Nearly 13 years after ground was first broken on the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the final major component of Orlando's crown-jewel complex finally clicked into place with last week's official debut of Judson's Live. The 150-seat club attached to the backside of Steinmetz Hall might be the smallest venue in the building, but after touring the space at the Jan. 31 ribbon-cutting ceremony, and then attending its grand opening concert on Feb. 2, I think this intimate gem might make a big impact on how locals like myself think about the Dr. Phillips Center.
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From its initial conception almost two decades ago, all the way through its multi-phase development — which was delayed first by the 2008 financial crisis, and then by the COVID-19 pandemic — I've been skeptical about its impact on our grassroots arts community. (I partially inherited this attitude from late Orlando Weekly columnist Billy Manes, who followed the money in a series of stories.)
The keystone 2,700-seat Walt Disney Theater turned out to be a wonderful place for deep-pocketed Broadway touring companies to park their wagons, but is largely out of reach for even our largest homegrown companies. Similarly, while I've enjoyed excellent productions from professional local troupes in the 300-seat Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, it hasn't lived up to its initial billing as a community stage accessible to emerging artists. And despite the "acoustically perfect" accolades heaped upon the 1,700-seat Steinmetz Hall, I've found the venue less than ideal for any shows involving electric amplification, or less-than-silent audience members.
The building might be an architectural marvel (as well as a valuable marketing tool for developers hawking nearby high-rises and hotels) but I've remained largely unswayed in my long-expressed opinion that the greater good would have been better served by building a dozen low-cost "black box" stages, for a fraction of the Dr. Phil's expense.
Given that backstory, it should come as no surprise that I went into the celebrations for Judson's Live with modest expectations — particularly since I also have a reflexive antipathy to arts venues being named in honor of financial donors rather than creatives. But then I listened to Joyce T. Green talk about her late husband, Judson, a former Disney Parks president and CFO of the Walt Disney Co., for whom "business was his vocation, but his avocation was jazz and composing." Starting out on the piano at age 4 and playing with big bands in the Midwest through college, Judson wrote countless songs and recorded multiple albums as a side gig to his C-suite corporate career, which also included stints on the boards of DreamWorks Animation and Harley-Davidson. Joyce recalls he was "particularly fascinated with jazz, because of its history of being born in America and the necessity for spontaneous creativity through improvisation."
Given that, it feels more than fitting that the Dr. Phillips Center's last and perhaps best venue not only has Judson Green's name above the door; it literally has his handprints on it, preserved beneath a transparent floor slab on a cement marker bearing the originally announced moniker, "The Green Room." Better still, while Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (whose Dizzy's Club in New York City was a major inspiration for Judson's Live) will play sold-out shows here on Feb. 8 and 9, the opening night honors went to Green himself. Saxophonist Daniel Jordan, who played with Judson for 30 years, led their Eighth Element ensemble through a setlist almost exclusively composed of Green's original tunes, with a musical lineup featuring Green's grandsons Jack and Jacob alongside drummer Walt Hubbard and internationally renowned vocalist Michelle Mailhot.
His recordings might not displace Dave Brubeck's in my personal collection, but judging by this tribute concert Green was no mere dilettante at songwriting, and the stunningly sophisticated venue named after him is likewise far from a vanity project. In fact, after a few minutes sitting atop a well-padded swivel seat along the wonderful whisky-focused bar, soaking in the warmly wood-paneled atmosphere and sipping on a silky seasonal old-fashioned, my cynicism started to soften. And by the time samples of the menu arrived — including hearty charcuterie, delicate tuna tartare and decadent chocolate waffles — it had melted away like the unctuous pork belly bites.
I may have entered Judson's Live anticipating another aesthetic temple for the elites that I could never attend if I weren't invited as a critic, but I exited feeling like I'd found the first venue at the Dr. Phillips where I could be fully at home. CEO Kathy Ramsberger emphasized that, despite its jazz-forward opening lineup, future programming will cover many genres and appeal to a diverse demographic. And since admission starts around $30 (tickets are available for single patrons), with craft cocktails costing $16-$18 and food running $11-$22, I could enjoy an upscale evening here without completely breaking the bank. Maybe the best compliment I can offer Judson's Live is saying that Orlando's newest venue doesn't feel like part of Orlando at all, but a little slice of NYC.
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