{"id":92491,"date":"2025-12-22T14:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/92491\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T14:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T14:45:15","slug":"matthew-j-palm-best-of-orlando-theater-2025-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/92491\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew J. Palm: Best of Orlando Theater 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Central Florida theaters, large and small, flourished with creativity during 2025. Throughout December, I\u2019ve been saluting achievements in the various branches of the theatrical arts with a series of online honor rolls (find them at OrlandoSentinel.com\/entertainment<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Now, here is my Critic\u2019s Pick in each category \u2014 for the first time ever, one category has a tie \u2014plus my choices for the year\u2019s Best Comedy, Best Drama and Best Musical as we finish this annual celebration of the most memorable theatrical achievements of 2025.<\/p>\n

CREATIVEBethany Hemmans\u2018For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide\/When the Rainbow Is Enuf\u201d \u2666 Theater West End<\/p>\n

In September: Bethany Hemmans, who also performed as the show\u2019s Lady in Yellow, devised movement for the play that provided a visual element to the deeply personal monologues being shared. Her work beautifully reflected the performers\u2019 palette of emotions, while crucially not distracting from the tales they were telling.<\/p>\n

Bert RodriguezCabaret \u2666 Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In February: Music has never sounded so good in the Shakespeare Center\u2019s Margeson Theater, thanks to Rodriguez and his 9-piece band, with each instrument making its presence felt. The glorious entr\u2019acte was worth the price of admission alone. And the singers brilliantly used the unforgettable Kander and Ebb tunes to add credence to their characters.<\/p>\n

Marco DiGeorge\u2018Birds of North America\u2019 \u2666 Theater on the Edge<\/p>\n

In May: In \u201cBirds of North America,\u201d Marco DiGeorge\u2019s sound design became its own character. There was the literal value to the different chirps and squeaks, reflecting the bird species mentioned in the script. But the birds also reflected the emotions and themes of the story as they sounded warnings, broke the tension or offered reassurance that life goes on.<\/p>\n

Kylee Taylor\u2018Sunday in the Park With George\u2019 \u2666 Central Florida Vocal Arts<\/p>\n

In November: With a stripped-down scenic design for \u201cSunday in the Park With George,\u201d Kylee Taylor\u2019s lighting helped fill in impressionistic details with color and imagination. In a musical about making art, her evocative and often dreamscape lighting design was a work of art in and of itself.<\/p>\n

Daisy McCarthy Tucker\u2018Jerry\u2019s Girls\u2019 \u2666 Winter Park Playhouse<\/p>\n

In August: \u201cDaisy McCarthy Tucker\u2019s costumes deserve their own round of applause,\u201d I wrote in my original review of Winter Park Playhouse\u2019s \u201cJerry\u2019s Girls.\u201d Every time a performer re-entered the stage, it seemed as though she was wearing something else. From glitzy red Dolly dresses to old-timey black-and-white ensembles, from sophisticated evening gowns to silly clown-like garb, to a particularly brilliant ambiguous outfit that let one performer sing a male-female duet to herself.<\/p>\n

Tramaine BerryhillBig Fish \u2666 Theatre at St. Luke\u2019s<\/p>\n

In August: \u201cBig Fish\u201d veers between intimate, realistic scenes to larger-than-life numbers full of theatrical magic. Tramaine Berryhill designed a handsome, multitiered and delightfully surprise-filled set that perfectly handled the many needs of this complicated show with particular beauty.<\/p>\n

PERFORMING\u2018Cabaret\u2019Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In February: The hard-working crew of \u201cCabaret\u201d made all that hoofing look effortless. The performers successfully made it feel like they were old pros at working the Kit Kat Klub, where they provided a crucial segment of setting the scene. And they had to do it all up close and personal with patrons in the VIP seats.<\/p>\n

Rose Lamarre\u2018Calendar Girls\u2019 \u2666 Theater West End<\/p>\n

In January: In a gorgeously heartfelt performance, Rose Lamarre got everything right about her \u201cCalendar Girls\u201d character, a rule-following people pleaser who has been taken advantage of by everyone from her philandering husband to the women\u2019s club leader. It was all there in the way her eyes dropped in shyness or self-doubt, in the quaver in her voice when she dared to step outside the lines she placed around herself and in the sense of freedom when she finally let loose.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Wood\u2018Frozen\u2019 \u2666 The Ensemble Company<\/p>\n

In May: Playing a child killer, Jeremy Wood never forgot to show the audience both a \u201cmonster\u201d and a man. He made Ralph damaged, pitiable, unnerving and revolting, but never in a way that felt like a calculated collection of emotional stage directions. His Ralph was the real deal: Everything from his Scots accent to his volley of cursing to his childhood fantasies felt perfectly natural \u2014 and therefore far more horrifying.<\/p>\n

Adam DelMedico\u2018Jesus Christ Superstar\u2019 \u2666 Theater West End<\/p>\n

In June: Adam DelMedico gave High Priest Caiaphas an ice-cold sneer of triumph so chilling that it\u2019s no wonder he was trusted to set the vibe for the entire show by opening it with the distinctive guitar lick. And the sadistically growling DelMedico kept that self-serving, power-hungry cruelty writ large across his face, until the show\u2019s last moment when he brilliantly let his sneer crack into doubt.<\/p>\n

