Happy (almost) birthday! 🥳

Well Internet friends. We made it... Almost.

Next Saturday marks a year of Setting the Stage, and since the newsletter doesn’t come out that week or on weekends, we’ll celebrate early. Plus, we could all die before the official anniversary actually happens, so better to revel in this additional rotation around the sun while we can.

Too dark? I knew it (Note to self: Ease up on gallows humor), but here. Have this picture of a cake as a token of my appreciation for you all sticking around and putting up with this.

And it’s ice cream cake, so hurry up before it melts!

And in case that’s not enough of a celebration, I’ll have this legend sing the birthday song to mark the occasion.

I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t she done talking about Taylor?” I know, I know. But I just had to show you this awesome photo News 6 viewer Dave Cohen shared with me of the concert after the last newsletter! He must have that Midas touch ‘cause this is gold!

If you have any photos of shows/concerts you saw recently in the area, please send them my way or share it under the Setting the Stage PinIt! page here. I’d love to see more from you all (Like this picture of Orlando Ballet’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” season finale that MOlife took!!)

But for now, let’s get into it, shall we?

Playin’ Koy 🎤

OK, so maybe I’m not as coy as I think since you can plainly see who I’m talking about based on the picture above.

But you’ll be stoked to know comedian Jo Koy is making stops in not one, but two, Central Florida cities on his latest world tour!

The stand-up is known for his jokes about every aspect of life, including his Filipino heritage. The tour announcement also happens to coincide with the start of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, which officially kicked off Monday and is celebrated throughout the entire month of May.

Find out where and when Koy’s performing here. And find out more about how News 6 is covering AANHPI Heritage Month here.

Closer Look Q&A: See the Stars ✨

What’s better than sipping beer and talking about nerdy things with your friends?

Sounds like the best time to me!

And Lauren Freeman and Matt Roth seem to think so, too — they created a podcast around it. In “Hops Geek News,” they interview famous film, TV and comic creators and talk about all things nerd while featuring beers from local breweries.

It’s Marvel, Star Wars and “Supernatural” meets stouts, sours and ales.

To find out where you can listen to the podcast and more about the hosts behind it, click here.

More Music, Movies and Mayhem Near You 🎶📽️🤯

🎼 Can’t wait for Halloween and Christmas? Well, Creative City Project understands that and just announced its upcoming fall and winter-themed interactive events coming to Orlando’s Leu Gardens. Oh, and they also mentioned an immersive orchestral performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals” (one of my personal favorites) involving live acrobatics. Basically, if you like lights, music or bridge trolls wandering in the middle of a 50-acre forest at dark, you’ll find at least one event to enjoy. Click here for the details.

🐬 Where’s a good place to listen to some Latin music? SeaWorld. Bet you didn’t see that one comin’. But it’s true. The theme park will feature live Latin concerts all through May as part of its Viva La Música festival. It’s got everything — from music to feed the soul to food to feed the stomach. Find out more here.

🎭 Cross-promotion alert! News 6 Insider Crystal Moyer recently showed how one Melbourne performing arts center is combining theater and education with $9 shows for students! And it’s the type of story that proves, if you’re not an Insider yet, you totally should be. As a former (recovering) theater kid myself, I can’t say enough how essential it is to our education. It helps us be better people and understand and engage with different perspectives and walks of life in a fun, compassionate way. See for yourself how the King Center is doing just that.

👁️Brace yourselves, Bran is coming. Don’t be a flake because the Three-eyed raven himself is gearing up to attend Con of Thrones in Orlando this summer. Find out what else to expect at the “Game of Thrones” fan convention here.

🎸 I’ve been to the year 2023. Not much has changed, but the Jonas Brothers are burnin’ up the charts again and going on tour. OK, so, not as catchy as their song, but I’m only human. And Central Florida-based Jonas Brothers fans are in luck because they’re stopping at the Amway Center. Find out when and how to get tickets here.

End Credits 🎬

Thanks for sticking around to hear about the latest arts endeavors bringing Central Florida to life!

If you have anything you would like to hear more about or if you’re an artist or know an artist that has an upcoming project you want to see shimmer in the spotlight, please email me, Sam Dunne, at sdunne@wkmg.com.

Don’t worry, I don’t bite. Only sing and dance.