ORLANDO ARTS SEASON PREVIEW 2020-21:

MAMMA MIA!: Feb. 26-March 21, 2021. The music of Abba tells the story of Sophie’s unconventional wedding on a Greek island.

JERRY’S GIRLS: April 2-4, 2021. A revue of the great tunes written for women by Jerry Herman (“Hello, Dolly!,” “Mame,” “La Cage aux Folles”).

ances will be offered.

BREAKTHROUGH THEATRE COMPANY

Shows are performed live online. Details: breakthroughtheatre.com or 407-920-4034

PANY

This repertory troupe of professional actors is in residence at Penguin Point Productions at Oviedo Mall, 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd. in Oviedo. Details: theensemblecompany.com

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES: Nov. 6-16. 18th-century nobility use sex as a weapon in their scheming games.

BLACK FLAG: Oct 3. Two new dorm-mates are excited to start their freshman year together, until one decides to decorate their room with a piece of “Southern pride.” The show is part of Theatre Sparks, a program in partnership with Black Theatre Girl Magic that presents free play readings to spark conversation about race for multigenerational audiences.

ACT FREE: Oct. 17. Three kids wrestle with the definition of freedom in this installment of Theatre Sparks.

WOMEN’S VOICES MINIFEST 2: Oct. 22-24. More readings of unproduced work by female playwrights.

AMENDMENT19: Oct. 25-Nov. 1 This project, originally produced by Burning Coal Theatre in North Carolina, presents a dozen 10minute plays by female and nonbinary writers that focus on passage of the 19th Amendment and its ongoing impact. That amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was passed 100 years ago. One play will be released each day, and the entire collection will remain available through Nov. 30.

WOMEN’S VOICES MINIFEST 3: Nov. 19-21. More readings of unproduced work by female playwrights.

IT WAS A VERY GOOD YULE: Dec. 19-26. The theater’s annual holiday musical celebration will be recorded and available to view anytime throughout the week.

PETE THE CAT: super-organized second-grader who make unlikely friends.

SECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO IN CONCERT: May 14-15, 2021. The Grammy-winning “family-funk phenomenon” gives in-person performances.

SECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO HIP-HOP SONGWRITING WORKSHOP: May 16. Budding writers can learn from the pros.

ORLANDO SHAKES

Fall performances will be presented online. 2021 performances are planned to be staged for in-person audiences at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St. in Orlando. Details: orlandoshakes.org or 407-447-1700

PLAYFEST: Oct. 3-Nov. 7. The theater’s annual series of new-play readings will be streamed each Saturday (with Oct. 30 substituting for Oct. 31). Hear new works and interact with playwrights and the creative teams.

POE: DEEP INTO THAT DARKNESS PEERING: Oct. 22-Nov. 1. Writer Edgar Allan Poe battles for his life in this one-actor show, presented as a recorded video on demand.

THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE: Dec. 10-20. This comic sequel to “A Christmas Carol,” in which the ghosts from Charles Dickens’ original holiday story are on trial for kidnapping and emotional distress, will also be recorded for online viewing.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Jan. 8-31, 2021. In Shakespeare’s comedy, two couples become entangled in a battle royale between the king and queen of the fairies.

MY LORD, WHAT A NIGHT: Jan. 22-Feb. 21, 2021. Deborah Brevoort’s play sheds light on the friendship between Albert Einstein and singer Marian Anderson, which was kindled in 1937 when Einstein invited Anderson to stay at his home after a hotel denied her a room because she was Black.

BARE BARD: HENRY IV, PART 2: Feb. 5-14. With minimal rehearsal and no director, actors will be left to their own devices to present the play about a young royal’s growing pains — just as they would have in Shakespeare’s time.

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: March 5-28, 2021. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s doo-wop musical about a man-eating plant who’s very, very hungry.

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S

BAR & GRILL: April 2-May 9, 2021. Lanie Robertson’s show lets the music of Billie Holiday tell the great singer’s story.

OSCEOLA ARTS

Performances are at Osceola Arts, 2411 U.S. Highway 192 in Kissimmee. Details: OsceolaArts.com or 407-846-6257

IN THE HEIGHTS: Sept. 25-Oct. 11. Lin-Manuel Miranda tells of life and love in a Dominican neighborhood of New York City.

July 6.

their own biases and struggles. Playwrights Beverly Coyle and Bill Maxwell will hold a question-and-answer session with the online audience after the performances.

HANDS UP: 7 PLAYWRIGHTS, 7 TESTAMENTS: Oct. 28. The

New Black Fest commissioned these 10- to 15-minute monologues by up-and-coming Black playwrights, who explore their feelings about being Black in a culture of racial profiling.

