<\/p>\n
Summer is over, which means it\u2019s time for the Halloween classic \u201cHocus Pocus<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s Summer Orlando<\/a> we\u2019re talking about, not the season, and in this case \u201cover\u201d means she will be flying overhead for some performances of her sassy, accessible, fun-for-everyone live parody tribute \u201cHocus Pocus Live!<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n The actress, theater producer and drag artist\u2019s largely original show honoring the classic Walt Disney live action witch movie \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d has been extending its reach over the past few years. That means more shows but also grander production values. At this year\u2019s final weekend of performances on Nov. 1 and 2, Orlando flies above the stage in her outlandish costume as Winifred Sanderson.<\/p>\n Drag artists embodying the characters from \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d is not new, Orlando acknowledged, \u201cbut my show is different from most of them.\u201d For one thing, her full-length \u201cHocus Pocus Live!\u201d events are family-friendly. \u201cIt\u2019s accessible to all age groups, including kids.\u201d<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t even consider them drag shows, since over time it has become \u201cmore of a theater experience. I don\u2019t bill this as a drag show. We are character lookalikes and professional witches. When we\u2019re doing it we always stay in character.\u201d<\/p>\n This year there are three locations to catch \u201cHocus Pocus Live!\u201d in Connecticut: Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre<\/a> in Torrington, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at Waterbury Palace<\/a> and Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center<\/a> in New London. Orlando also does different, smaller shows with \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d hijinks, including the cabaret-style \u201cHocus Pocus I Need Wine to Focus\u201d on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Aquila\u2019s Nest Vineyards<\/a> in Newtown and the drag brunch \u201cJust a Brunch of Hocus Pocus\u201d on Oct. 12 at 11 p.m. at the Carousel Museum<\/a> in Bristol.<\/p>\n Orlando has been doing \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d-focused entertainments since 2013, when she staged a 13-minute \u201clittle skit in a gay bar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a traditional drag show-style performance, lip-synching to scenes and songs. It was very well received. Years later I developed it more, and did it at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire for 5,000 people. Everything was now performed and sung live. Then I developed it further until it was an hour long. Now it has become a large-scale 90-minute event with a cast of 10,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the longest version of the story, plus we created new parody songs from all genres, with a \u2018Hocus Pocus\u2019 twists,\u201d Orlando said. Some versions involved improvisation, but for this year \u201cwe\u2019ve written a very strong book,\u201d though there are interactive moments when the cast ventures out into the audience. The audience also gets to take part in a Sanderson Sister costume contest during intermissions.<\/p>\n One aspect of the show where nothing is left to chance? \u201cI learned to fly in it for the first time last year. It\u2019s amazing to watch, but as the person flying, it is extremely uncomfortable,\u201d Orlando said.<\/p>\n She feels the live show \u201creally took off when I got a phone call from Disney that they knew about the show.\u201d That connection landed Orlando a role, replete in her Winifred drag, in \u201cHocus Pocus 2,\u201d the 2022 sequel that was made nearly 30 years after the original film. She describes the days of filming alongside Midler, Najimy and Parker in Newport, Rhode Island as \u201ca fevered childhood dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Orlando notes that Disney has not challenged her doing them. She carefully stays within the legal standards of what constitutes parody. The disclaimer in the show\u2019s listings on the websites of the venues where it is playing reads: \u201cWe do not represent any licensed characters. This show is a parody and tribute and in no way affiliated to The Walt Disney Company in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n When the \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d season ends in early November, Summer Orlando returns to her full-time job as a professional drag queen. This year, that includes being the first drag artist to perform a Broadway-themed, one-person show on Norwegian Cruise Lines. She\u2019ll spend February doing her \u201cBroadway Queen\u201d revue in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In Connecticut, she does monthly drag shows at Aquila\u2019s Nest Vineyards in Newtown and regular drag bingo events at the Carousel Museum in Bristol.<\/p>\n Orlando, who\u2019s in her early 30s, grew up in Waterbury and Naugatuck and now lives in New Haven. She has been doing drag shows since her teens and before the \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d bug bit was involved with productions of another garish horror comedy, \u201cRocky Horror,\u201d in both its stage and film shadow-cast versions.<\/p>\n Now that \u201cHocus Pocus Live!\u201d has conquered Connecticut with shows at three large venues, Orlando is hoping to line up bookings in other states next year. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to take 10 people, but it\u2019s getting easier the more we do it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHocus Pocus Live!\u201d will be performed on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre\u2019s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, 84 Main St.,<\/em>Torrington ($50-$61; warnertheatre.org<\/a>),Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theater, 100 East Main St., Waterbury ($50-$75, $25-$45 children; palacetheaterct.org<\/a>) and Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London ($18-$56; gardearts.org<\/a>. For more information on these and other \u201cHocus Pocus\u201d related productions, see hocuspocusliveofficial.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summer is over, which means it\u2019s time for the Halloween classic \u201cHocus Pocus.\u201d It\u2019s Summer Orlando we\u2019re talking about, not the season, and in this case \u201cover\u201d means she will be flying overhead for some performances of her sassy, accessible, fun-for-everyone live parody tribute \u201cHocus Pocus Live!\u201d The actress, theater producer and drag artist\u2019s largely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1946120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[371427,371428,320853],"class_list":["post-2020962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-drag-artist","tag-drag-show","tag-walt-disney"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Lloyd-native-nominated-for-6-IBMA-awards.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2020962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1946120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2020962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2020962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}