Credit: photo courtesy Orlando Fringe
The Renaissance Theatre Co. has found a temporary new home just in time for the holidays — and it’s a familiar space to fans of performing arts in Orlando.
On Tuesday afternoon, it was revealed that the City of Orlando has granted the Ren a temporary lease running through the end of March to take over the vacant theater facility at 54 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando. This two-theater complex is a familiar spot for local theater fans as it was briefly the home of Fringe ArtSpace and before that, for many years, Mad Cow Theatre.
This announcement comes just in time to salvage the full run of the Ren’s annual immersive holiday comedy, Office Holiday Party Musical Extravaganza Show, set to start on Friday, Dec. 5. So yes, the fictional Gripp & Pfister holiday extravaganza, a Ren tradition since 2021, is back for another go. And, yes, the drag afterparties will still happen as well.
And once the Holiday is over, this ad hoc space will host a production of hit Broadway musical Mean Girls, starting mid-January. The entirety of the run will happen at the Church Street theater space, regardless of whether the Ren’s home base has reopened by then.
“The swift decision by the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency to support the arts community by helping us find a temporary home says a lot about our local government’s commitment to culture in Orlando. Though this type of programming isn’t necessarily what we normally do or want to do for the long haul, this will allow us time not only to get through the permitting process but also to plan ahead into 2026 and beyond,” Ren co-founder and artistic director Donald Rupe said in a press statement.
In the meantime, Ren staff are still working with the city to resolve the building issues that forced their closure back in late September. “The fine folks in Permitting are helping us where they can, but it’s one of those things that just takes time, so we haven’t been able to plan ahead and that’s been really tough,” added Rupe.
The Office Holiday Party runs Dec. 5-22, and Mean Girls will play Jan. 16-March 15, 2026. Tickets are available now through the Renaissance Theatre Co.’s website.
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