Orlando Shakes, Central Florida’s largest professional theater, opens its 33rd season on September 22nd, with its first on-site production in more than a year-and-a-half. With help from a live audience, Every Brilliant Thing running from September 22-October 16 — tells the uplifting story about a daughter, her parents, her spouse, depression, resilience, and the lengths we will go to for those we love. “This is an amazing show that will have you laughing, thinking, and remembering all the brilliant things that there are in the world,” said director Anne Hering.
Orlando’s Suzanne O’Donnell stars as the story’s narrator. A fixture in Central Florida’s arts scene, the veteran actor has performed with Orlando Shakes since 1993, when she played Rosalind in As You Like It and Adriana in The Comedy of Errors. Since then, she has acted in numerous Shakespeare plays, while also giving life to characters in many new productions at Orlando Shakes. A member of the Actors’ Equity Association, O’Donnell has also performed with prominent regional theaters throughout the country.
In Every Brilliant Thing, O’Donnell just might face her most unique setting as a professional actor. The story, while mostly scripted, is told in collaboration with the live audience. Which, at a moment’s notice, challenges the performer’s comedic and dramatic improvisational skills as she and the audience tell the story together.
Every Brilliant Thing is presented by AdventHealth. Join the cast, along with AdventHealth, for the cast post-show talk on October 10 at 4 p.m. Orlando Shakes will continue to follow CDC, local and federal government, and the Actors’ Equity Association [professional union for actors and stage managers] guidelines regarding safety protocols throughout the season and will communicate any changes through our website. We are also providing a special section in the upper mezzanine for patrons who wish to be distanced from other parties.
History of Orlando Shakes – Humble Beginnings
Orlando Shakespeare Theater finds its humble beginnings in the early 1970s. UCF Professor Stuart Omans and his students traveled to local high schools to perform scenes from Shakespeare. Dr. Omans’ efforts caught the attention of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which gifted UCF a grant for the Teacher Training Institute. In 1975, Dr. Omans organized a teacher-produced production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Loch Haven’s Civic Center. With a turnout of thousands, extra performances had to be added to accommodate demand. Four years later, UCF received its second NEH grant of $150,000 to produce Hamlet: The Renaissance Mind.
