Florida Culture for the Week of February 24, 2018 By Josh Garrick 

Two Very Young Actresses to Get “Big Break” in Touring Broadway Show 
February 28 – Audition from 12 noon to 3 pm at Dr. Phillips Center 
Registration is ‘open’ for two little girls who will get their “big break” as the critically- acclaimed Broadway musical WAITRESS opens in Orlando in March. Casting directors are looking for two aspiring actresses (under age 5) to play a “sweet, carefree” young girl in the finale of the show. This is a real, LIVE audition with a creative team from New York City interviewing (very) young actresses who have registered online at drphillipscenter.org/lulu. (Qualified applicants receive an email with the time of their appointment). WAITRESS will run from March 20 to March 25 at the Dr. Phillips Center with tickets available by calling 844.513.2014 or by visiting drphillipscenter.org. 

La Bayadere – Classic Ballet from 4th Generation Russian Traditions
March 3 at 6 pm
With a fearless passion born of being the 4th generation of Russian ballerinas in her family, Katerina Fedotova runs Russian Ballet Orlando, a pre-professional ballet school on Mills Ave in downtown Orlando. Having learned the classics from her Mother and Father, she is now putting her stamp on a rarely performed, 141-year-old classical ballet. Premiered in Russia in 1877, La Bayadere is set in an ancient – and treacherous – India. The course of true love does NOT run smooth between a noble warrior and a temple dancer as hatred and jealousy rule until the lovers are joined in death (think Swan Lake). All of the 85 dancers on-stage are from Central Florida with the (good) temple dancer performed by Marissa Cristina Smith and the ‘Maleficent of India’ by 16-year-old Jeanna Snyder. It’s a night of classic ballet history brought to life at the Dr. Phillips Center. Call 844.513.2014 or call drphillipscenter.org

Madagascar – A Musical Adventure for Young People 
March 3 to April 8 
If you have not yet been introduced by your child to the ‘wonders’ of Orlando Rep, this is the perfect time to “Move it! Move it!” on down to Loch Haven Park, where Orlando Rep is developing into one of our nation’s finest theaters for “young people of all ages.” Everything they perform is done with shiny professionalism, and every performance has a message that addresses that which ‘needs to be addressed’ in today’s ever-more-complex world. Let me add that when the ‘humans’ at Orlando Rep perform the roles of animals, they do it with joyful originality that helps keep the young ones transfixed with their over-active “suspension of disbelief.” Join Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo, four ‘pampered’ animals from New York’s Central Park Zoo, as they find themselves on the island of Madagascar. ‘Feeding time’ rolls round to help them remember just one of the good things they ran away from. It really IS a jungle out there! Throw in mischievous penguins, and you’re in for a roaring good time in this musical adventure based on the blockbuster Dream-works film. Performed LIVE at the Orlando Rep at Loch Haven Park, call 407.896.7365 or visit orlandorep.com for tickets. 

City of Winter Park’s 40th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade
March 4 at 2 pm 
The City of Winter Park and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee will present the 40th Annual Winter Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the only annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in central Florida. You know the drill -- wear some green (or you might get pinched) as you gather family and friends to enjoy the festivities. The parade, with more than 75 groups, floats and organizations, begins at the Winter Park Country Club and proceeds south on Park Avenue. The celebration then continues with Irish music and step-dancing on the main stage in Central Park by Irish dance schools including Sarah Costello, Tir Na Greine, and the Watters School of Irish Dance. Irish music will be provided by Mike Daly. For information call 386.785.6965.

Noche de Zarzuela – An Evening of Zarzuela
March 4 at 7 pm 
In 1657 Spain was enjoying the riches flowing into the country from the “New World,” and throughout history, a new source of funding has always been followed by NEW ART. At his royal hunting lodge “Palacio de la Zarzuela,” King Philip IV of Spain and his court attended a performance of a new comedy WITH MUSIC. – what a concept! The NEW entertainment/ art-form incorporated popular songs, high-class songs (like opera), dance, and drama and would eventually become known as ‘Zarzuela.’ (see Palacio de la above). In one public performance, Opera Orlando joins with Central Florida Vocal Arts for a musical celebration of this passionate, Spanish operatic tradition. Featuring professional soloists Arleen Ramirez, María Laetitia Hernández, Javier Abreu, and Jean Carlos Rodriguez; the event comes together under Conductor Julian Bond, with the Opera Orlando Chorus, Osceola school students, and the Alterity Chamber Orchestra. At the Osceola Performing Arts Center in Kissimmee, tickets at $25, $15 and $5 for students and may be purchased at opac.tix.com 