REMEMBERING: IDENTITY AND REPRESENTATION IN THE ARTS: Oct. 30. A conversation with Seminole State alumnus Collin Edouard, who teaches music to Syrian refugee children. His focus is on how music, which embraces racial and ethnic identity, can heal the trauma of having one’s history erased.

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS: Nov. 17-18. Alan Ball’s comedy looks at five bridesmaids who each have their own reason for hiding from the wedding in which they are participating.

SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: Dec. 9-10. In American poet Edgar Lee Masters’ series of free-verse monologues, former citizens of a mythical Midwestern town speak from the grave of the thwarted hopes and dreams of their lives.

SONNENTAG THEATRE AT THE ICEHOUSE

The theater is at 1100 N. Unser St. in Mount Dora. Details: icehousetheatre.com or 352-383-4616.

MIRACLE ON S. DIVISION ST.: Nov. 13-Dec. 13. A heartfelt show about families, deathbed revelations and miracles.

ONE SLIGHT HITCH: Jan. 15-Feb. 7, 2021. In this comedy, a perfect wedding day suddenly goes awry.

SIRENS: March 12-April 4. A songwriter struggles to reignite his creative spark while on a cruise in this comedy.

SHADY BUSINESS: May 14-June 6. This silly story focuses on two nightclub dancers hiding big secrets.

STETSON UNIVERSITY

In an online series titled “The Past Is Prologue: A Virtual Theatrical Event,” classic writing by playwrights, such as Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Sophocles, will be performed alongside original works by Stetson students. The goal is “exposing and dismantling the pervasive effects of privilege that has resulted in systemic oppression, which is still prevalent today,” the college says. Each installment will have a theme, as detailed below, and will be followed by a talkback. For more information, go to Details: stetson.edu/creative-arts/ programs/theatre-arts or facebook.com/second stage.stetsonu.

CONFRONTING THE

A promotional image shows how “Bright Young Things” could appear when it hits the streets of Orlando this fall.

CLASSICS ON RACE: Oct. 8.

CONFRONTING THE

CLASSICS ON GENDER: Oct. 15.

CONFRONTING THE

CLASSICS ON IDENTITY: Oct. 22.

THEATRE SOUTH PLAYHOUSE

The theater, in the Dr. Phillips Marketplace at 7601 Della Drive in, Orlando, programs shows with professional adult actors as well as community-youth productions. The theater also has an ongoing TSP Quarantine Play Club, in which participants read and discuss play scripts and screenplays on Saturday afternoons. Details on all programs: theatresouthplayhouse.org or 407-489-4458.

SPRING AWAKENING: Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The recorded show, featuring teens and professional adult actors, will be recorded and then streamed online. The musical is a coming-of-age story, as teens explore their burgeoning sexuality in a highly repressive and regimented society.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK: Jan. 16-17, 2021. The play, performed by professional actors, will benefit The Anne Frank Center For Mutual Respect. It details the time the young Jewish girl spent hiding from the Nazis.

LOVE LETTERS: Feb. 13-14, 2021. Two professional actors will read the series of letters shared by a couple through the years.

URINETOWN: March 26-April 11, 2021. This musical depicts a dystopian future, in which people have to pay to use the facilities.

THEATRE UCF

Performances produced by the theater department of the University of Central Florida will be online this fall. The university will

“Pete the Cat” will be back at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. present a free series of readings highlighting the push for racial equality and social justice titled “Amplify, Empower, Illuminate: Four Plays, Many Diverse Voices.” The premiere of each play will be followed by a talkback; recordings of some will be available for later viewing. Details: theatreucf.edu or 407-823-1500.

BLOOD AT THE ROOT: Sept. 26-Oct. 2. When racial tensions begin to rise, what was once a seemingly peaceful high school reveals a volatile and broken community whose racial issues and prejudice have been festering underneath the surface for a long time.

MOJADA: Oct. 3-9. A modern retelling of the Greek tragedy, the play follows the lives of a Mexican immigrant family searching for the American dream in Chicago during the Obama administration.

HOW TO CATCH CREATION: Oct. 10. Two artists and their partners find their lives unexpectedly intertwined with the life of a Black queer feminist writer from the 1960s in this play that challenges definitions of family and love.

KILL MOVE PARADISE: Oct. 17-23. Inspired by the growing list of slain unarmed African-Americans, this play finds four young Black men trapped in a cosmic waiting room as they struggle to make sense of where they are, how they got there and why their names ended up on “the list.”

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (MODERN TRANSLATION): Nov. 7-20. In addition to the “Amplify” readings, the college will present a modern translation of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved works. Two couples are brought together and whisked apart by the plotting of friends and enemies in this comedy of love and misunderstanding.

