Sept. 20 through Jan. 12, 2020
Edward Steichen: In Exaltation of Flowers
Mennello Museum of American Art, mennellomuseum.org, $5; Orlando Museum of Art, omart.org, $15
Edward Steichen grew into his full powers late in life, serving as director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art for 15 years, where he presented the legendary group show The Family of Man. But this exhibition is an intriguing look at the making of the preternaturally accomplished photographer, showing work from a time before his stern modernism took complete hold – and before he put painting aside to focus on the camera. The massive panels of “In Exaltation of Flowers” are at OMA, seven vividly romantic portraits commissioned as “floral personifications” by a wealthy New York family, while 20 photographs chosen for their close association with the murals hang at the MMAA. (For full image credits on art above and left, see page 9)
Ut Pictura Poesis: Walt Whitman and the Poetry of Art
Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park,
cfam.rollins.edu, free
This show is a glorious peek into a surprisingly deep pocket of Whitmaniana in Rollins College’s archives. The Cornell curators have plunged their hands into the special collections at Olin Library and brought up handfuls of treasure – more lumpy hand-forged coins than glittering jewels, to be sure, but valuable and exquisite nonetheless. The collation of various artists’ personal responses to Whitman (man and poet), installed alongside archival manuscripts and photos, transcends what could be a dreary educational display to sing its own quirky song. Like most CFAM exhibitions in recent years, it’s a bijou experience, not a sprawling pageant, but it feels right-sized. The catalog available in the museum gift shop is worth the card-swipe, particularly in light of all the free exhibitions the CFAM treats us to year-round.
Nicole Byer
Orlando Improv, theimprovorlando.com, $20-$40
The host of Netflix’s hit baking show Nailed It! – in which non-professional bakers try to create Instagram-worthy desserts with hilarious results – performs at the Orlando Improv for three nights this week. Don’t expect any epic fails, though; Byer is a sharp comedian, unafraid to open up about the darkly funny thoughts and behaviors we all share.
Orlando Phil: Opening Night with Branford and Boléro
8 p.m. at Bob Carr Theater, orlandophil.org, $19-$90
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2019-2020 Fairwinds concert series begins with a bang (or would that be a rousing, thunderous crescendo?) with an opener that features jazz royalty composer-bandleader-musician Branford Marsalis sitting in with the orchestra on Ibert’s “Concertina da Camera for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra.” The program also includes performances of Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan” and (yes!) Ravel’s “Bolero.”
Trevor Noah
7:30 p.m. at Amway Center, amwaycenter.com, $36.50-$96.50
Daily Show host Trevor Noah steps out from behind his anchor desk for a stand-up gig at the Amway Center as part of his first-ever nationwide arena tour. South African native Noah has proven himself a worthy replacement for John Stewart on Comedy Central’s nightly roast of the powerful, plus his impression of Trump (along with suitably manic hand movements) is spot-fucking-on. As of this writing, this is the only Florida show on his tour, so don’t miss out on this rare appearance by a master satirist.
Enzian’s Halloween Films
Enzian’s annual tradition of presenting a ghastly slate of films in October to bolster the Halloween mood sees the Maitland cinema getting increasingly ambitious and gutsy (heh) in their programming. Highlights include the once-reviled cult hit Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, pulpy delights like Bride of Re-Animator and Chopping Mall, big-name franchises like Blade II and Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and even (wow) Nekromantik. And for the kiddies, there’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which is basically like the “Monster Mash” come to life.
Mixtape: Volume 7
7 p.m. at Wall Street Plaza, urbanthinkfoundation.org, $10-$100
Now in its seventh year, the annual musical throwdown that doubles as a benefit for the Urban Think Foundation (which brings us Burrow Press and Page 15, among other good works), looks back toward the 1980s. Featuring new-wavey cover band the Spazmatics running through the hits of the Me Decade and a phalanx of themed cocktails, including a Caddyshack-inspired spiked Arnold Palmer, the night promises to be totally tubular and makes us happy that every year Urban Think says, “I’ll be back.”
Booktoberfest
6:30 p.m. at Orlando Public Library, ocls.info, $35-$50
Normally, you have to pre-game pretty heavily if you want to enjoy the library with a nice buzz on … or so we, uh, hear. But OCLS’ annual Booktoberfest celebration lets you cut out the middleman and just get drunk right in the stacks. Fittingly, this year’s theme is The Wizard of Oz, as you’ll be over the rainbow with a selection of local beers, food from Pom Pom’s and Roque Pub, and plenty of activities. Or just get drunk and read.