Fab Fringe 2018 Fundraiser featuring 'Josephine,’ a Cabaret Dream Play
March 5 at 7 pm
Fab Fringe 2018 will present the newly extended performance of 'Josephine,’ the award-winning cabaret performance starring Tymisha Harris direct from its Off-Broadway run. Cabaret, theatre and dance tell the story of Josephine Baker, the first international African-American superstar, as ‘Josephine’ shatters stereotypes of race, gender, and sexuality. Having earned a host of awards on tour, 'Josephine' comes to Orlando with three new Josephine Baker songs and a live band. The ‘VIP Experience’ is $75 with general admission at $35 at orlandofringe.showare.com 

The LION KING
NOW to March 11
The unmistakable vibrations of “The Circle of Life” are here in a production as fresh as Opening Night on Broadway. Twenty years ago, The Lion King won six Tony Awards including Best Musical and over those twenty years has gone on to become the most successful Broadway musical in history. The touring company of The Lion King, directed by Julie Taymor (who directed the Broadway original), is at our magnificent Dr. Phillips Center NOW. The Lion King has been seen by more than 90 MILLION people, an amazing success story that exceeds any other show in box office history. Part of that success is because the Broadway score features music by Elton John and Tim Rice – music that has become a part of our “Circle of Life.” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED is an understatement. Please do not miss the most successful Broadway musical of all time. Tickets starting at $35 may be purchased online at drphillipscenter.org or by calling 844.513.2014 

“Steel Magnolias” Presented by CFCArts Theatre
NOW to March 11 
Like the classic movie with the same name, Robert Harling’s “Steel Magnolias” is set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where ‘anyone who is anyone’ comes to get their hair done. As a cast of strong, loveable, gossipy Southern women experience loss in their tight-knit ‘family,’ the play reminds audiences of the important things in life through this funny/sad, touching and life-affirming evening in the theater. CFCArts is the fastest growing performance phenomenon in Central Florida, and they re-invent “life-affirming” in everything they touch. This is a great way in which to experience one of your favorite movies, performed LIVE, and perhaps more importantly – if you’ve never attended an always-affordable CFCArts performance – it’s time. At the CFCArts Black-Box Theater in Winter Park, call 407.937.1800 x710 or visit cfcarts.com  

LIVE Dramedy “The Graduate” presented by Breakthrough Theater 
NOW to March 12 
Terry Johnson’s stage adaptation of “The Graduate,” based on the novel and the iconic film from 1967, is a bitterly funny, dark-comedy, full of rapid fire dialogue between fascinatingly dangerous characters. There is something about the close-up LIVE THEATER experience that makes this exploration of dysfunctional families, crumbling marriages, and the naive, but disillusioned younger characters even more frightening than the original movie. The lead character (who made Dustin Hoffman a Star), is forced to grow up fast in the ‘swinging’ affluence of Southern California of the 1960s. Note: adult themes. Call 407.920.4034 or visit breakthroughtheatre.com

Pictured: Nate Elliott and Kristin Pringle-Marksbury 

“Twelfth Night” (by Wm. Shakespeare) and “Shakespeare in Love” in Repertory
NOW to March 25
Many Shakespeare companies CLAIM they are producing a play the way W.S. did back in 1600, but we can be proud to say our renowned (Orlando) Shakespeare company is performing “Twelfth Night” in repertory with "Shakespeare in Love,” in a fully-realized Elizabethan production with clothing, scenery, music and dance created (as it was in 1602) and performed by an ALL-MALE cast (as it was in 1602). With the reverence we hold for the world’s greatest playwright, it’s hard to conceive of a time when young ‘Will’ was just another ‘scribbler’ eking out a meager living for the plays he wrote before “Romeo & Juliet.” All of this is brilliantly introduced in “Shakespeare in Love,” the very funny LIVE stage play drawn from the 1998 Best Picture Academy Award winning movie. If possible, please see BOTH plays, and see “Shakespeare in Love” first as that play shows how “Romeo & Juliet” and “Twelfth Night” were conceived. Performed in repertory (as it was in 1602), the ALL-MALE cast for “Twelfth Night” includes the … uh … beautiful John P. Keller as Olivia and an ensemble that literally leaps to perform two comedies (no angst-filled questions like “to be or” not here). With both plays HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, call 407.447.1700 or visit orlandoshakes.org for tickets. 

“Extreme Dinosaurs” on International Drive!!
NOW to October 2018 
You don’t have to be a kid to be excited about getting up close and personal with a DINOSAUR! A new ‘tourist exhibition’ on Int’l Drive, “Extreme Dinosaurs” offers guests a full-sized Jurassic Parkian view of prehistoric life on our planet – including a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex. Including 15 animated models, 5 skeletal replicas, and sound – LOUD dinosaur roars (as imagined by a team of scientists), “Extreme Dinosaurs” is meant to amaze and educate in a fully immersive dinosaur experience. With scenes that tell stories of the predator/prey relationships that existed when these prehistoric creatures lived, we wonder -- Who was the predator? Who was the prey? Some answers will definitely surprise you (and your young ones). Located at 7220 International Drive in Orlando, call 954.297.5199 or visit dinosorlando.com

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators