Directed by Moonlight Melancholy (Bri Joseph)<\/p>\n
Listen up, students: class is in session. In a venue even more intimate than next door\u2019s Savoy, Miss Dana<\/a> (Dani Bloom) holds forth from her platform inside 1915 Ivanhoe. Accompanied on stage by only a chalkboard, Bloom\u2019s strict mistress hands out \u201cstudy guides\u201d to the audience as they enter. As the title implies, what follows is an hour-long lesson on the ins and outs of polyamory and ethical non-monogamy. With a subject typically so taboo, there\u2019s a refreshing sense of candor in Bloom\u2019s discussion, particularly in the frankness and educational approach: alongside vocabulary, there\u2019s informational anecdotes. There\u2019s no sense of bashfulness whatsoever, a fact that reiterates Bloom\u2019s expertise on the matter; she\u2019s an easy-to-trust source on the topic on confidence alone. Periodically, the lecture is broken up by activities found within the study guide, emphasizing the \u201cclassroom\u201d environment and preventing any monotony\u2014not that there is any to be had here. In the latter half of the hour, Bloom relied heavily on a reference binder at her lectern, which is no crime by any means, especially for teacher; but she is at her strongest when stalking the stage and speaking directly to the audience with unabashed eye contact. Just be sure to raise your hand\u2014and if you\u2019re a really good, Miss Dana<\/a> has a surprise for the Teacher\u2019s Pet.<\/p>\n ERIKA MACDONALD: TEA TIME (Savoy Orlando)<\/p>\n Written and Performed by Erika MacDonald \/ Directed by Paul Strickland<\/a><\/p>\n Choreography by Genevieve Bernard<\/p>\n As she prepares one cup of tea (and then another, and then another, and then another) on stage, Erika MacDonald repeats several keen pieces of tea-making wisdom: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take forever, but it does take time.\u201d \u201cThis might seem silly to you, but it matters to me.\u201d Nestled within those phrases is much more sage wisdom and words to live by. TEA TIME begins as a simple, silly walkthrough on how to prepare a cup of tea\u2014and believe it when you read that you will laugh. But as the brew continues to flow, MacDonald masterfully guides us through understanding that it is much deeper; this is not just about brewing tea. It is about the ritual. It is about the repetition. It is about the solace that both of those things bring when the world seems to have run out of convincing reasons to stick around. The show maintains a simple, earnest nature that deepens into an unembarrassed authenticity, invoking hearty laughter and tears in equal measure. With her incredibly polished performance, MacDonald manages to not only hit the same comic notes again and again, but to make them increasingly hilarious with each refrain; it\u2019s all the more impressive when she then turns those notes on their heads to hit surprising emotional depths. Just don\u2019t bring up coffee\u2014it\u2019s a bitter subject.<\/p>\n OZMA: A NEW MUSICAL (Peach Venue)<\/p>\n Score by Mikayla Thompson \/ Lyrics by Tyler Scott \/ Book by Bryan Jager & Tyler Scott<\/p>\n Direction by Tyler Scott \/ Choreography by Cherran Dea<\/p>\n There\u2019s something magical about Oz that \u201cfriends of Dorothy\u201d can\u2019t quite get enough of; and perhaps that is why it provides such fertile ground for theatrical adaptation. In a spectacular production that features what is assuredly one of the higher budgets at this year\u2019s festival, OZMA: A NEW MUSICAL brings us back to the merry old land after Dorothy\u2019s departure. Tip, a down-trodden queer American teenager, is drawn into an Oz that is at another crisis point; the wicked witches are once again up to no good, and the only way to stop them is to find the long lost Princess Ozma. The plot of OZMA does not distinctly follow any one of the novels; Glinda is here, as are the Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow (now The Kings Of<\/a> Emerald City)\u2014but there\u2019s also Locosta the Wise, Queen Lurline, Jack Pumpkinhead, Mombi, Blinkie, Scraps, Tik Tok\u2026the list goes on. If your familiarity with Oz ends at the 1939 film (or with Wicked, for that matter) then the majority of the characters and lore will be new to you. Rather than alienating, it\u2019s invigorating\u2014this still feels like classic Oz. Thankfully, OZMA trusts itself to stand on its own and wisely refrains from meta references to the the 1939 film or Wicked whatsoever. The score is astoundingly well-developed for a fringe festival project and is sung beautifully by an exceedingly talented cast. (One wishes it was available for listening post-show; Tik Tok\u2019s patter song would go triple platinum.) It would also be criminal not to mention the costume and set design here; again, punching way above its weight for a festival production. Like it always has, Oz once again serves as a lush backdrop to a story that centralizes on ideals of found family and belonging. There\u2019s always been an undercurrent\u2014or overcurrent\u2014of queerness to the road of yellow brick and the city of emeralds, but OZMA brings that to the fore and drives home the point that for the LGBTQ+ community, there really is no place like home.<\/p>\n THE ONE WHO CALLS (Scarlet Venue)<\/p>\n Written and Directed by Bethany Dickens Assaf<\/p>\n Stepping into the Scarlet Venue for THE ONE WHO CALLS is stepping into a garage in the time of overhead projectors, landlines, and The Thing\u2014if you\u2019ve missed the pastiche of Stranger Things, you can find it here. Shawn is a closeted queer woman in rural Ohio who\u2019s been hosting a public broadcasting show about UFOs and aliens for two years, taking call-ins from the community as she tries to remain a true believer herself despite never having had an actual experience. When a mysterious caller mentions information that Shawn doesn\u2019t remember sharing with even a single person, it sets of a series of escalating events in this sci-fi drama. The production makes excellent use of the space provided, filling the stage with loaded shelves and an over-loaded desk. Callers are cleverly seated among the audience, ringing handheld bicycle bells as they phone in to Shawn\u2019s show. There\u2019s a sense of propulsion to the show in the first half, as the mystery is primarily focused upon the cosmos; but when the drama begins to focus on more terrestrial things, the script wanes. A few exposition-heavy exchanges force the actors to unnaturally shoehorn backstory into their phone conversations and break the conceit of a television show that\u2019s live on the air. Much to their credit, Assaf keeps us wondering, even after bows, if any of the encounters that we hear about were real\u2014many are disproven, but not all. Despite an ending that is a little bit \u201cout there\u201d, THE ONE WHO CALLS is still a fine hour of retro sci-fi for any fan of the genre.<\/p>\n THE ORLANDO FRINGE FESTIVAL is celebrating its 35th anniversary and runs now through May 25. Show tickets (and Fringe Buttons, required for entry) are available at the multiple box offices on site or at the website below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n More on The Orlando Fringe Festival<\/p>\n Reader Reviews<\/p>\n To post a comment, you must register<\/a> and login<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n 2026 Theater Fans’ Choice Awards – Live Stats\n <\/p>\n \n Best New Musical – Top 3\n <\/p>\n \n 1. \n 35.6% of votes\n <\/p>\n \n 2. \n 24.3% of votes\n <\/p>\n \n 3. \n 23.8% of votes\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n BENOIT TEVES is an Orlando-based writer, flight attendant, and pop-culture nerd. Years of working in regional theaters across the country and with entertainment giants like\u00a0Universal Studios have… (read more about this author)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n
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