Oktoberfest
5 p.m. Fridays, noon Saturdays at the German American Society of Central Florida, orlandogermanclub.com, $4-$95
Billed as “Orlando’s Most Authentic Oktoberfest,” the annual double-weekender at Casselberry’s German American Society features live music, folk dancing, tough competitions, authentic German grub and an unhealthy amount of lederhosen and dirndls. And that’s in addition to barrels and barrels of imported German beer.
Be Original Theater Festival
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphilipscenter.org, $10-$12
Although the Dr. Phillips Center is in the midst of a public relations contretemps over its contracts with arts organizations like Orlando Ballet and Orlando Opera, this weekend-long festival of new plays is something of a feather in its cap. Check out staged readings of 16 brand-new plays in the Pugh Theater and the Dr. Phil’s rehearsal room by both new playwrights and recognizable local names like Michael Wanzie, Jami-Leigh Bartschi and Ashleigh Ann Gardner.
Let’s Have a Ball
5:30 p.m. at Orlando Museum of Art, ivanhoevillage.org, $35-$45
The Ivanhoe Village Main Street District kicks off Come Out With Pride weekend by throwing a party at Orlando Museum of Art. Attendees are encouraged to dress up in anything from ball gowns to denim to celebrate “Orlando’s Indie Side” while enjoying light bites, drink specials and a silent auction of local adventures. Plus, all attendees get a year’s residential membership in the Ivanhoe Village Main Street District, resulting in plenty of special offers throughout the year.
Fantasm
9 a.m. at Rosen Shingle Creek, fantasmorlando.com, $30-$120
Filling the void left by Spooky Empire’s moving their annual autumn con to Tampa, new local horror con Fantasm has a pretty impressive roster for a rookie event. Boasting a partial cast reunion of pulpy cult horror masterpiece Return of the Living Dead (including the best punks), Michael Berryman from The Hills Have Eyes, Mike Christopher (“Hare Krishna Zombie”) from Dawn of the Dead, and no less than comedy icon and mainstay of one of the highlights in American television Cheers, John “Cliff Clavin” Ratzenberger (pinch us). Terrifying locals like Phantasmagoria, author Jackie Sonnenberg and the Speakeasy Sirens are confirmed too.
Macbeth
Lowndes Shakespeare Center, orlandoshakes.org, $30-$62
Something wicked this way comes? Californian director and sound designer Irwin Appel takes the reins for Orlando Shakes’ unique production of Shakespeare’s Scottish play, inspired, Throne of Blood-style, by “the traditional Japanese theater styles of Noh and bunraku.” Macbeth may be the richest source of the Shakespearean phrases that dot our daily speech – “full of sound and fury,” “screw your courage to the sticking-place,” “blood will have blood” – but Appel, choreographer Christina McCarthy, scenic and costume designer Ann Sheffield, and lighting designer Kevin Griffin mean to make this as much a visual feast as a literary one.
Come Out With Pride/Big Gay Brunch
Noon at Lake Eola Park, comeoutwithpride.com, free-$135
A heartening moment of celebration and solidarity in the midst of increasingly challenging times for the LGBTQ+ community, this massive afternoon march through downtown Orlando is a potent reminder of hope and love. Heartwarming, visually stunning, packed full of people from all walks of life, it’s one hell of a local tradition. Orlando Weekly is in the mix too, with our Big Gay Brunch event at the Abbey nearby, serving as a great pregame for the afternoon’s festivities.
Wayne Brady
8 p.m. at the Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphillipscenter.org, $39.50-$65
The most successful product of SAK Comedy Lab’s improv comedy troupe returns to Orlando for a homecoming date on his current tour. Brady is best known as a regular on both the U.K. and U.S. versions of improv show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but his résumé includes everything from talk-show host to soap opera star to Broadway sensation. Welcome home, Wayne.
South Asian Film Festival
Enzian Theater, enzian.org, $12-$55
Enzian’s annual South Asian Film Festival is an opportunity to get a look at films about the Indian subcontinent and its diaspora. This year’s lineup includes four features about topics as diverse as Tibetan refugees and an Indian-American stand-up comic. For the best variety, check out Chhota Cinema, the annual showcase of short films that offers five different perspectives on Indian life.
Mayhem on Mills: Halloween Horror Fights II
3 p.m. at Will’s Pub, willspub.org, $15
One of the campy highlights of early-’90s World Championship Wrestling was the “Chamber Of Horrors” match, which culminated with Abdullah the Butcher getting shocked in an electric chair by Cactus Jack. Expect punk-inspired local wrestling fed Mayhem on Mills to take at least a little inspiration from that at their Halloween-ish October outdoor card. An early confirmed match with Florida lucha sensation Serpentico facing off against Chuckles the Clown in a “coffin match” suggests this just might be the case.
