Credit: photo by Andrew Tolbert

How many letters are in “camp”? As many letters as there are years in business for Orlando’s Renaissance Theatre Co.

If you need help with the math, the answer is four and the Ren is celebrating the end of its fourth year with their annual tradition: The Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza Show. The original musical was created by director and Ren co-founder Donald Rupe in 2021, the same year the theater opened.

With each year, the Ren experiences a new set of triumphs, tribulations and transformations, but this madcap holiday show has become a constant. The Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza Show and late-night afterparty Holiday Drag Exxxtravaganza Show have become pivotal parts of many Orlandoans’ holiday celebrations.

“This show is sort of the Ren’s answer to a traditional holiday show that’s very adult, very fun and very much not for a family audience,” Rupe says. “It’s inappropriate at times and it pushes boundaries, but it still has moments that celebrate the heart of the holidays for different people.”

The Ren first took Orlando by storm during their inaugural year with their other tradition, the immersive Halloween show Nosferatu. The Ren is a year-round affair, though, garnering a loyal local fanbase for original productions, drag shows like Off the Record Wednesdays, adventurous takes on classic musicals and infamous parties.

“When we opened, we did not intend to do the kinds of plays that we do now. We thought we would do more traditional stage work,” Rupe says. “I remember the first show of Nosferatu, looking around and being like, ‘Wow, we’ve stumbled upon something different here in terms of who was coming to the show.'”

Rupe says that the immersive nature of many shows at the Ren is something that connects with audiences. The characters and action spill out from the stage and surround the crowd, making them feel like they are a part of the show.

The Office Holiday Party’s foundation is the same as in past years: the Gripp and Pfister annual holiday work soiree, which the audience is attending alongside the characters. But you’ll never see the same show twice, Rupe promises.

“A show like this depends on the performers — who is in it dictates everything,” Rupe says. “There’s nothing like a good laugh from an audience, and that really does fuel higher energy from performers. If you have an audience that is just filled with extroverts, that very much impacts what the actors do and who they talk to.”

Rupe says the back-and-forth relationship between performer and audience plays a crucial part in dictating the interactive flow of the play. He says that the performers are trained to read audience members to make sure that each attendee is comfortable with being included, and to what level.

The Office Party usually comes together in a few days — and over email, at that. It writes itself, really, claims Rupe. New cast members are added in a nonlinear way that helps direct the storyline.

“For this show, we do it a little differently where actors who are submitting for the show submit character ideas where, of course, normally you’re submitting for a character that is already written,” Rupe says. “When you create really interesting, fun characters, you don’t have to work too hard. In total we do like six or seven rehearsals, which is kind of unbelievable. Usually you rehearse for six weeks.”

The fun doesn’t end after the cast takes their bows. On select nights, The Holiday Drag Exxxtravaganza Show follows the musical, hosted by some of the cast members.

The drag portion of the nightcap features a rotating cast of artists, including Myki Meeks, Black Magix Royal, Coco Cavalli, Shané Turn Cavalli, Ella Mayo, Angelica Sanchez and Orusha San Miguel. Just like the musical, this after-party will be different from night to night.

Rupe says the holiday drag show is “campy in the best way.” Instead of the usual “lip-sync and serve” performance, the Ren is “doing drag differently than I have ever seen it,” adds Rupe. He says it’s not just a drag presentation, but a unique choreographed production.

“The thing that stands out about the stuff we do is that the shows are never what you expect them to be,” Rupe says. “People see the title of this show and think it’s a standard musical or a traditional corny holiday show, but they leave saying, ‘That’s not at all what I thought it was gonna be.'”

The Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza runs through Dec. 29; tickets at rentheatre.com.


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This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2024.