Mango’s on I-Drive reboots show, menu

Mango’s Tropical Café is putting on a show again. The International Drive venue has introduced a production dubbed “Mango’s Live!” featuring singers, dancers, musicians and feathery costumes on its stage.

“It is an experience like we’ve never done before,” said Joshua Wallack, chief operating officer of Mango’s.

After a 16-month pandemic-related shutdown, Mango’s reopened in June as more of an ultra lounge. Before all that, it had more of a dinner-and-ashow format.

“Now you can go out to eat, and it’s like, “OK, let’s go to Mango’s and see the show and then go where the night takes us,’ ” Wallack said. “Maybe we stay at Mango’s; maybe we go out to the rest of I-Drive, whatever.”

A preview of segments of “Mango’s Live” included up-tempo songs, a Queen medley, an assortment of songs featuring a dancing Michael Jackson impersonator, Brazilian music and showy showgirls. The regular show lasts about two hours.

“We’re going to be sensual; we’re going to be sexier than we were in the past,” said David Wallack, creator and owner of Mango’s as well as father of Joshua Wallack. “We’re going to show nightlife, as nightlife really should be shown in Orlando — upscale, beautiful, contemporary, as well as retro.”

Food and drink are available during the shows, which have an 8 p.m. start time on select evenings.

“We’re going to be extending, way past the show, every night into real nightclubbing,” David Wallack said.

“We were very, very fortunate to be a shuttered venue operators grant recipient for Mango’s Orlando, which enabled us to get the performers back on stage … and get that live band going again,” Joshua Wallack said.

Mango’s, an extension of the Wallacks’ South Florida brand, opened just south of Sand Lake Road in 2015. In August, they found out they qualified for $16.375 million from the Small Business Administration for its two locations, with $6.375 earmarked for the Orlando location.

“To assemble a cast, assemble a band, get everybody ready to go — it’s a huge endeavor, huge, production. And we really wanted to target the holidays,” he said.

In addition, the Mango’s menu has been revamped.

“We don’t have any entrees. What we’re doing is we’re offering share-ables and tapas-style plates,” said Ren Acosta, culinary director.

“We’ve taken very familiar items, and we’ve given them new twists and new flavor profiles, because we’re reaching all over the world right now, to find not only different flavor profiles, but also different ingredients,” he said.

“Another thing also that we’re trying to do here — I don’t see really mention anybody else doing it — is we want to introduce the concept of the flights, different types of experiences,” he said. “People spent over a year and a half cooped up in their houses, they want to get out they want to experience new things, they want to get that bang for their buck.”