Orlando Film Festival
Cobb Plaza Cinema Café 12, orlandofilmfest.com, $20-$300
In regard to the sheer number of films screened, the Orlando Film Festival is the biggest film fest in town. Taking over downtown’s Cobb Plaza theater for more than a week, the festival offers more than 200 shorts and features, along with panels and workshops covering all aspects of filmmaking. The celebration doesn’t stop after the screenings, though; nightly afterparties are one of the big draws for those looking to rub elbows and network.
Immerse
5-11 p.m. at Downtown Orlando, creativecityproject.com, free-$150
Creative City Project’s Immerse 2019 will be a weekend of saying “Art!” and “Art?” The website promises that the event will “help you live the exciting life you deserve.” Who doesn’t want that? The event will have large-scale interactive installations from the World of Corkcicle and Architect of Air’s luminaria, which is self-described as a cross between a “womb and a cathedral.” You can explore winding paths and domes filled with colored light. High-flying performers and more than a hundred actors, musicians, artists and other creatives will entertain all weekend. Pro tip: Look out for small pop-up venues to really personalize your experience.
“Last Podcast on the Left”
7 p.m. at Hard Rock Live, hardrock.com, $27.50-$47.50
Live recordings of popular podcasts are filling up rock venues just as quickly as your favorite bands, and “Last Podcast on the Left” ’s “Back in the Habit” tour, courtesy of core trio Ben Kissel, Marcus Parks and Henry Zebrowski, is no exception. “Last Podcast” tackles grim and ghostly subject matter both real-world and fantasy – serial killers, UFOs, supernatural phenomena and more. The trio are hardened road dogs, so rest assured this won’t be some snoozy mumblefest. The timing of their Orlando stop is spookily seasonal.
Les Misérables
Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphillipscenter.org, $54.50-$164.50
Way before Lin-Manuel Miranda took over Broadway with Hamilton, the venerable “Les Miz” was the biggest musical about a revolution that theater-goers had on the menu. This touring production is based on the Tony-nominated 2014 Broadway revival that freshened up the window-dressing while keeping the giant rotating barricade intact. Do you hear the people sing?
Central Florida Veg Fest
10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Orlando Festival Park, cfvegfest.org, free
One of the largest and longest-running vegetarian and vegan festivals in the world, the Central Florida Veg Fest returns to Festival Park this fall. The family-friendly festival offers up dozens of cruelty-free bites alongside a full slate of activities, including informative panels, cooking demonstrations, animal rescue groups, live music and, of course, a drum circle. And don’t worry: No one’s going to yell at you if you’re not a vegan.
National Theatre Live broadcast of Fleabag
11 a.m. at Enzian Theater, enzian.org, $20
Enzian screens a live taping of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman stage show, the source material for her massive TV hit. The popularity of Fleabag is almost impossible to articulate – sex addict runs slowly failing guinea-pig-themed café while letting down/being let down by her family? – yet it seems to be universal, evidenced as much by Waller-Bridge’s recent Emmy win as by the torrent of social media adulation. The appeal of #HotPriest and #FleabagJumpsuit are obvious, but it says something fucking wonderful about TV-watching humanity that the lot of us were mesmerized, moonstruck, by this spikily mirthful story of grief and self-destruction.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour
8 p.m. at the Bob Carr Theater, drphillipscenter.org, $56-$166
The reason your grandmother keeps inviting you over to “have a kiki” brings its live tour to the Bob Carr this fall. Season 10 fave Asia O’Hara leads a cast that includes Season 11 winner Yvie Oddly along with Aquaria, Detox, Plastique and more, in an extravaganza of drag performances and dance. What the hell, bring your grandma.
Electric Daisy Carnival Orlando
1 p.m. at Tinker Field, orlando.electricdaisycarnival.com, $109.99-$399.99
How will EDC Orlando up its game this year? Well, for the premier EDM and dance music festival in our own downtown, the answer is always excess. The fest balloons to a massive three days packed full of artists like Deadmau5, Rezz, Steve Aoki, Allison Wonderland, MSTRKRFT and Nora En Pure. Along with more time and more acts, there will also be 20 more acres overtaken by this dance wonderland, which means more stages, more installations and of course all of the varied extra-musical distractions.
Bright Lights, Medium Sized City book release party
6-9 p.m. at the Orange Studio, burrowpress.org/events, free
Nathan Holic’s “Great Orlando novel” uses text, comic panels, watercolor illustrations and Eggersian footnoting to tell the tale of a hapless house-flipper caught in the mortgage crisis of 2009. The release party may be less structurally twisty, but promises to be just as Orlando-centric – will there be appearances by Mandy Moore and Scott Stapp? Will the catering consist of Joey Fatone’s “Fat Ones” hot dog truck and Orange Blossom Pilsners? You’ll have to show up to find out.
