Orlando Interviews

One of the first things I realized when I moved to Orlando back in 2020 was the extremely active and vibrant arts scene. This came as a real surprise because, as an outsider, I had previously only associated the area with theme parks and tourism. I quickly learned about the wealth of talent, artisti...

What happens when you take nearly 300 students representing 52 productions from 33 high schools from across Central Florida and put them onstage at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts? You get the Applause Awards – the annual ceremony, modeled after the Tony Awards which features p...

A new cabaret series is now underway in Orlando featuring stars from some of Broadway’s most beloved musicals. The series, called “Broadway On the Rocks” will offer it’s next show on Saturday, March 4th at the newly renovated Rocks Lounge at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. During each one-hour show, perf...

Read BroadwayWorld's interview with Michael Marrero and Julio Trinidad, the creative team behind the new streaming play 'Repair' at The Studios of Key West's 'StudioWorks'....

A new cabaret series is coming to the Orlando featuring stars from some of Broadway’s most beloved musicals. The series, called “Broadway On the Rocks” premieres on Saturday, February 18th at the newly renovated Rocks Lounge at the Hyatt Regency Orlando and is just the first of three concerts planne...

Jessica Vosk is a celebrated singer and actress and she has just kicked off her “MY GOLDEN AGE” US tour and will be visiting your area shortly! You may recognize her from Broadway roles like Elphaba in WICKED, or as the Narrator in JOSEPH... at Lincoln Center. I had the opportunity to catch up with ...

Chances are you may have been scrolling through Tik Tok or Instagram over the last two years and happened upon a video of two brothers performing fresh, fun and amazing Irish dance routines together. Those brothers, Michael and Matthew Gardiner are currently on tour with the 25th Anniversary tour of...

You may have a certain idea of what a musical based on Greek mythology would look and feel like, but chances are you’ve never seen or heard anything like singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell masterpiece (and Tony and Grammy Award winning) HADESTOWN. Told through a haunting folk rock, blues, gospel and j...

Broadwayworld had the pleasure to interview Matt Shingledecker, a Broadway Guest Artist on Disney Wish.  We spoke to him about his career and his exciting roles as a performer for the cruise's upcoming productions. ...

It’s hard to think of a more fitting production than FROZEN, to make an extended stay at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center. As this Broadway hit musical makes its way to the City Beautiful for a run February 24th -  March 6th, I caught up with Caroline Innerbichler, who plays Princess Anna, to find out ...

Continuing with the celebration of the opening of Dr. Phillips Center’s Steinmetz Hall will be the professional world premiere of Duke Ellington’s BLACK, BROWN AND BEIGE, a piece that first played at Carnegie Hall in 1943 and was created to “provide a more accurate accounting of African American his...

When a state-of-the-art venue like Dr. Phillips Center’s Steinmetz Hall opens and hosts its first live performances, it is truly a special event. The excitement of experiencing a new space, and the thrill of seeing (and hearing) artists in that space is something that doesn’t happen every day. That’...

As Broadway reopens and theatrical tours resume, audiences all over the United States are getting the chance to experience the latest productions from the Great White Way. The thrill of once again sitting in an audience with fellow theatre lovers and hearing the first notes of an overture is palpabl...

Did you know there are new Broadway tours coming to the space coast? The Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida will kick off a new season of touring musicals with BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY on December 6th and 7th. Filling the famous shoes (and glasses) of the iconic...

Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy are back on stage with their 'Stripped Down' tour, showing audiences a whole new side of the dancing duo. Featuring dance, comedy, and personal stories from the lives of the Chmerkovskiy brothers, the Maks & Val: Stripped Down tour will make you laugh, cry, and everything i...

What happens when you take a 16th-century prose romance and turn it into a musical with a score by the most successful all-female rock band in history, The Go Go’s? You get HEAD OVER HEELS, a musical that took Broadway by storm in 2018 and that will have its Central Florida premiere June 10 – 13th b...

As those of us who spend significant time in the theatre know, the last six months have been very difficult. With canceled productions, performers out of work, and audiences without the live entertainment that enlightens and enriches their lives, there has been much uncertainty, on top of all the co...

T.J. Dawe returns to the Orlando Fringe this year with OPERATIC PANIC ATTACK, the story of his struggle with anxiety in college, especially about his sexuality. In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talk with Dawe about the show's themes, advice for his younger self...

PRINCE(CESS) at the Orlando Fringe explores gender expectations and what it means to be yourself as two young heirs battle for the throne. In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talked with Ralph Krumins (Creator), Raina Grabowski (Princess Ophelia), and Alaric Frinz...

At the Orlando Fringe, FLORIDA MAN imagines that all of the 'Florida man' headlines were about one person. Each night, audiences get to choose which headline they would like to see onstage.  In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talk to J. Scott Browning (Director/P...

