Top 10 things to do in Orlando this week: Dec. 4-10

The Light in the Piazza

Wednesday, Dec. 4

7:30 p.m.

through Jan. 5

Mad Cow Theatre, 54 W. Church St.

407-297-8788

madcowtheatre.com

$10-$28.25

The plot for this Tony Award-winning play is sort of unorthodox. A young woman named Clara, who is mentally and emotionally challenged due to a childhood injury received when she was kicked in the head by a pony, travels to Italy with her mother, meets a young Italian man and falls in love. He and his family have no idea that she has a disability, thinking that she’s just very naive. At first, the girl’s parents are alarmed, fearful that somebody might realize that Clara isn’t merely innocent but that she actually has a low IQ. Then mom relents and allows her daughter to get engaged to her Italian boyfriend, but she lives in fear that someone will discover her daughter’s secret. Oh, and did we happen to mention that this is also a musical? It is, and it’s the score that has earned the show so many awards. When it first made its New York debut, New York magazine called the show “original and daring,” and either a “significant step forward for the endangered American musical or a noble failure.” That was in 2005 – so we’ll go with significant step forward, and look forward to seeing what Mad Cow brings to the table. – Erin Sullivan

1st Thursdays: Art Under $200 – 'Tis the Season

Thursday, Dec. 5

6 p.m.

Orlando Museum of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave.

407-896-4231

omart.org

$10

Each year, the Orlando Museum of Art shakes up its themed monthly 1st Thursdays swish-and-swank event with a practical, approachable – and timely, shoppers! – foray into art you can actually afford. Artists are challenged to create works that you will feel compelled to gift to your loved ones, all at a cost of under $200, which is, we should add, probably less than that soulless gadget you’re point-and-clicking, lazypants. Moreover, the whole affair comes off as a party meant to “ignite a buying frenzy,” or at least feed and entertain the masses. This year’s frenzy will feature face painting, book signings, artist demonstrations, food from Orchid Thai Cuisine and the appropriately dulcet tones of local folkies Afeefa and the Boy. You won’t even feel like you’re spending money! Because that’s the point! – Billy Manes

Popcorn Flicks in the Park

Friday, Dec. 6

7 p.m.

Central Park, Winter Park

enzian.org

free

While we Floridians might not relate to it as much as our northern neighbors do, the classic holiday movie White Christmas still holds a dear place in our hearts. And at Friday’s Popcorn Flicks in the Park showing, you’ll be able to enjoy our beautiful winter(-ish) weather while taking in a few yuletide cinema staples. Held at Central Park along Winter Park’s Park Avenue, this festive double feature also includes Dr. Seuss’ animated favorite How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and will be free for anyone who wants to stop by. The first film (Grinch) is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. That thin-blooded Floridian heart of yours might just grow three sizes. – James Austin

Big Box of Orlando Holiday Pop-up Shop

Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7

6 p.m.-midnight Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday

The Orange Studio, 1121 N. Mills Ave.

thedailycity.com

$5-$10

This is one of those events where, if we listed everyone participating and all the great stuff on offer, we’d run out of words before we ever got to tell you why you don’t want to miss it. So first things first: You don’t wanna miss this. Big Box of Orlando is the new kid on a block of very well-established and wonderful holiday markets in town (Grandma Party, Big Bang and Sparkle come to mind). That said, they’re coming on strong with a great venue (we do so love Say It Loud’s Orange Studio on Mills), a righteous national sponsor (West Elm, which proved its commitment to small designers earlier this year in the Lisa Congdon case), and a quiverful of local stars old and new: Cloak & Dapper, Chronicle Stones, Hog Eat Hog, Badspade, Lure, Rifle, Burrow Press, Lineage Roasting and way too many more to list. Demonstrating a firm grasp of the never-let-them-leave principle of retail, Big Box assuages customer cravings as well – at the Friday night preview shop, there’ll be beer and wine, coffee, a cupcake bar and tamales; Saturday brings mimosas, crepes for brunch and empanadas for dinner. Bring those cards because this sale is credit only – no cash. – Jessica Bryce Young

Solos

Friday-Monday, Dec. 6-9

various times through Dec. 9

Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St.

407-494-5299

strikingly.com/solos

$12-$18

If you follow the arc of the output of writer-producer Joseph Reed Hayes, you start to see a pattern of self-imposed challenges built into his work. When the Orlando playwright won a professional development grant from United Arts, the end product wasn’t just a chance to present some hitherto-too-expensive work. The award seeded his first House Theater Project – a play performed in and streamed live from his own domicile – where he “sat and watched people’s faces more than the actors.” The wall between performer and audience had largely melted – with the space between them often just a couple of feet. – Matt Gorney

Defeater

Friday, Dec. 6

with August Burns Red, Blessthefall, Beartooth

7 p.m.

