For almost 20 years, small but steadfast Orlando company Playwrights Round Table has remained devoted to the cultivation and development of original plays. Their current expression of this ambition is through a series of short plays selected to honor this year’s observance of “Juneteenth,” the “freedom anniversary” celebrated to commemorate the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States.
All six plays featured were written by Black playwrights, and the majority also focus on Black characters, either as made explicit in the text or as cast intentionally in this production. For instance, the script of light-hearted opening play Performance Review specifies neither a particular ethnicity nor a particular gender for any of its three characters.
Here, however, central character Jess is portrayed by Black actress Arion Allen and her pretentious ex Kai by white actor Benjamin Mainville. And when this Kai confronts this Jess years after their breakup with a passive-aggressive list of grievances about her behavior, the implication becomes one of undeserved space sought.
But the following play was even more engaging: a speculative piece set in a dystopian future and fittingly entitled Washed Away. The name refers to the fate of the main character Ezekiel’s native homeland of Louisiana, ravaged by a series of natural disasters presumably caused by climate change left unchecked.
We meet this refugee as he comes ashore in the office of sensitive relocation counselor Rebecca, whose own traumatic history as a displaced person slowly comes to light over the course of the narrative. Actors Stelson Telfort and Kelli Winans give some of the night’s strongest performances in the two roles. Telfort visibly cycles through several stages of grief as his character struggles to make sense of unimaginable loss, and you can glimpse the cracks in Winans’ measured bureaucratic front far before the story makes them explicit. For me, the piece packed a visceral punch that at moments had me close to tears.
Mercifully, the following play Same Script, Different Cast wasn’t nearly so hard to swallow, cloaking its own emotional core under a surface layer of situational comedy. Basically, it’s the confrontation that ensues when Jack’s longtime boyfriend Reginald crosses paths with Jack’s hot young lover Darren—though to boil it down to that glosses over all the wonderful wit and specificity that sets this selection apart. Actors Isaiah Entzminger and John Willoughby settle into a snappy back and forth that makes for a delicious denouement for the event’s first act.
After intermission, Juneteenth starts back up at full speed with Another Wheel To Get Behind. In this drama, a divorced couple reckon with the wreckage of their relationship and its devastating impact on their teenage daughter. As the dysfunctional duo in question, actors Joshua Lee Fulmer as Jesse and Skyler Izquierdo as Chris create a tense, layered dynamic between their respective characters. The revelations surprise without seeming to come out of nowhere, sometimes devastating the audience as well.
Afterward, though, we’re afforded another breather. Though Bella Napoli addresses prejudice more directly than PRT’s other Juneteenth selections, its whimsical tone largely sidesteps any grittier implications despite the play’s 1930s setting. What we end up with is a winning meet-cute between two delightful quirky characters, who discover a shared passion for science that transcends their differing backgrounds.
Willoughby returns as the eccentric and egg-headed Dr. Just, distinguishing the character from his last with smart physical touches like constantly fidgeting fingers. He’s well-matched by Megan Mikulaninec as headstrong heroine Hedwig, an unconventional woman who has no qualms about pursuing an unconventional romance.
Last but not least, you’ll have far more fun at The Funeral than suggested by its morose title. This play is no grim affair but a lively game of theatrical telephone, following the gossipy back and forth of five women as they reconstruct a hilarious series of events that only one of them witnessed some of firsthand.
Loraine O’Connell as Hattie and Lynne Edinger as Dorothy set the tone for the piece in hilarious bookend conversations. And Natasha Zephyr as Viola, Vanessa Watson as Thelma, and Arion Allen as Connie keep the energy high and the laughs constant throughout with their colorful characterizations.
It’s a fiercely funny finale for a pleasantly eclectic patchwork of short plays that succeeded in wowing me several times over the course of a less-than-two-hour run time. These Juneteenth selections will be playing for only one more weekend at PRT’s temporary playing space of the Imagine Performing Arts Center—which is conveniently located in the Oviedo Mall for any prospective theatregoers who might fancy a pre or post-show shopping spree. Whether or not you have time for a pit stop at the food court, these plays will offer plenty of food for thought!
TICKETS AND SHOWTIMES:
Friday, June 27th at 8 PM
Saturday, June 28th at 8 PM
Sunday, June 29th at 3 PM
Located at Imagine Performing Arts Center at 1220 Oviedo Mall Blvd. Oviedo, FL 32765.
Tickets can be purchased here and are priced as follows:
$20 General Admission
$15 Senior/Student
$10 Theme Park Workers
FULL CAST/CREDIT LIST FOR JUNETEENTH 2025:
PERFORMANCE REVIEW
by Taylor Leigh Lamb
directed by Chuck Dent
JESS: Arion Allen
KAI: Benjamin Mainville, NIC: Jessie Ehrenberg
WASHED AWAY
by Ellis Clay
directed by Avis-Marie Barnes
REBECCA: Kelli Winans, EZEKIEL: Stelson Telfort
SAME SCRIPT, DIFFERENT CAST
by Adrian Crawford
directed by Chuck Dent
REGINALD: Isaiah Entzminger, DARREN: John Willoughby
ANOTHER WHEEL TO GET BEHIND
by Demmarie Boreland
directed by Alexia Fernandez
JESSE: Joshua Lee Fulmer
CHRIS: Skyler Izquierdo, RORY: Harrison Ensler
BELLA NAPOLI
by Steve Gold
directed by Nikki Marrow
DR JUST: John Willoughby, HEDWIG: Megan Mikulaninec
THE FUNERAL
by Lillie Evans and Crystal Rhodes
directed by Isaiah Entzminger
HATTIE: Loraine O’Connell, THELMA: Vanessa Watson
DOROTHY: Lynne Edinger, VIOLA: Natasha Zephyr
CONNIE: Arion Allen
PRODUCTION CREW:
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR……Avis-Marie Barnes
TECH DIRECTOR/SOUND AND LIGHT….Aaron Babcock
RUN CREW……Ben Mainville, Avis-Marie Barnes
EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR…..Chuck Dent