January 2024 turns out to be an excellent time to appreciate world-renowned artists and beautiful new productions as we continue the joys of the recent Holiday Season.   

Jan 3 to 7 
The Dr Phillips Center presents
Disney’s Aladdin 
Discover a whole new world at Disney’s ALADDIN -- the hit Broadway musical in a thrilling new production filled with beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle -- a theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes change lives forever. “Fabulous” and “Extravagant,” says the New York Times. See why audiences and critics agree, ALADDIN is “Exactly What You Wish For!" (NBC-TV)

Jan 6 at 2 pm 
Classical Arts Entertainment, Inc. Presents
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The fairy tale Ballet 
The favorite fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs comes to life in dance and staging by the State Ballet Theater of Ukraine.  A story about love, friendship, witchcraft, and the eternal struggle between good and evil is an excellent opportunity to introduce children to the art of classical ballet. 

Jan 7 at 7 pm
Chazz Palminteri in
“A Bronx Tale” – a One-Man Show 
Bronx-born and raised Chazz Palminteri wrote A Bronx Tale in 1988. The powerful one-man stage play depicted his bruising childhood which included witnessing a gangland killing when he was nine years old. DeNiro gave Palminteri the chance he was waiting for… And as they say in Hollywood, the rest is history. 

Jan 9 to 14 (various times)  
The Miss America Scholarship Organization Presents
Miss America & Miss America's Teen “Bringing Back the Magic”
Experience several evenings of entertainment and inspiration at the 2024 Miss America & Miss America’s Teen competitions. With glamour, poise, and intellect, 51 state delegates will vie for the crown. Which of America's young trailblazers will claim the title and embark on a year of advocacy and philanthropy as the brand ambassador for the most iconic female brand in the history of the United States?

Jan 13 and Jan 14  
The Orlando Philharmonic presents  
Eric Jacobsen, conductor with Sterling Elliott, cello
RAVEL – La valse
JOHN CORIGLIANO – Phantasmagoria, as commissioned by the Orlando Philharmonic; world premiere), RAVEL’s homage to Johann Strauss, Jr., and RACHMANINOF’s Symphonic Dances, his last—and many say his greatest—work.  

Jan 19 to Feb 17
The Winter Park Playhouse 
“Breaking Up is Hard to Do” -- The Music of Neil Sedaka
This nostalgic musical comedy celebrates the songwriting magic of Neil Sedaka! Set in a Catskills resort in 1960, this heartwarming musical follows two friends from Brooklyn in search of good times over one Labor Day weekend. Featuring twenty of Sedaka's most popular songs including "Where the Boys Are," "Sweet Sixteen," "Calendar Girl," "Love Will Keep Us Together,” the chart-topping title song, and more …  Visit winterparkplayhouse.org or call 407.645.0145

Jan 19 to 23
Presented by Orlando Family Stage
Charlotte’s Web
Charlotte's Web is based on E.B. White's loving story of the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a little gray spider named Charlotte. Wilbur has a problem: how to avoid winding up as a pork chop! Charlotte creates a "miracle” and weaves a solution which not only makes Wilbur a prize pig, but ensures his place on the farm forever. Featuring comedy and bravery, the play presents the meaning of realfriendship. Visit orlandofamilystage.com or call 407.896.7365

Jan 20 at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Orlando Philharmonic Presents “Prohibition”
Chelsea Gallo, conductor
The Music of Moulin Rouge, Boardwalk Empire, and More! One extraordinary concert takes its audience on a decadent musical evening to the cabarets and speakeasies of New York, Paris, Berlin, and Atlantic City, reliving the 1920s in all its decadence. With the magical music from the decade of Rudy Vallée,  Josephine Baker, and Kurt Weil, the top hits of the decade are arranged for orchestra and accompanied by haunting imagery from the period.

Jan 26 & 28
Opera Orlando presents Frida
Celebrated in Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s operatic celebration of the artist Frida Kahlo, the retelling of Frida’s life reveals a dynamic woman in love with Mexican folklore, culture and life. Rodríguez’s score is written for chamber orchestra, mariachi orchestrations, and classical opera. Argentinian maestro Jorge Parodi conducts as Opera Orlando welcomes back Mexican-American soprano Cecilia Violetta López to sing the title role.

January 26 to 28 
The Fellowship of the Ring
Live in Concert with the Bach Festival Choir, Orchestra and Youth Choir
Composer Howard Shore brings J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary imagination to life before your eyes with his Academy®- and Grammy® Award-winning score to The Lord of the Rings. Drawn from centuries of musical styles, instruments and performers, the music sometimes combine forces – and other times violently clashes -- always bending to the magic of the Ring.   

Jan 30 and 31
Dr. Phillips Center Presents
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-legendary performance in 1958.  Led by Mr. Ailey and a group of young modern dancers, that performance changed forever the world of American dance. The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries. The Company continues Mr. Ailey's mission by presenting iconic works of the past and commissioning new ones. 

February 4
The Dr. Phillips Center proudly presents
The Cleveland Orchestra with Karina Canellakis, Conductor
Seong-Jin Cho, Piano
CHOPIN — Piano Concerto No. 2
RACHMANINOF — Symphonic Dances
The Dr. Phillips Center is honored to present an encore performance by The Cleveland Orchestra recently proclaimed, “the best orchestra in the world.” The Orchestra's pursuit of  brilliance brought last season’s Steinmetz Hall audience to their feet for numerous standing ovations. As much as Orlando fell in love with the Orchestra, the Orchestra and its members fell equally in love with Steinmetz Hall and our audience.

Visit drphilliipsscenter.org or call 844.513.2014 unless otherwise indicated.   

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators