Disenchanted Held Over!
Following weeks of sold out performances, the 2011 International Fringe Festival darling
Disenchanted! has been held over through Nov. 3 at The Abbey. The play focuses on Disney’s princesses and their unhappiness at being portrayed as damsels in distress in today’s pop culture. They are: brassy Snow White, ditzy Cinderella, weight-obsessed Sleeping Beauty neurotic Belle, tipsy Ariel, butch Mulan and buxom Pocahontas. For tickets, call 866-468-7630 or visit AbbeyOrlando.com.
Happy 50th Birthday, Doug (let’s rake you over the coals)
Friends of Doug White decided to surprise him on his 50th birthday. So, they invited him to a night of trivia and bar hopping starting at the Parliament House Footlight Theatre. Instead, he walked into a surprise birthday party and roast. Roasters included: Nico, Gidget Galore, Bridget Galore, Sam Singhaus, Jeff Jones, Carol Lee, Billy Flannigan, Janine Klein and Michael Wanzie. White, a staple in the LGBT theater community, turned the big 5-0 on Oct. 8.
Vote for uOwn Real Estate
uOwn Real Estate, a longtime member of Metropolitan Business Association (MBA) and sponsor of the Gay Games bid, is in the running for a $250,000 small business grant through Chase Bank. uOwn, owned and operated by Sean Frank, needs 250 votes to quality for the Mission Main Street Grant. Agent Eric Rollings, who is asking for votes via his Facebook page, is the Membership Director for MBA. The 12 winners will be announced in January 2014. To cast your online ballot, visit https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/business/detail/6202.
While Rollins College progresses, Ole Miss is left behind
As Rollins College students performed Laramie Project: Ten Years Later to standing ovations at the Annie Russell Theatre in Winter Park, students at another southern school were enduring taunts. An estimated 20 University of Mississippi freshman football players are in hot water after they interrupted a performance of The Laramie Project with laughing and derogatory slurs. The football players attended the Moises Kauffman play about the Matthew Shepard murder because of a theater course requirement. A faculty member arrived and made the players apologize. Ole Miss Administrators said they are investigating the incident, though the cast doesn’t want anyone punished. They have said they want to use the incident to educate fellow students.
Not your average telephone call
When the phone rang at the desk of Watermark Account Manager Jeremy Williams on Oct 1, he assumed it was another retuned sales call in his busy day. Instead, on the other end of the line was legendary filmmaker John Waters. Waters, who was in town to perform at The Abbey for Come Out With Pride, was in a car traveling from the airport to his hotel in downtown Orlando. The call was a surprise planned by Sales Director Mark Cady, who knew Williams is a big fan of Waters, having watched Serial Mom, Crybaby and Hairspray repeatedly as a child. Even though the call was only a minute, Williams said: “It was one of the most exciting moments of my life.”