The Plaza Live, 425 N. Bumby Ave.

407-228-1220

plazaliveorlando.com

$22-$25

Derek Archambault has known – and been smitten with — punk rock and hardcore for nearly two decades.By age 5, Archambault’s father had showed him the Clash and Elvis Costello; thanks to a friend’s older sister, he was exposed to Civ and Gorilla Biscuits in his early teens.

But sometime in the 2000s, Archambault lost interest in hardcore because there wasn’t much that impressed him, with This Is Hell and Modern Life Is War as the genre’s only contemporary outfits he was into. Then, in 2007, Jay Maas pitched Archambault the idea of starting a hard- core band that would create a concept record, and Archambault’s enthusiasm was renewed. – Reyan Ali

The Cook Trio CD Release Party

Saturday, Dec. 7

9:30 p.m.

Redlight Redlight, 2810 Corrine Drive

407-893-9832

redlightredlightbeerparlour.com

free

We love Redlight Redlight in their current location because they clearly outgrew their little Bennett Road alcove, but we have missed the feel-good gypsy jazz of the Cook Trio rotating in regularly to set your head buzzing in ways even the strongest IPA can’t compete with. So it is just wonderful news that the Cook Trio returns to Redlight Redlight, at long last, to perform for the first time since the address changed at their homecoming CD release party. What’s more, there is no cover, so anyone who remembers fondly passing nights with one ear perked toward the music and beer mug never far from reach can expect that same casual enjoyment to resume. And if you are new to Redlight culture, having acquired a taste for the bar during the past year alone – you’re in for a special treat, because there’s good reason the bar continues to pair their delicious craft beers with whatever the trio has Cook’ed up. – Ashley Belanger

36th Annual Cracker Christmas

Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 7-8

10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fort Christmas Park, 1300 Fort Christmas Road, Christmas

407-254-9312

orangecountyparks.net

free

It’s only fitting that Fort Christmas, which was built on Dec. 25, 1837, during the Second Seminole Indian War, annually plays host to a massive festival in honor of its namesake holiday. And this year’s Cracker Christmas hauls in loads of ranch-style revelry, as 150 local craft vendors set up shop toting handmade items, while a throng of barbecue grills heat up at the park for afternoon chow of swamp cabbage, grilled gator and piping-hot stew. To learn the real old-school ropes, we suggest you head to any of the several pioneer demos, where you’ll learn tricks of the trade – blacksmithing, lacemaking, wood carving, syrup making, cane grinding, spinning and the like. The Big Man in Red even makes appearances throughout the weekend to field wishlist daydreams from the little cowboys and cowgirls. – Aimee Vitek

Pontiak, Guardian Alien

Sunday, Dec. 8

with Galia Social

8 p.m.

Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave.

willspub.org

$8-$10

Friendship aside, it’s stylistically unlikely that Pontiak and Guardian Alien would tour together were it not for the fact that both bands are on the same label (leading indie house Thrill Jockey Records). But they are, and that’s a very good thing for those who like quality and diversity. Pontiak is three Virginia brothers who come on like a big stoned mammoth with loud, fuzz-thick, blues-darkened psych rock edged with just a bit of arty dynamism. The last time they were here, they made the club feel like it was going to collapse under their sonic weight. A leader of the New York avant-garde underground, Guardian Alien impressed earlier this year as the headliner of a showcase of the individual projects surrounding Brooklyn’s Zs with their restless, curious and sometimes huge tapestries of percussion, electronics and drone. Both bands have good records coming out Jan. 28, so forget that shitty little stream online and go seize the immense opportunity to get a preview in grand live scale. – Bao Le-Huu

Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

Tuesday, Dec. 10

8 p.m.

Will's Pub, 1042 N. Mills Ave.

willspub.org

$7

Forget all its current problems – Detroit has always excelled at spiking timeless American rock & roll, soul, punk and R&B with its ramshackle vitality. Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas’ recently released EP, Demons, only adds to that legacy. Hernandez’s earthy, jazzy, downright sexy voice earned her a 2012 deal with iconic Blue Note Records. But when Universal absorbed the label, Hernandez jumped ship, doubling down on the brooding, unhinged and often sexed-up nature of her gypsy-pop/Latin-rock/blue-soul mélange. Hopefully, the fiery 17-minute Demons represents just the tip of the creative iceberg for these Motor City natives. Everything about Jessica Hernandez – her boundless vocal talent, her DIY business savvy (she built an artist’s loft and performance venue above her parents’ bakery), her captivating stage presence, her obvious major-label allure – points to a superstar in the making. Expect her to bring the crowd at Will’s Pub to its knees. – Nick McGregor