Arts notes: Fighting for justice, new arts venue, socially distanced ‘Disenchanted’
Check out the latest news and notes from the arts scene, including ways to support racial equality, a new Orlando performance venue and a new outing for our homegrown Disney princess spoof.
A fighter for equality: The Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford will host a free performance of “The Fannie Lou Hamer Story,” which will be streamed from 8-9 p.m. Friday, June 19.
Born in Mississippi, Hamer was a longtime civil-rights activist, fighting for voting rights and equality for women and people of color. She died in 1977 and was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Mzuri Moyo Aimbaye will bring her one-woman play about the activist to the theater, and the performance will be followed by a livestream question-and-answer session. Look for the event on the Wayne Densch Instagram page or at Facebook.com/WDPAC/.
New arts venue on the way: Dr. Phillips Charities, the community philanthropy behind the redevelopment of the Packing District, west of College Park, has donated $1.5 million toward the construction of a new arts and recreation pavilion there. United Arts of Central Florida will handle the donation; the city will oversee construction.
The Packing District project will encompass 202 acres in the area around the intersection of Princeton Street and Orange Blossom Trail. More than 100 of those acres were donated by Dr. Phillips Charities in 2017 for the construction of a regional park, home to the new pavilion.
The 6,000-square-foot pavilion is expected to host concerts and other artistic performances as well as farmers’ markets, weddings and more. It will measure about 150 feet by 40 feet. The park is expected to be complete in mid-2021.
‘Disenchanted’ tries social distancing:
In a sign of the times, the off-Broadway musical “Disenchanted” has released a “stay-at-home edition” of the show’s version for students.
“Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and their merry band of royal renegades ‘Zoom’ in from magical kingdoms around the globe to bring their hilarious princess vaudeville to your living room!” reads the description, noting the show has been reworked so students can perform “from the safety” of their own homes.
“Disenchanted,” by Dennis T. Giacino and Fiely Matias, got its start at the Orlando Fringe Festival in 2011 and has since gone on to worldwide success. The musical promotes women empowerment while spoofing Disney’s take on classic fairy tales.
Locally, Theatre South Playhouse will debut the show’s stay-at-home edition as part of its lineup of summer camps. The playhouse, in southwest Orange County, will stage two versions of the show, from July 13-26. One will be cast with middleschool students, the other with highschool and college students. The fee is $299 plus a $25 audio-visual fee.
Like many arts groups, Theatre South Playhouse will offer both online and inperson camps this summer. Among them: “Shakespeare in the Park-ing Lot,” which will spend a week creating a production of “As You Like It” that may be staged in an outdoor environment.
For more information, go to theatresouthplayhouse.org.
‘Menopause’ fights injustice: The online streaming production of “Menopause the Musical,” another homegrown hit, has been extended through June 21. The musical comedy, about women and “the change,” is now directing 10 percent of online sales to organizations fighting racial injustice.
Buying tickets will support: Campaign Zero, the Center for Transformative Change, Color of Change, Greyston, Minnesota Freedom Fund and Showing Up for Racial Justice.
You can honor the show’s Central Florida beginnings by buying tickets at madcowtheatre.com. In that way, Orlando’s Mad Cow Theatre also receives a donation.