Local entertainment options are as bountiful as the horn of plenty for the month of November. From the first season performance by the area’s pride and joy – the Flagler Youth Orchestra – to performance by local thespians, those seeking a bit of culture without having to drive too far are in luck.
Flagler Youth Orchestra
The Flagler Youth Orchestra takes the stage at the Flagler Auditorium on Wed., Nov. 17 at 7 PM. for its first concert of the 2021-22 season.
The orchestra is comprised of Flagler County students ages eight and older who come from either homeschool or private or public schools. Enrollment and participation is at no cost to the students; the Flagler County Public School system in conjunction with the Friends of the Flagler Youth Orchestra pay for the orchestra expenses. Student musicians select from among these four instruments — cello, double bass, viola or violin — to play in the orchestra and participate in twice weekly practices. Students must audition to participate, but beginners are welcome.
The orchestra is conducted by Joe Corporon, who is also the youth orchestra’s chief cello instructor as well as a principal cellist, frequent soloist and founding member of the Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra.
The anticipated playlist for the concert includes selections from Pachelbel and Saint-Saëns.
Tickets are available online at www.etix.com. Cost is $3 for students and $8 for adults. Fair warning: Don’t wait to get your tickets.
“Definitely get your tickets ahead of time if you plan to come,” said Amelia Fulmer, director of the Flagler Auditorium Dennis Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center, regarding the 1,000 seats available. “This is a popular event. Tickets go fast and they will certainly sell out.”
The auditorium is located on the campus of Flagler Palm Coast High School at 5500 East Highway 100 in Palm Coast.
Learn more about the youth orchestra online at: www.flagleryouthorchestra.org.
Flagler Playhouse
Music lovers get the opportunity to rejoice and perhaps even hum along as the creative folks at the Flagler Playhouse in Bunnell present, “The World Goes Round: The Songs of Kander and Ebb,” November 4-14.
The original Broadway production of this musical earned three Drama Desk Awards as its writers — several of whom are previous Tony Award winners – intentionally worked some drama, humor, and romance into the plot of the musical documenting the fictional lives of five characters as they try to navigate their lives filled with babies, coffee, and love.
This musical borrows hits from other Broadway shows – especially “Cabaret” and “Chicago.” Selections in the FP version include: “Mr. Cellophane,” “Maybe This Time,” “Cabaret” and “New York, New York.”
But don’t expect those tunes to sound exactly as they did in their original formats.
“The really cool thing about this musical (The World Goes Round) is that these well-known songs are done completely different,” explained Jerri Berry, president of the Flagler Playhouse. “They won’t sound the same, but that is what makes it even more fun.”
Tickets are available online at: www.tix.com/ticket-sales/flaglerplayhouse. Cost is $20-$25. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM. and on Sunday at 2 PM.
The Flagler Playhouse is located at 301 E. Moody Blvd in Bunnell. You can learn more at: www.flaglerplayhouse.com.
City Repertory Theatre
Technically, this production isn’t in November, but we thought we’d mention it now before all that tryptophan in your Thanksgiving dinner puts you in a turkey coma.
“Blithe Spirit” has a short run at the CRT Dec. 2 through Dec. 5.
This comedy written by Noel Coward might make you think twice about contacting the dead.
The lead male character, Charles Condomine, invites an eccentric medium and clairvoyant character, Madame Arcati, to his home for the purpose of conducting a séance as part of his research for a book he is writing. His plan backfires when the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, shows up and doesn’t return to the spirit world after the séance is completed. Elvira makes repeated efforts to disrupt Charles and his second wife, Ruth, while making herself comfortable in their home. Ruth cannot see or hear Elvira and at first does not believe her husband that his first wife is haunting their home.
To avoid any spoilers, we aren’t going to tell you anymore of the plot except to say that Elvira comes up with a rather unique way to make her presence known, or um, to get Ruth to believe she is indeed inside the home. We won’t tell you who, but there is another death, revenge is sought, and the medium has to come back on scene in an effort to set things right.
Of course, if you really want to know ahead of show time, the plot is available on several websites.
But why do that to yourself and spoil the surprise if you don’t already know the specifics before attending the show.
Who knows… perhaps the actor playing Condomine will end the show with Coward’s signature move for his lead character? In many of Coward’s other plays, the last action he writes for the lead is a deliberate tiptoeing off stage as the curtain falls.
Tickets are available at: www.crtpalmcoast.com. Click on the green button with the white lettering, “Get Tickets.”
Performances are upstairs at the City Marketplace located at 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B207 in Palm Coast.
—Amy Armstrong