Orlando Family Stage Review: Affordable Fun for All
Located at Loch Haven Park’s cultural epicenter, the Orlando Family Stage focuses on Central Florida’s children with performances for families, workshops, and classes for kids and so much more. It’s one of our favorite affordable things to do for kids.
This wonderful venue put on a witty show that caught my eye recently (a brief review below), and my daughter and I are now hooked. I’ll be looking to spend time here much more often! Read on to learn more about this charming addition to the Central Florida arts scene and their offerings.
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About the Orlando Family Stage
Their mission, as part of the United Arts Collaborative Campaign for the Arts, is to bring art closer than ever before to the families and kids who are your neighbors.
Providing accessible arts for youth, this “theater in the round”, if you will, creates a performance venue targeted specifically for children. The stage is surrounded by a horseshoe of seating options, providing wonderful viewpoints for anyone in the audience.
Programs and Offerings
At Orlando Family Stage, in addition to live performances for kids, they also offer workshops, school field trip shows, and interactive baby & me time for parents, grandparents or caregivers to enjoy with their 0-24 month old children.
Their story strolls are similarly engaging events allocated for parents and caregivers of 2-3 year olds, where a stroll through Loch Haven Park is in order.
Their youth academy offers camps and classes for children, sorted on their website by grade level. These performance workshops are great for budding actors, actresses and little kids who just love the theater.
A Show Review
When I went to the production of “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”, my daughter and I were blown away by the production value. The humor and even the more intense scenes were gauged just right for all audiences to enjoy, not to mention their stage action was very impressive! My daughter is still trying to figure out how Percy, played by a captivating Jose Rivera, was able to click his magic pen onstage and turn it into a sword in the blink of an eye. She’s four, and although I understand the concept of the slight of hand, my brain also still can’t figure out how they pulled it off – I guess I was too busy looking at the minotaur on set.
Meanwhile, other things to take note of for this and other shows is the run time was a comfortable 75 minutes, with no intermission to distract the kiddos away. Age scales indicate who the play is best suited for (this was ages 9 and up), but my well-versed in the Percy Jackson movies 4 year old girl just loved every minute of it. I could see the emotions all over her face at every scene.
The entire cast, composed of only six adult actors, was phenomenal, and that’s not gauging them on a scale of what you may expect from a children’s performance. Many of them wore several character hats in the show, too – brilliantly executed!
The staff were all courteous and knew how to deal with children and all their chaos, and we really enjoyed the cute themed snack bag they put together for the event. Around the theater lobby were options for buying Percy Jackson books and apparel, and they truly created a memorable theater experience for the children.
Bravo to the team at Orlando Family Stage for this one, they’ve definitely found a repeat visitor out of my family.
How You Can Contribute
If the arts are important to you, there are many ways that you can help to support their campaign. Ticket sales are an obvious boost, however, they also run numerous fundraising events throughout the year.
Visit their donations page for more information on donation levels and their matching program, or consider volunteering your time to the organization.
If You Go
Upcoming Performances and More
Go to OrlandoFamilyStage.com for details on upcoming performances and events.
Now Playing & Upcoming Shows
- The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition: July 19 – 28, 2024
- P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical: September 3 – 22, 2024
- Theatre for the Very Young: Yo, Ho, Ho! Let’s Go!: September 25 – October 20, 2024
- Junie B. Jones in BOO… and I Mean It!: September 30 – November 1, 2024
- Pip-Squeak: An Anti-Bullying Magic Show: October 15 – 18, 2024
- A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage: November 11 – December 29, 2024
- Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation: Girls in the Boat: November 14 – 15, 2024
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical: December 6 – 8, 2024
- Dragons Love Tacos: The Musical: February 3 – March 9, 2025
- Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation: Rosaline Wrecked It All: March 6 – 7, 2025
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical: March 10 – April 20, 2025
- Theatre for the Very Young: Dinosaur Dance Party: April 12, May 9, 2025
- Cyrano de Burger Shack: May 2 – 4, 2025
Tickets can be purchased online or same day in the box office. The Orlando Family Stage is also a participant in the Orange County Library System’s Local Wanderer program, providing FREE tickets and admission for Orange County Library cardholders.
Further discounts are available for seniors, educators, and more. Learn about these discounts by visiting the Orlando Family Stage website.
Box Office Information
407-896-7365
boxoffice@orlandofamilystage.com
1001 E. Princeton St. Orlando, FL 32803
