WINTER PARK — High school sisters Zoey and Paige are looking forward to summer break, since it gives them an opportunity to fly out to Seattle to visit their mom. Dad drives them to the airport, gives them spending money and wishes them the best, and the sisters are ready for their homecoming.
But is mom, a hyperactive marketing exec with a boss who seems to poo-poo everything she does, ready to … well, be a mom again, rather than a career professional?
Finding Our Way Back is a new musical in development, and its creators, playwright Koryn Orcutt and fellow composer Michael Nutting, had an exciting moment on Thursday, when the first act of their production got a premiere reading at the 8th annual Florida Festival of New Musicals. With an exceptional cast juggling 10 roles in this episodic drama, the play did exactly what the Festival was designed to do: give the playwrights feedback from a live audience — in this case a sold out audience at the Winter Park Playhouse, which founded this unique festival.
Finding Our Way Back is one of six new musicals making its debut at the Festival, which is being held today through Sunday at the Playhouse, 711 N. Orange Ave. in Winter Park.
What is the Musical Finding Our Way Back?
Ovcutt’s story is about a family that has love, but struggles to overcome their many challenges. Zoey is the more outspoken of the two sisters, while Paige is hiding some dark secrets from everyone. When they arrive in Seattle, their mom Edna is promising them a grand tour of the city where they can explore it as a family … but that’s not quite what happens. It soon becomes clear that Edna is a workaholic, which may be why the girls live with their dad. Edna cancels their first day together when a big work project falls in her lap, and when she finally takes the girls to the ballet, Zoey is angry because mom spends most of the afternoon on her phone dodging work calls.
And Edna is just as frustrated, because as she tries to explain, she had a life before becoming a mom — and that career is still very much a key part of her.
Meanwhile Paige, looking more withdrawn, starts a sad downfall.
An intimate and warm-hearted look at how families both bond and fall into hopelessly messy emotional traps, the show has some standout songs and got an excellent reading from a first rate cast. Emily Bagnolati-Camargo (Zoey), Victoria Crichton (Paige), and Lauren Muller (Edna) did an exceptional job of turning their characters — people that are so easy to relate to — into fully flesh and blood people. Jaidyn Richardson has one of the musical’s best, most uplifting songs as Darrian, a friend of the two sisters who winds up giving them their first tour of Seattle.
As is often the case at the Festival, it’s easy to see why the Playhouse selected this play to be performed there.
What is the Schedule For The Festival Of New Musicals?
Tickets are the readings are $10 each. There is a 15-minute talk-back session at the end of each show, which typically runs for between 45 minutes to an hour.
The upcoming schedule for the festival is:
- Friday, 11 a.m.: Taking Off!
- Friday, 1 p.m.: Spirit of the Game: The Ultimate Musical
- Friday, 3 p.m.: Place To Stay
- Friday, 5 p.m.: Speakerheart
- Friday, 7 p.m. Finding Our Way Back
- Saturday, 11 a.m.: Ink And paint
- Saturday, 1 p.m.: Speakerheart
- Saturday, 3 p.m.: Spirit Of The Game
- Saturday, 5 p.m.: Taking Off!
- Saturday, 7 p.m.: Place To Stay
- Sunday, 11 a.m.: Finding Our Way back
- Sunday, 1 p.m.: Ink And Paint
- Sunday, 3 p.m.: Speakerheart
Tickets are all six shows are $50. To learn more, call the Playhouse at 407-645-0145.
What is the Festival Of New Musicals?
The Florida Florida Festival of New Musicals was first launched in 2017, created to advance and elevate the original American art form of musical theater by fostering the development of new musicals. The Playhouse, which frequently brings in brand new musicals making their Central Florida debut, also aims to boost the artistic growth of theater writers and composers.
This four-day event showcase six new musicals currently in the development stage. The Festival also enables the writers and composers to get exposure to not only the public, but the news media and to regional theater producers and directors.
A one-hour version of each chosen musical gets fully read and sung concert-style, without staging, by professional actors and musicians.
Each year, national and international writers and composers submit their musicals, which get reviewed by a professional panel that selects the six final productions to be featured in the festival.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright and author of the terrifying book “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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