Musicals
Lin-Manuel Miranda's era-defining hip-hop retelling of Alexander Hamilton's life returns to Orlando for a run that will sell out fast. If you have somehow avoided it until now, this is not the year to keep waiting.
The Tony-nominated musical built from the Grammy-winning Cuban ensemble's story and songbook — a stage show about music itself, and the friendships that outlast the spotlight.
The Tony Award-winning musical about the 38 planes grounded in a small Newfoundland town on 9/11, and the town that took in seven thousand strangers. Ninety minutes, no intermission, and one of the most purely moving nights in modern musical theatre.
A horror-comedy musical parody of Kubrick's The Shining, timed perfectly for the run-up to Halloween. Not for purists — exactly for everyone else.
The stage adaptation of the cult 1992 dark comedy, now a full Broadway musical about two women, one potion, and an eternity of pettiness. Camp done at the highest level of craft.
Drama & Plays
Orlando's flagship Shakespeare and new-play company, staging classic and contemporary drama in repertory at its Loch Haven Park campus.
A non-profit theatre company from Orlando dedicated to new works — one of the few local stages built specifically around premieres rather than familiar titles.
A community theatre with production values that consistently punch above a typical local playhouse, built on a loyal subscriber base.
A small, dedicated dramatic stage focused explicitly on plays — the kind of intimate, text-forward theatre that gets crowded out by bigger musicals elsewhere in town.
The University of Central Florida's resident theatre program stages a full season of dramatic and classic works performed by its conservatory students.
A volunteer-run community theatre with a reputation for tackling ambitious dramatic scripts that larger houses pass over.
Opera & Classical
The flamenco-guitar virtuoso marks a quarter-century of PBS specials and world tours with an anniversary program blending classical guitar, orchestra, and dance.
Tchaikovsky's full-length classical ballet, one of the most technically demanding works in the repertoire, from Orlando's resident professional ballet company.
Orlando Philharmonic performs highlights from Wagner's epic Ring Cycle — orchestral music built on a scale most concert halls never attempt.
A live musical score performed alongside the 1922 silent horror classic — one of the strongest entries in Orlando's growing live-to-film concert calendar, timed for the Halloween season.
Local Stage
Orlando's most consistent national-headliner comedy club, running multiple shows most weeks — the home stage for most of this issue's stand-up dates.
A long-running improv theatre known for its weekly Fridays & Saturdays shows — Orlando's home for unscripted comedy.
A veteran Orlando comedy room bringing touring stand-up to the local circuit outside the big-chain venues.
Downtown Orlando's main presenting venue and the anchor stage for the majority of this issue's musicals, concerts, and orchestral programs.
A rowdy, request-driven dueling-pianos show — part concert, part comedy night, built for a group outing.
An interactive dinner-theatre whodunit with a Prohibition-era theme — equal parts performance and party.
Orlando's dedicated professional theatre for young audiences and families, staging full productions built for first-time theatergoers.
On the Boards
Winter is loading. These are the acts and one-off shows worth flagging now, before the good seats at the comedy clubs and the small houses disappear.
The stand-up and Charlamagne tha God podcast regular headlines a weekend of shows at Orlando's longest-running comedy club.
One of the road's most reliable headliners brings his Cool Since Day One tour to the Funny Bone stage.
A five-actor, madcap comic retelling of the vampire classic — all the gothic atmosphere, none of the solemnity.
An improvised, audience-driven whodunit — a different killer, a different victim, and a different solution every performance.
The comedian and star of The Ms. Pat Show brings her unfiltered, true-story stand-up to the Funny Bone stage.
Orlando Shakes' family theater program adapts the beloved picture book about a bear looking for his missing button — and a home.
One of stand-up's fastest-rising names on the strength of his crowd-work clips brings a full hour of new material to town.