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www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x x August 33-17, - 16, 2017 x 91<br />
Orlando Repertory Theatre’s 2017-18 Season<br />
It’s almost showtime again<br />
for Orlando Repertory<br />
Theatre, but the 2017-18<br />
performance season marks a<br />
different focus for the theater<br />
in providing quality entertainment<br />
for children and their<br />
families. This season encompasses<br />
shows that reflect the<br />
current times young people<br />
are living in and offers theatrical<br />
opportunities that give a<br />
voice to children’s perspectives<br />
on life.<br />
Among the upcoming<br />
shows are Disney’s Newsies<br />
The Musical; Polkadots: The<br />
Cool Kids Musical; The Best<br />
Christmas Pageant Ever: The<br />
Musical; Flora & Ulysses;<br />
Madagascar — A Musical<br />
Adventure; and Judy Moody<br />
& Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad,<br />
Mad Treasure Hunt.<br />
“The crucial role of theater,<br />
and the arts in general, is to<br />
reflect the times we are living<br />
in, and I have chosen shows that are<br />
told or shown from the viewpoint/<br />
perspective of a child, or we see the<br />
story through a young person’s eyes,”<br />
said Jeffrey Revels, Orlando REP’s<br />
artistic director. “Children understand<br />
situations a lot more than we<br />
give them credit for, and these are<br />
shows about young people making a<br />
diffe rence.”<br />
The Shows<br />
To start the season off with a bang,<br />
Orlando REP is the first theater in<br />
the southeastern United States to<br />
produce Disney’s beloved Newsies<br />
(Sept. 5-Oct. 22), which is based on<br />
the real-life newsboy strike in 1899,<br />
following a successful Broadway run<br />
and recent national tour.<br />
“What we love is that the story<br />
shows young people affecting social<br />
change, where those who are<br />
Orlando Repertory Theatre gears up for a spectacular 2017-18 season.<br />
considered ‘weak,’ stood up to those<br />
in power (publishing giants in the industry)<br />
and actually affected change<br />
when they saw that things weren’t<br />
fair,” Jeff said.<br />
Following Newsies’ social change<br />
stance is a unique musical that focuses<br />
on the civil rights movement,<br />
particularly the events inspired by<br />
young Ruby Bridges entering a<br />
newly segregated school in Little<br />
Rock, Arkansas, during the 1960s.<br />
Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical<br />
(Oct. 23-Nov. 19) features a girl<br />
with purple skin and pink polka dots<br />
entering a new town and school<br />
filled with people who have blue<br />
skin with orange squares.<br />
“It illustrates how a young person<br />
can make a difference in the world,<br />
where this young girl comes to town<br />
and challenges everyone’s world<br />
views,” Jeff said.<br />
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE<br />
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever:<br />
The Musical (Nov. 13-Dec. 30), based<br />
on the treasured children’s classic, is<br />
sure to put everyone in the Christmas<br />
spirit, as six rowdy and disobedient<br />
children learn about the Nativity story<br />
while taking part in a local church’s<br />
Christmas pageant.<br />
“It has fun and inspirational music,<br />
with every character making discoveries<br />
along the way” Jeff said.<br />
Up next, from Jan. 29-Feb. 25,<br />
is Flora & Ulysses, based from the<br />
Newbury Medal-winning book about<br />
a young girl grappling with her parents’<br />
divorce until she meets a superhero<br />
squirrel named Ulysses.<br />
“Many children have found themselves<br />
in the same position [as Flora]<br />
and felt alone. In this play — and<br />
many others — Orlando REP finds exceptional<br />
ways of exploring challenging<br />
themes and creating a theatrical<br />
experience families can<br />
share together,” said Ashley<br />
Willsey, marketing director<br />
for Orlando REP.<br />
Rounding out the season<br />
is a musical adaptation of<br />
Dreamworks’ Madagascar<br />
(Feb. 26-April 8) and from<br />
the popular children’s series,<br />
Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad,<br />
Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt<br />
(April 9-May 13); Judy Moody<br />
is part of a co-commission<br />
Orlando REP is participating<br />
in with six other theater for<br />
young audiences around the<br />
country, collectively offering<br />
seven different productions of<br />
the same show for audiences<br />
nationwide.<br />
Interspersed this season are<br />
four staged readings comprising<br />
Perspectives: A Series<br />
of Staged Readings presented<br />
in conjunction with the<br />
Holocaust Memorial Resource<br />
& Education Center of Florida<br />
and featuring guest speakers to discuss<br />
timely topics with audiences following<br />
their performances. Themes of<br />
these readings include a young refugee<br />
escaping his war-torn country, a<br />
Muslim-American tee na ger attending<br />
school in a hijab, high school girls<br />
who are undocumented citizens, and<br />
a ceremony for the last paving stone<br />
over natural earth.<br />
“In any of the productions this season,<br />
I think young people watching<br />
will see themselves in some role of<br />
the story,” Jeff said. “Our vision for<br />
every production is all about how we<br />
can find the voice of the young person<br />
and give them a platform for creating<br />
conversations with others. We<br />
feel this is our contribution to society.”<br />
Enrollment is currently open for Orlando REP’s youth<br />
academy classes and everyone, especially families,<br />
are welcome to volunteer at the theater. For tickets<br />
and more information, visit www.orlandorep.com. ª
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