubescent young man beginning to find his footing in the world. In Frank Capra’s celebrated masterpiece It’s a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart charmed his lady friend by...
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I've spent my share of time at casino tables in Vegas and the Carribean, but I've never maxed out 8 credit cards or lost my rent money on a hand of poker, like Rory Ledbetter. As I learned in A Mind Full of Dopamine, his brisk, funny exploration of gambling addiction, the difference between...
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In the first half of Stained Glass Windows, by playwright Steve Sherman, college student David (Jordan Woods-Robinson) reveals to his sister Claire (Hana Kalinski) that he is gay. At first, David’s older sibling is reluctant to accept the news with equanimity, but her love for her brother soon mitigates her initial stern and confused...
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Emily Dickinson (Tanya O'Debra) was a poet, recluse, and the most annoying person ever born. If you decide to spend an hour with her, be prepared to part with a healthy sum of your patience. The preceding isn't my own opinion; it comes verbatim from the opening lines of Shut Up, Emily Dickinson. But...
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Playwrights’ Round Table, Orlando’s own theatrical writing collective, offers Take Off Your Shorts, a gaggle of four short comedies, as its contribution to this year’s Fringe Festival. Each one-acter has its fun and funny moments, although only one play displays a mature use of language and structure. The best of the quartet is The...
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Poe and Matthews is a two-man trifle created by Emily Windler, who plays the 19th-century writer Edgar Allan Poe, and Brian Kuwabara, who plays the much lesser-known author and Poe contemporary Cornelius Matthews. The play’s conceit is that, somehow or other, the two friends find themselves marooned on a desert isle and now must...
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Brothers of Affliction is a gritty relationship drama depicting the trials and tribulations of three troubled and trouble-making Afro-American siblings. Chris, the eldest, drinks to excess; Shane, the middle son, who has spent seven years in prison, is a cokehead; and Tyree, the youngest, gets high on weed when he’s not getting into fights...
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Chase Padgett and Paul Strickland are both Fringe veterans who generally perform their music and standup comedy acts alone. This year, they decided to join forces, since, well, Solo Shows Are Hard. Luckily for the audience, the synergy works wonders. Together, they’re actually more than twice as good as they are separately. Both performers...
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Lizz Winstead bites back Arts & Culture: The political pundit and creator of The Daily Show discusses the feminist elite, slut-shaming, and the difference between essay and memoir By Billy Manes 5/8/2013
Attorney John Morgan backs marijuana legalization News: Local celeb-attorney is new chair of statewide marijuana advocacy organization United for Care By Billy Manes 4/24/2013
Fringe Fest 2013 shows Arts & Culture: Some choices for geeks, gamers, those who prefer to fly solo, kids, oldsters and more By Seth Kubersky 5/15/2013
Orlando City Soccer's goal rush News: The Brit, the Brazilian and their (not so?) crazy scheme to make Orlando soccer capital of the Southeast By Jeffrey Billman 5/8/2013
Not to be upstaged Arts & Culture: The Free Outdoor Stage on the lawn at Fringe is not what you might expect By Ashley Belanger 5/15/2013
Savage Love COLUMN: I have a mentally disabled cousin who I haven't figured out how to help. He’s lived for more than 40 years in the same nursing home in a small, conservative... By Dan Savage 5/15/2013