(Photo from DrPhillipsCenter.org)
ORLANDO | Orlando’s premier pops orchestra and big band, the LCO, will hold its 2nd annual Vaudeville Spectacular at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on July 15, starting at 7:30 p.m.
The LCO is an Orlando-based, 35-piece professional pops orchestra and Big Band and 501c3 organization. The group plays a wide arrange of musical genres at wedding ceremonies, cocktails, theme parks and special events.
Maestro Rick Kissinger will lead the event, which features multiple genres of music and types of media. The show will represent cabaret, burlesque and variety show entertainment showcasing hits from Broadway, pop, Latin, jazz, swing and more. The talented array of performers slated for the show includes vocalists, instrumentalists, a magician, an aerialist and a performance from local drag queen Ms. BJ Stephens.
Ms. BJ Stephens has won several titles in the drag community, including Miss Gay Florida US of A Classic, and Miss Sanford Pride.
Kissinger says he was inspired to put on this show in response to the recent legislative decisions in Florida regarding drag shows, including Senate Bill 1438, which prohibits establishments from admitting a child to an adult live performance.
This bill has been used as a weapon by some Florida lawmakers to deem drag shows inappropriate for children to attend.
“We’re going to do everything we can in our power to let everybody know, ‘We say gay, America,” Kissinger says.
Kissinger also expressed that the goal of this show, which he described as a having political comedy approach, is to gently nudge the audience into thinking about the state’s current political climate.
According to Kissinger, about 35% of the 35-piece chamber pops and orchestra are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
He says he is hopeful that the communities – both LGBTQ+ and fine arts enthusiasts – will come to support the event and help make this show an Orlando tradition. With such a wide variety of genres of music and types of performances, Kissinger says he feels this show fills a niche that other Orlandoan orchestras and fine arts events do not.
“We want to have fun and we want to play music,” Kissinger says. “We want to share arts with everyone. But we also have a message to carry to our community as well.”
Tickets for the Vaudeville Spectacular are starting at $75 and can be purchased here. The event will take place in the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater.