In THE FLUTE ON ITS FEET at the Orlando Fringe, Zara Lawler plays the flute while dancing with C. Neil Parsons, even going upside-down and on wheels!  In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talked with Lawler and Parsons about the inspiration for the show, multitaski...

CANDLES IN THE DARK tells the true stories of survivors of sexual abuse and assault in Central Florida.  In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I sat down with cast members Jana Henry, Sarah Holland, and Jedonn Bell to talk about speaking out, strength in numbers, and ...

Charlie Ross performs the entire original Star Wars trilogy by himself in ONE MAN STAR WARS at the Orlando Fringe. In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I sat down with Ross to talk about his adventures touring the show, doing what feels right, and more!...

The creative team behind last year's HELLO at the Orlando Fringe returns this year with GOODBYE, a play inspired by actor Robbie Pigott's experience of his father passing away.  In a special Fringe edition of 'Clarissa Moon Talks to the Stars,' I talked with John Mark Jernigan (Writer/Actor) abou...

After a successful career as the CEO of several prominent companies, Keith Alessi retired to pursue his life-long passion of playing the banjo. Weeks later, he received a deadly cancer diagnosis. TOMATOES TRIED TO KILL ME BUT BANJOS SAVED MY LIFE at the Orlando Fringe tells Alessi's story of how mus...

Parker James Fullmore has been playing Billy Elliot across the country for the past three years. His latest stop is at the Garden Theatre, where he'll be performing the role through June 2. I sat down with Parker to talk about Orlando, the importance of Billy's story, advice for future Billys, an...

Orlando Shakes' reimagined version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, originally produced in 2014, returns this holiday season. The production is set in an attic, where a family recounts Dickens' classic story to its youngest member.  I sat down with Laura Hodos (Mrs. Cratchit and others) to discuss her past,...

Already a few cities into their 27-city national circuit, the touring company of COME FROM AWAY has landed in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson. Helmed by its Tony Award-winning director Christopher Ashley, COME FROM AWAY runs through January 6, 2019. Still fresh and reeling from the audience's passiona...

The Jimmy Awards celebrate outstanding high school performers from across the nation. Each year, around 80 students are chosen to participate in a week of workshops and masterclasses in New York City, all culminating in a final showcase at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.  The event is attended ...

This summer, the Orlando Shakes takes audiences under the sea with Brandon Robert's new telling of Hans Christian Anderson's classic fairytale, THE LITTLE MERMAID.  I talked with the little mermaid herself, Jillian Gizzi, about what she's learned from playing Allura, human shoes, and more! ...

'People need theatre in small towns. People need theatre in smaller cities, in different cities. We need it everywhere. It's important as an artist to remember that. It's not just about going for the brass ring - sometimes the brass ring is right there, sitting at home.'...

With St. Patrick's Day is a couple months away, you can get an early dose of Irish culture by seeing RIVERDANCE, which is coming to the Dr. Phillips Center later this month. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the beloved RIVERDANCE still delights audiences around the world. For 23 year old princi...

As we prepare to sit with our families this Thanksgiving, we all experience joy or dread about seeing our relatives. Like it or not, these people are blood - flaws and all. ORPHANS tells the story of two brothers. I had a chance to catch up with director, Marco DiGeorge about Theater on the Edge's l...

LOVE NEVER DIES: The Phantom Returns is very high on my list to see. Based off a sequel novel, The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth, LOVE NEVER DIES continues the luxurious love story that will be soon celebrating 30 years on Broadway....

Eleemosynary is now a word I use in my daily vocabulary after learning about this play at Rollins College's Fred Stone Theatre. Written by Lee Blessing, it is the story of three strong women with distinct character traits. I had a chance to chat with student director Kaitlyn Harrington about her pro...

UCF Senior Kyle Laing recently appeared in Theatre UCF's OF THEE I SING. We had a moment to chat with Kyle and his experience at UCF....

Before Gloria Estefan became a Latin pop superstar, she was a young performer whose family immigrated from Cuba. Gloria's mother, Gloria Fajardo, made her own career sacrifices for her family, which caused strife between her and her daugher. I had a chance to speak with Nancy Ticotin who plays Glori...

West Orange High School Theatre kicks off their season with the high school premiere of BRIGHT STAR. Written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, the musical follows the story of Alice Murphy at two different points of her life. I talked with director Tara Whitman about premiering the show, the live b...

Kavin plays Lun Tha, who is Tuptim's secret lover. Tuptim is of course a young slave girl brought to the King of Siam as a gift from the king of Burma. Lun Tha escorts her to the Siamese king's court. The pair hide their love, until Anna finds out and Tuptim and Lun Tha go on the run....

The first ever New Musical Festival comes to Orlando this week at Winter Park Playhouse. If you've ever wondered where musicals are born, this is how. With the help of arts organizations like Winter Park Playhouse, musical creators can refine their pieces and use it as a stepping stone towards publi...