Epcot’s arts festival to spotlight Broadway exhibit
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts again kicks off the special-event season for Walt Disney World. The daily fest showcases visual, theatrical and culinary arts for theme park visitors.
A new element for the festival is “Once Upon a Stage: Celebrating 30 Years of Disney on Broadway,” a walk-through exhibit in the new CommuiCore Hall in the World Celebration neighborhood of Epcot. It features costumes, set models and behind-the-scenes items from the company’s stage productions.
It is exciting “for us to be able to expand this and introduce more of an audience to our Disney on Broadway community, literally right down there in Orlando, right in front of you,” said Michael James Scott, who was raised in Orange County and currently plays Genie in the Broadway production of “Aladdin.”
Scott has first-hand knowledge about some of the costuming skills that will be seen in the Epcot exhibit.
“I think what people will be surprised about my costume is the detail, the intricate detail that goes into the costumes,” he said. “You know, it is sewn and made within an inch of its life to my body. And when you are up close, you get to see literally every snap, every hook, every little detail that goes into that.”
The “Aladdin” stage looks are built to shine.
“There’s something like 1,500 Swarovski crystals in one of our ensemble male pants for ‘Friend Like Me,’” Scott said.
The exhibit includes costume sketches such as one for an Elsa gown from “Frozen,” masks and puppetry from “The Lion King” and scaled set models.
“It’s so impressive and kind of mind-blowing to see a full little model set of something that comes to life,” Scott said.
“That’s kind of peeling back the curtain and really learning some more about the magic that goes into making a Disney on Broadway show,” he said.
Scott again will participate in the concert series tied to the Epcot festival. His performance dates are Feb. 14, 16, 17, 20 and 23 with Kissy Simmons (“The Lion King”) as well as the special finale on Feb. 24.
As a Floridian, performing Broadway tunes in a theme park is meaningful to Scott, he said.
“It’s an incredible thing to have that experience,” he said. “It’s a very intimate experience in a theater, but at the park, it feels almost even more intimate because we’re not in costume. You know, there’s no glitter. … We’re stripped down to ourselves as artists.”
Additional arts festival highlights:
• The festival and the concert series begins Friday with Patti Murin and John Riddle of “Frozen,” and that duo returns Sunday and Monday, plus four more dates. Saturday features Caissie Levy (“Frozen”) and Jelani Remy (“The Lion King”) as well as six other dates.
Riddle, Remy and Rodney Ingram (“Aladdin”) are festival first-timers.
Show times are 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. daily. The concerts are included with regular Epcot admission.
• A new Artful Photo Op is based on “Moana” and set up the Journey of Water attraction.
• The group paint-by-numbers mural is again between World Showcase and the Imagination Pavilion. (Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.)
• A Figment-based scavenger hunt is available as well as a fresh Figment popcorn bucket. (He’s perched on a balloon filled with rainbow kernels this time.) The purple dragon appears on several festival merchandise items, including mouse ears, crossbody bags, backpacks, pins, T-shirts, gift cards and more.
• There are two new Food Studio kiosks: Opening Bites at CommuniCore Plaza and Fictional Victuals near Refreshment Station. Scattered around the park are 26 new food items and 30 new beverages for purchase. Some choices jumping off the menu are soft-shell crab slider (Opening Bites), charred octopus and squid ink pasta (Fictional Victuals), deviled egg trio and chicken pot pie (Artist’s Table), escargot en chocolat (L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise), citrus-based beet tartare (Gourmet Landscapes) and bubble gum soft serve (Swirled Showcase).
• Epcot International Festival of the Arts runs Jan. 17 through Feb. 24. It will be followed by the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival from March 5 to June 2.
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