Orlando Balloon Glow
5 p.m. at Blue Jacket Park, facebook.com/orlandoballoonglow, $1-$75
Get a new perspective on the Orlando skyline at Baldwin Park’s annual hot air balloon festival at Blue Jacket Park. Gather on the lawn to view a picturesque spread of lit-up balloons, then get yourself a ticket for a tethered ride. You can even spring for a private launch with just you and your sweetheart. Get your head in the clouds.
Orlando Beer Festival
2-5 p.m. at Orlando Festival Park, orlandobeerfestival.com, $40-$99.83
For the fifth year in a row, Orlando Weekly brings you unlimited tastings of more than 200 beers from local, regional, national and international breweries. Along with the beer, you’ll also get live music, broadcasts of college football games, a curated selection of food trucks and more. You’re gonna want to hire a driver.
Inside the Score: Symphonie Fantastique
3 p.m., Bob Carr Theater, orlandophil.org, $27-$90
Orlando Philharmonic music director Eric Jacobsen leads a guided journey through Hector Berlioz’s best-known work, the Symphonie Fantastique. In the first half of the program Jacobsen uses visual aids and highlighted bits of the composition to explicate Berlioz’s romantic-verging-on-overwrought “fever dream,” a story of unrequited love written while the composer was high AF on opium. In his essential Young People’s Concerts, Leonard Bernstein called Fantastique “the first psychedelic symphony in history” and observed that when “you take a trip, you wind up screaming at your own funeral.” To make a day of it (and contribute to the Phil), buy tickets to the pre-concert brunch, where opium will not be served. (We think?)
Free Play Florida
Caribe Royale Resort, wp.freeplayflorida.com, $25-$60
One of our favorite annual fall events, Free Play Florida, returns to the Caribe Royale Resort this year. The weekend-long exhibition brings tons of vintage and modern pinball and arcade machines together to create the ultimate arcade. Along with the games, you can sign up for competitions, watch world record attempts, meet the designers behind classic games and more. Best of all: No quarters needed.
Tiny Living Festival Florida
Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake, unitedtinyhouse.com, $15-$20
The fourth annual “world’s largest tiny house festival” is headed to Orlando and will feature tiny residences, micro-homes, presentations, workshops and children’s activities. Don’t miss the Tiny House Band on stage Saturday night. Concessions will be available too, and you can bet they won’t be the smallest things you’ll see all day. Speaker topics include weathering a natural disaster in your tiny home and how to successfully go off-grid. You won’t want to miss hearing tiny home owners’ inspirational and humorous personal stories. Pro tip: Start to Konmari your life now so you can visualize a future in one of these amazing creations.
Jonathan Van Ness
8 & 10:30 p.m. at Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphillipscenter.org, $45-$125
Strap on your heels and tame that bird’s nest on your head for a night you’ll never forget. Van Ness catwalked onto the scene in Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning Queer Eye (the next generation) as the one who does the hair. Y’all know who I’m talking about. #LegsForDays and a hair toss that makes the meanest of mean girls jealous as hell. Authentic realness paired with a desire to try everything makes the gender-bendy Van Ness a great entertainer and an extraordinary show. Grab a VIP ticket if you want a meet-and-greet photo op with this beautiful (inside and out) person. Pro tip: Uber or Lyft to avoid bizarrely high parking and valet fees.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live
8 p.m. at Hard Rock Live, hardrock.com, $33-$63
Get your popcorn – and hankies – ready! The mad geniuses behind the seminal Mystery Science Theater 3000 are taking their show on the road and bringing it to Orlando, and it’s going to be the curtain call for one of the most important members of their cast. The MST3K “Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour” comes to Hard Rock Live in November, and this will be original host and series creator Joel Hodgson’s final tour as part of this ensemble. Hodgson and his ‘bots will be cackling over and roasting two new films, and though it sadly looks like we will never hear “Hike Your Pants Up” live, Jean Claude Van Damme is in one of the films featured, so all is right with the world.
Sweet & Savory
7:30 p.m. at the Wellborn Boutique Hotel, sweetandsavoryorlando.com, $35-$65
Forget your company’s annual holiday party: Sweet & Savory is where you’ll want to be. The night features desserts from top local and regional artisans, along with some savory dishes to cleanse your palate, presented by Publix Aprons Catering. Throw special cocktails, live music and dancing on top of that, and you’ve got a holiday celebration par excellence – there’s no reason to eat a crumbly Christmas-tree cookie ever again.
– This story is from the Sept. 25, 2019, print issue of Orlando Weekly. Stay on top of Central Florida news and views with our weekly Headlines newsletter.
This article appears in Fall Arts Guide 2019.