In last week's Live Active Cultures, I reflected on the changes in evening entertainment options along the International Drive corridor since I arrived in Central Florida during the mid-1990s. But the evolution of I-Drive pales in comparison to the multiple transformations Orlando's downtown core has seen since the heyday of Bob Snow's Church Street Station and Terror on Church Street. The era when tourists flocked downtown ended almost a quarter-century ago, thanks to Disney's Pleasure Island and Universal's CityWalk, leaving locals to sustain the increasingly unruly nightlife scene. Just in the last few years, we've seen ambitious efforts to elevate Church Street's offerings (such as the Floridabilt and HÄOS) end in tears. Even Hamburger Mary's — a longtime anchor for the LGBTQ+ community, which made headlines for its fight against Florida's anti-drag laws — recently departed for greener pastures in Kissimmee.
Despite the gloom and doom among many downtown denizens — which has only been exacerbated by the city's recently enacted parking restrictions — don't despair just yet, because the arts community is doing its best to inject some life back into Orange Avenue.
The Downtown Development Board and Community Redevelopment Agency recently announced a year-long, $1.36 million initiative in partnership with United Arts of Central Florida, the Downtown Arts District and Creative City Project to activate the area with busking musicians, storefront installations and over 800 pop-up entertainment offerings. Keep an eye out for large-scale artworks on the corner of Orange Avenue and Pine Street, starting with a "Wizard of Oz" inspired archway by Justin "SKIP the Artist" Skipper and Ha'ani Hogan, who was recently named Creative City's External Affairs Director; look for Brendan O'Connor's inflatable pigeons to loom over the same vacant lot later this summer.
The public art push — which will also encompass Heritage Square Park, City Hall, Plaza and Wall Street Plaza — will officially launch June 20 with a supersized Third Thursday event, but it isn't this week's only new artistic draw downtown. Here are two more reasons to overcome the aggravations and spend an evening around Church Street, hopefully without the terror.
Sak Comedy Lab: Early in my Orlando residency, I stumbled across an improv club occupying an abandoned Church Street storefront, and was intrigued because it shared my initials. It turned out that Sak (styled "SAK") was a reference not to "Seth Adam Kubersky," but to the burlap sack this troupe originally carried their props around in while performing at Minnesota Renaissance fairs, before becoming the opening-day entertainment at EPCOT. Since establishing that first downtown venue in 1991, they've relocated multiple times, most recently vacating their home of more than a decade above the former CityArts Factory (which was supposed to become the new Parliament House ... but that's another story). Now, Sak Comedy Lab has settled into their most deluxe digs yet at 55 W. Church St., just a stone's throw from the decrepit spot where they started.
Sak's brand-new 175-seat venue, which hosted its official grand opening June 8, features a theme park-quality lobby (created by Adirondack Studios, Envision Signs and McCree) whose cityscape skyline decor and aged brickwork — enhanced by Bob Kodzis' "mind map" artwork — pays proper homage to the company's past. Inside the theater, stadium seating and state-of-the-art technical equipment makes the Whose Line Is It Anyway?-esque improvised insanity sound and look better than ever before. And although Wayne Brady — a star of that TV show, who is Sak's most famous alumnus — wasn't in attendance for the new space's inaugural performance, the packed house did include original Sak founder Terry Olson, who recently retired from his role as Orange County's first Arts & Cultural Affairs Administrator (a post now held by Vicki Landon) to become FusionFest's "Chief Instigator."
After some emotional remarks from Olson and his Comedy Lab co-founder, Dave Russell, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony that shot streamers into the ceiling (where they'll likely stay dangling for a decade), host Rob Ward and executive director Chris Dinger led an all-star ensemble including Emily Fontano and Robby Pigott through a "Duel of Fools" competition that frequently pushed Sak's famously family-friendly boundaries to their breaking point, with side-splitting results. (sakcomedylab.com)
Location Details
Josephine: Longtime readers will probably recognize Josephine, a Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play, the hit off-Broadway bio-musical about Josephine Baker that was birthed here almost a decade ago. But even if you previously caught it at Orlando Fringe Festival or the Plaza Live, you've never \seen the version that will be staged this Friday through Sunday at the Dr. Phillips Center's Alexis and Jim Pugh Theater. With new costumes, new songs (including "I'm Simply Full of Jazz" from the legendary all-Black musical Shuffle Along) and a live four-piece band, this is the most fleshed-out version yet of this fleshy favorite from director-producer Michael Marinaccio.
The one thing that hasn't changed is Tymisha Harris, who reprises her star-making turn as the iconoclastic entertainer. Harris says, "After eight years of touring the world and over 400 performances, bringing the show home to sold-out crowds at the Dr. Phillips Center is really, really special." (josephinetheplay.com)
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