Florida Culture for the Week of March 17, 2018 By Josh Garrick 

Orlando Ballet presents Arcadian Broad’s ‘Beauty & the Beast Family Weekend’
TODAY & TOMORROW – March 17 & 18 at the Dr. Phillips Center 
The youthful genius of Arcadian Broad brings us his original music and choreography for Beauty & the Beast, the much-loved fairytale with Belle, Mrs. Potts, Lumiere and a host of enchanted characters. The perfect introduction to the magic of ballet for fans of all ages, this weekend is created as a ‘day with the family’ with (very) affordable ticket packages starting at $15 and a Family 4-Pack for $40. Call 844.513.2014 or visit drphillipscenter.org 

Richard Marx at The Plaza Live 
March 18 at 8 pm 
As a performer, songwriter and producer, Richard Marx’s three-decades-long career has seen the Chicago native sell more than 30 million albums world-wide. His self-titled debut album led to four Top 5 singles including “Hold on to the Nights,” which earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Vocal. As a songwriter and producer, Marx has an amazing fourteen number 1 singles including a number one hit in each of the past four decades. Marx will perform at The Plaza Live in East Orlando. 

FAIRWINDS Broadway in Orlando presents Waitress
March 20 to 25 at the Dr. Phillips Center 
When it opened on Broadway, Entertainment Weekly called Waitress “a little slice of heaven!" Waitress tells the story of Jenna, waitress and pie maker, who dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage. A baking contest and the town's new doctor may offer her the chance she’s dreaming of, but Jenna must find the courage to build that new life. This fairy-tale musical features music and lyrics by 5-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles. Call 844.513.2014 or visit drphillipscenter.org 

OperaOrlando presents Rossini's ‘Cinderella’
March 21 to 25 at the Dr. Phillips Center
Great news! The OperaOrlando season concludes with a happy ending via Rossini’s Cinderella. First performed in 1817, when Rossini was 25 years old, it followed the success of his Barber of Seville just one year earlier. Completed in just three weeks, the opera is among Rossini’s finest work. Eric Jacobsen of the Orlando Philharmonic makes his OperaOrlando conducting debut as Amanda Crider finds everlasting love in the title role of this ‘fantasy’ production. The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Call 844.513.2014 or visit drphillipscenter.org 

Mad Cow Theatre presents the American Classic “A View from the Bridge”
March 23 to April 22 
Mad Cow Theatre returns to its roots with the classic Arthur Miller American Theater drama – “A View from the Bridge.” An American tragedy, “A View from the Bridge” is Italian in heritage and classically Greek in scale. A working-class couple watches over their niece’s coming of age, while immigrant cousins bring about a clash of cultures with the resulting friction turning violent. First staged after Arthur Millers’ public defiance of McCarthyism, the play explores differing views of the ‘American Dream,’ while serving as a time capsule for the socio-cultural climate of America today. Visit madcowtheatre.com or call 407-297-8788 x1.

Tim Totten on Frank Lloyd Wright at Casa Feliz Winter Park 
March 27 at 6:30 pm 
Timothy Totten is a master storyteller, who has studied the life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright for more than 25 years, visiting more than 250 Wright-designed buildings across the United States. With insightful architectural analysis, Totten weaves a tale of love, adultery, and the Emperor of Japan to illustrate the genius and the foibles of the man the American Institute of Architects has called “The Greatest American Architect.” This FREE talk will be held at Casa Feliz at 656 N. Park Ave in Winter Park. Please RSVP by calling 407.628.8200.

Experience a Divine Culture … Shen Yun 2018
March 27 at 7:30 pm & March 28 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm 
In ancient times China was heralded as the ‘Land of the Divine’ with a culture rich in beauty and creativity. We may visit this lost civilization as Shen Yun melds classical Chinese dance and athleticism with cutting-edge innovation. Through hundreds of hand-made costumes, backdrops raised to a high-art form, and a live orchestra, this theater experience brings 5,000 years of folktales and legends to life in a magical world of heroes and miracles. In performance at the Dr. Phillips Center, call 844-513-2014 or visit drphillipscenter.com 

Dr. Phillips Center presents Maks, Val & Peta on Tour: “Confidential”
March 30 at 8 pm 
“Confidential” is the all-new dance tour from the stars of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, Maksim and Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd. Great performances come from artists with emotional connections to their work, and no connection could be deeper than this cast as they draw upon their family’s lives and love stories. Revealing hopes and dreams through dance and family stories, we learn a little more about Maks, Val, and Peta and a little bit about ourselves as the ‘family’ celebrates life, love, and DANCE! ‘Meet & Greet’ packages are available for this performance. Call 844-513-2014 or visit drphillipscenter.com

and on-going … 

“Twelfth Night” (by Wm. Shakespeare) and “Shakespeare in Love” in Repertory
FINAL WEEK – 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). Young ‘Will’ was just another ‘scribbler’ eking out a meager living for the plays he wrote before “Romeo & Juliet.” This back-story 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, 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 an ensemble that literally leaps to perform two comedies (no questions like “to be or” not here). With both plays HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, call 407.447.1700 or visit orlandoshakes.org for tickets. 

U.S. Premiere “A Tennessee Walk” at Garden Theatre 
NOW to march 31
It’s 1916 in Tennessee, and a circus elephant is about to die after killing a man during a parade. The execution, demanded by the hysterical public, becomes a media event. At the same time, a girl of twelve is experiencing her own horror as tragedy besets her closest friend. Eighty years later, a journalist attempts to find the out the truth of that fateful time in which true-life and fiction are woven together by the award-winning Central Florida-based playwright Rob Winn Anderson. This drama contains adult language in a ‘cutting-edge,’ original production. Call 407.877.4736 or visit gardentheatre.org 

Central Florida Watercolor Society Annual Member Show on Display 
NOW to June 15
A presentation of 35 paintings, selected from 85 submissions, will be exhibited as the Central Florida Watercolor Society presents its annual exhibition with opportunities for the public to view (and purchase) works by the finest Central Florida Watercolor Artists. The new works may be viewed at Leu Gardens during the Gardens’ regular operating hours; admission to Leu Gardens is NOT required to view the show, and there is Free parking on-site. Leu Gardens is at 1920 North Forest Ave in Orlando. Visit centralfloridawatercolor.org

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators