Why did they name our town Orlando instead of Jernigan? And who are the three men named Henry who helped shape the City Beautiful?
Those hometown historical curiosities and many more are addressed in The City Beautiful, a tuneful, rib-tickling and ultimately touching original musical starring the Blacklist Babes Cabaret.
The entire cast boasts big voices, with Gabriel Quijano and Eduardo A. Rivera leading the talented pack. Co-composer/director Justin J. Scarlat is a stitch as a celery-slinging Henry Sanford, and co-director/creator Marisa Quijano-Sirois (with writers Paul C. Tugwell and David J. Sirois) makes a comely and confident mistress of ceremonies.
Outside of the earworm opening song, other memorable musical numbers include a serenade for the sex workers whose ghosts still stroll downtown along Gertrude’s Walk, as well as a hilarious hand-puppet ode to the vicious inhabitants of Lake Eola, Orlando’s favorite swan-infested sinkhole.
Segments also touch on the impact of theme parks on our region, as well as downtown’s raging rave culture during the ’90s. And although it’s mostly a celebration of our shared past, Orlando’s violent legacy of segregation and supremacy isn’t ignored.
The clever and well-researched lyrics were unfortunately utterly buried by the keyboard-forward audio mix during the press preview (a problem I trust will be fixed), and a last-minute effort to raise the dramatic stakes before the penultimate song — a Central Floridan spin on Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” — makes the show about five minutes longer than it really wants to be.
Finally, while I rarely object to onstage ta-tas, this show would succeed equally well without any random bra removals, and the story might be better served sans the burlesque. Topless or not, City Beautiful currently sits at the top of the original musical comedies I’ve seen so far this Fringe.
Orlando Family Stage
The City Beautiful: An Original Live Band Burlesque Musical
Cheesy Pizza Productions
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This article appears in Summer Guide 2023.