Keri Hollingsworth\u2018Welcome to Matteson!\u2019 \u2666 Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In March: Keri Hollingsworth stood out in \u201cWelcome to Matteson,\u201d giving her character a bracing no-nonsense attitude and self-assured energy, never condescending to her character\u2019s origins and creating a relationship with fellow actor Walter Riddle that hummed with love and energy.<\/p>\n

Jessica Hamilton\u2018Frozen\u2019 \u2666 The Ensemble Company<\/p>\n

In May: As a grieving mother, Jessica Hamilton did far more than weep for a lost child. In a show where the playwright sets up much of the story as monologues from her characters directly to the audience, Hamilton created a whole world for her character:\u00a0 We could see her sulky other daughter and ineffectual husband with a wandering eye. Hamilton consistently showed us Nancy\u2019s reactions to her family members, making them and her own character more vibrant. In effect, she was beautifully playing multiple roles.<\/p>\n

There are two Critic\u2019s Picks in this category this year.<\/p>\n

Anastasia Remoundos\u2018Cabaret\u2019 \u2666 Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In February: As devil-may-care Sally Bowles, Anastasia Remoundos blazed across the stage, baring her desperate soul at every turn in an electrifying raw performance. Her gutsy \u201cCabaret\u201d 11 o\u2019clock number became the defiant and self-defeatingly triumphant anthem for everyone who has chosen to stay in their own little world, on their own insular path, doing what feels good for themselves, consequences be damned. And underneath the makeup, her ferocity and pain were etched all over her face.<\/p>\n

Dustin Michael Russell\u2018Big Fish\u2019 \u2666 Theatre at St. Luke\u2019s<\/p>\n

In August: It was up to Dustin Michael Russell to bring the larger-than-life elements of \u201cBig Fish\u201d down to intimately human scale. And he did so masterfully and magnificently. Russell aged and de-aged, in voice and posture, before our eyes: Youthfully limber one minute, stooped and slow the next. He made his love for his girlfriend-later-wife both fantastical and oh so heartwarmingly real in a fully committed and deeply engaging performance.<\/p>\n

DIRECTINGRoberta Emerson\u2018Welcome to Matteson!\u2019 \u2666 Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In March: Roberta Emerson had her top-notch actors hit the issues being raised in \u201cWelcome to Matteson!\u201d \u2014 does \u201cmoving up\u201d mean \u201cselling out,\u201d and should we even be using the term \u201cmoving up\u201d \u2014 with just the right amount of emphasis. And she developed fascinating relationships among the play\u2019s four characters while keeping them all grounded in reality without sacrificing laughs.<\/p>\n

Matthew MacDermid\u2018Frozen\u2019 \u2666 The Ensemble Company<\/p>\n

In May: Matthew MacDermid took a play filled with unimaginable real-life horror and unfathomable emotional turmoil and gave it all beautiful clarity with a polished and focused staging. He made monologues seem real as he took audiences on a journey that had them forgetting to breathe.<\/p>\n

Steve MacKinnon\u2018Cabaret\u2019 \u2666 Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In February: Director Steve MacKinnon balanced the seriousness and frivolity of Orlando Shakes\u2019 \u201cCabaret\u201d with a sure and steady hand. Every movement, every beautiful piece of theatrical imagery felt like a warning to the audience; even in its most lighthearted moments, the production thrillingly hummed with an encroaching darkness just under the surface. This was theater at its most urgent and most gripping.<\/p>\n

TOP PRODUCTIONS\u2018Welcome to Matteson!\u2019Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In March, I wrote: The well-acted and consistently engrossing \u201cWelcome to Matteson!\u201d has both the couples and the dinner to provide plenty of food for thought about the state of America today. Frankly, it\u2019s not a pretty picture. \u2026 Both the director and the actors do excellent work in keeping these characters real, even as they occasionally behave in ways it\u2019s hard to imagine at such a gathering. Their actions might shock, which provides the dark humor, but at the core, these characters seem completely believable. They could be our neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u2018Frozen\u2019The Ensemble Company<\/p>\n

In May, I wrote: In a sterling production, \u201cFrozen\u201d tells a story so compelling you might find yourself forgetting to breathe. And while it has you in its grasp with its gripping tale of a murdered child, a grieving mother, a dogged but tortured criminal psychiatrist and a serial killer, \u201cFrozen\u201d is saying something profound about what it means to be human \u2014 both weak and strong. \u2026 This fascinating and thought-provoking play dwells on the human brain but explores the human heart as it reaches straight into a theatergoer\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n

\u2018Cabaret\u2019Orlando Shakes<\/p>\n

In February, I wrote: The show wants to rattle your cage, to leer and sneer and dare you out of complacency. It\u2019s a five-alarm warning about disengaging from politics and avoiding reality, whether welcome or not. \u2026 All of these potent moments ring true for Orlando Shakes \u2026 With its overall messaging and look, Orlando Shakes has outdone the latest buzzy but gimmicky New York revival.<\/p>\n

Follow me at facebook.com\/matthew.j.palm<\/a> or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. Find entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com\/entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Central Florida theaters, large and small, flourished with creativity during 2025. Throughout December, I\u2019ve been saluting achievements in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[49528,147,49532,49531,49530,49527,49526,139,141,140,49529],"class_list":["post-92491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-best-comedy","tag-central-florida","tag-costume-design","tag-dustin-michael-russell","tag-jeremy-wood","tag-jessica-hamilton","tag-lighting-design","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-theatrical-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}