VALENCIA COLLEGE THEATER

This fall’s shows will be free and presented online. Details: valenciacollege.edu/arts or 407-582-2900.

SHE DREAMS OF HEROES: Oct. 23-25. A celebration of women’s stories.

RED LIGHT, WHY IT DOESN’T STOP: Nov. 20-22. A look at human trafficking.

WAYNE DENSCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The venue, at 201 S. Magnolia Ave. in Sanford, hosts touring concerts, children’s productions and other events in addition to plays. See the music, dance and festival listings for other events. Details: wdpac.com or 407-321-8111.

WDPAC REPERTORY

SPAMALOT: Through Sept. 27. This silly musical was inspired by the Monty Python comedy troupe’s take on the legend of King Arthur.

SISTER ACT: March 5-14, 2021. A nun hides from killers in a convent run by a straitlaced Mother Superior in this musical comedy based on the Whoopi Goldberg film.

NOISES OFF: April 30-May 9, 2021. A not-quite-up-to-snuff theatrical troupe beset by personal entanglements struggles to put on a production in this comical show-within-a-show.

OTHER THEATRICAL SHOWS

PHANTASMAGORIA XI: PLAGUE TALES: Oct. 23. A recorded performance of spooky storytelling from Orlando’s Victorian horror troupe, presented on the big screen at the theater.

PHANTASMAGORIA’S ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’: Dec. 11. Dickens’ traditional tale retold with a Phantasmagoria twist.

SMOOCH: Feb. 6, 2021. Gromalot Theatre Factory’s comic ode to love, told with physical comedy and sound effects — but not dialogue.

QUEENS OF FLORIDA: April 3, 2021. In what’s billed as a “family-friendly drag show,” the performers salute the best of Broadway in production numbers honoring “Aladdin,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Dreamgirls” and more.

WILDFIRE PLAYERS

The Wildfire Players perform at Penguin Point Productions at Oviedo Mall, 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd. in Oviedo. For more information, go to Details: facebook.com/wildfireplayers.

INTO THE WOODS: Oct. 2-4.

The Sondheim musical explores the darker side of fairy-tale characters who don’t get the “happily ever after” they expected.

EL AMOR BRUJO: THE BEWITCHED LOVE: Feb. 26-28, 2021. Flamenco dancers and actors combine to tell this devised Spanish horror-love story with aesthetic elements from the early days of silent horror films.

BARE: A POP OPERA: March 26-28, 2021. Set in a Catholic boarding school, this coming-of-age story looks at sexuality and identity.

HAIR: THE AMERICAN TRIBAL LOVE ROCK MUSICAL: July 2-4, 2021. The counterculture clashes with the conflict in Vietnam.

WINTER PARK PLAYHOUSE

The theater, which will present a combination of online and in-person musical entertainment, is at 711-C Orange Ave. in Winter Park. Details: winterparkplayhouse.org or 407-645-0145.

Fall Online Series

IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: THE BEST OF BROADWAY’S LEADING MEN: Sept. 25-28. Baritone Shawn Kilgore performs in this recorded online cabaret featuring music from “South Pacific,” “Les Miserables” and more.

BACK HOME TO BROADWAY: A CABARET WITH LAURA HODOS: Oct. 23-26. Orlando actor Laura Hodos shares stories and showtunes in this recorded presentation.

ON WITH THE SHOW! A WINTER PARK PLAYHOUSE RETROSPECTIVE: Nov. 27-30. Playhouse founders Roy Alan and Heather Alexander share stories and introduce archival footage celebrating the theater’s 18-year history.

‘TIS THE SEASON: A HOLIDAY CABARET FEATURING NATALIE CORDONE: Dec. 18-21. A recorded cabaret of seasonal favorites.

In-person Mainstage Series

A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING: Jan. 22-Feb. 20, 2021. A celebration of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein ll with their music from “Oklahoma!,” “South Pacific,” “The Sound of Music” and more.

RESPECT: A MUSICAL JOURNEY OF WOMEN: March 19-April 24, 2021. A high-energy look at the lives of women with decades of female-fronted pop hits.

FIVE COURSE LOVE: May 14-June 13, 2021. Three actors portray 15 characters on the hunt for one true love in this restaurant-set musical comedy.

CRAZY FOR GERSHWIN: July 30-Aug. 22, 2021. A song-and-(tap) dance tribute to American composers George and Ira Gershwin.

BOOK OF MERMAN: Sept. 24-Oct. 17, 2021. Using original music, the off-Broadway comedy imagines a meeting between diva Ethel Merman and two Mormon missionaries.

CHRISTMAS MY WAY: A SINATRA HOLIDAY BASH: Nov. 12-21 and Dec. 1-18, 2021. The holidays are celebrated Rat Pack style.