Orlando Weekly Fall Arts Guide 2019

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)

Photo Credit: Edward Steichen, "Gloria Swanson," (1924). Gelatin silver print, 9 7/16 x 7 1/2 inches. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Grace M. Mayer, 1989. © 2019 The Estate of Edward Steichen/Artists Rights Society, New York. Photo: Art Resource

Sept. 21 through Dec. 29

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.

“Major American Poets” by Richard Baker, 2013, image credit: Gouache on paper; The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art at Rollins College, gift of Barbara and Theodore Alfond; image courtesy of the artist and Clark Gallery, Lincoln, Mass. /

Oct. 12

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.

Photo courtesy Dr. Phillips Center

Oct. 12-14

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.

Photo courtesy Juno Films / Tenzin Dolker in "The Sweet Requiem"

Oct. 13

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.

Photo of Serpentico by John Moses

Oct. 12-14

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.

Photo via Orlando Film Festival/Facebook

Oct. 18-19

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.

Photo by John Owens / Immerse, Architects of Air, *kATENA

Oct. 20

"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.

Photo via Last Podcast on the Left

Oct. 22-27

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?

Photo by Matthew Murphy / The touring company of Les Misérables performs “Master of the House”

Oct. 26

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.

Photo via Adobe Stock

Oct. 27

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.

Photo courtesy National Theatre Live

Nov. 5

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.

Image via RuPaul's Drag Race: Werq the World Tour/Facebook

Nov. 8-10

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.

Photo courtesy EDC/Insomniac / The crowds at EDC 2017

Nov. 9

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.

Image via Burrow Press

Nov. 14-17

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.

Photo via Adobe Stock

Nov. 16

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.

Photo via Orlando Beer Festival

Nov. 17

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?)

Portrait of Berlioz by Emile Signol

Nov. 22-24

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.

Photo via Adobe Stock

Nov. 22-24

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.

Photo via Adobe Stock