Very Orlando Gift Guide: Ticket deals, artsy experiences, bag, puzzle
Looking for a holiday gift for the arts lover in your life?
New merchandise at the Morse Museum of American Art gift shop commemorates the 25th anniversary of the famed Tiffany Chapel going on view at the Winter Park institution.
The beautiful chapel was created by glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1893, designed to last six months at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. But more than a century later it’s still wowing visitors at the Morse. As part of the museum’s celebration, the chapel has been reunited with a Tiffany mosaic, titled “Fathers of the Church,” for the first time since that 1893 expo. “Fathers of the Church” is now on a long-term loan to the Morse from The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in Queens, New York.
New gift-shop items celebrate both works of art.
The design of a happy-hour bag ($72) is inspired by details from the tabernacle door on the altar of the Tiffany Chapel and was made especially for the museum. Its features include an inner pocket to store small items and a shoulder strap.
Puzzle lovers can assemble their own “Fathers of the Church” at home. The 1,000 pieces create the work of art, featuring St. Chrysostom (from left), St. Augustine and St. Ambrose in a finished size of 19.25-by-26.625 inches.
A celebration for 25 years of Central Florida’s ‘miracle’ Tiffany chapel
The pieces are stored in a cotton bag inside a magnetic box that can become its own keepsake once the puzzle is finished. The kit ($26.95) comes with a squeegee and is packed with puzzle glue to create a permanent work of art suitable for framing.
Other frameable artwork can be found at the Orlando Museum of Art, in celebration of its current exhibitions. Various posters will go over big with those who like exclusives because they are all limited edition.
One line of brightly colored posters, blazing in yellow, pink, blue and green, will light up any room. The silk-screen prints, limited to 50 each, are designed by Michael Worthington, curator of the museum’s current “Torn Apart” exhibition of punk and New Wave graphics, fashion and culture. The prints measure 22.5-by-29.5 inches and cost $100 each.
Other special posters available include a 16-by-20-inch commemoration of noted skateboard photographer J. Grant Brittain’s first museum retrospective, “Push.” It features a black-and-white archival photo and costs $50.
But the most exclusive is an 18-by-24-inch poster, with a photo overlaid with shades of aqua and lime, that is signed by both Brittain and skateboard legend Tony Hawk, Brittain’s longtime friend and collaborator and the subject of the photo. Hawk’s signature makes the poster especially valuable, said Shelly Strazis, director of sales for the museum.
“It’s very rare to get Tony to sign anything,” she said. The poster edition is limited to 100 and costs $175.
Finally, an arts lover always appreciates the gift of an experience, whether a night at the theater or the opera. Here’s a sampling of the deals that can put the perfect ticket in someone’s stocking.
Orlando Shakes is offering two tickets to its production of “A Christmas Carol” for $79. The deal is good through Dec. 2 or as long as supplies last. Call 407-447-1700 or go to orlandoshakes.org/show/christmas-carol-2024 and use promo code XMAS24. The show runs through Dec. 22.
Orlando Family Stage is offering yearlong memberships, which give recipients discounts on performances, camps, classes, concessions and more. There also are other perks, including booking tickets before they go on sale to the general public and no-fee exchanges. There’s a special membership for grandparents ($100) and levels for family memberships from $50 to $125.
You could buy yourself a membership and then use your perks to buy discount tickets to the world-premiere production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” running at Orlando Family Stage through Dec. 29. Get more information at orlandofamilystage.com/memberships or call 407-896-7365.
Winter Park Playhouse will offer a “holiday flash sale” for ticket packages Dec. 5-7. Pay $99 for three tickets that are good in any combination for any shows staged January-June 2025. Call the box office at 407-645-0145 and use the code JOY. The Playhouse will also issue a gift certificate to wrap as a gift. Upcoming shows include: “The Bikinis” (Jan. 24-Feb. 22), with a focus on 1960s girl-group hits; “Gigolo” (March 14-April 12), the tale of jet-setting playboy set to Cole Porter tunes; and “Route 66” (May 9-June 8), a celebration of road-trip music of the 1950s and ’60s.
Opera Orlando will offer 25% off tickets to its productions of “Four Lost Santas & Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “Cendrillon” (the French title for “Cinderella”) from Nov. 29 through Dec. 1. “Four Lost Santas” is a world-premiere comic prologue to the touching Nativity story of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” and the double bill will be presented Dec. 6-8 in the Pugh Theater of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando. “Cendrillon,” based on the lost-shoe fairy tale, will be staged Feb. 7-9 in the arts center’s Steinmetz Hall. Take advantage of the deal by booking at drphillipscenter.org.
Theater West End in Sanford will feature a gift guide on its website throughout the holiday season, with rotating special offers on tickets and gift cards. The theater also will offer 20% off 2025 season subscriptions and individual tickets from Nov. 29 through Dec. 1. Upcoming shows at the theater include the comedies “Calendar Girls” and “Sordid Lives” and popular musicals “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Next to Normal” and “Rock of Ages.” For more details, go to theaterwestend.com/holidays.
More holiday gift ideas await you here: orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/holiday-gift-guide
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