Summer is over, which means it’s time for the Halloween classic “Hocus Pocus.”
It’s Summer Orlando we’re talking about, not the season, and in this case “over” means she will be flying overhead for some performances of her sassy, accessible, fun-for-everyone live parody tribute “Hocus Pocus Live!”
The actress, theater producer and drag artist’s largely original show honoring the classic Walt Disney live action witch movie “Hocus Pocus” has been extending its reach over the past few years. That means more shows but also grander production values. At this year’s final weekend of performances on Nov. 1 and 2, Orlando flies above the stage in her outlandish costume as Winifred Sanderson.
Drag artists embodying the characters from “Hocus Pocus” is not new, Orlando acknowledged, “but my show is different from most of them.” For one thing, her full-length “Hocus Pocus Live!” events are family-friendly. “It’s accessible to all age groups, including kids.”
She doesn’t even consider them drag shows, since over time it has become “more of a theater experience. I don’t bill this as a drag show. We are character lookalikes and professional witches. When we’re doing it we always stay in character.”
This year there are three locations to catch “Hocus Pocus Live!” in Connecticut: Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at Waterbury Palace and Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center in New London. Orlando also does different, smaller shows with “Hocus Pocus” hijinks, including the cabaret-style “Hocus Pocus I Need Wine to Focus” on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. at Aquila’s Nest Vineyards in Newtown and the drag brunch “Just a Brunch of Hocus Pocus” on Oct. 12 at 11 p.m. at the Carousel Museum in Bristol.
Orlando has been doing “Hocus Pocus”-focused entertainments since 2013, when she staged a 13-minute “little skit in a gay bar.”
A rehearsal of “Hocus Pocus Live!,” with Summer Orlando and Danielle Orlando hanging around in the background. (David Marciniszyn)
“That 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,” Orlando said.
“This is the longest version of the story, plus we created new parody songs from all genres, with a ‘Hocus Pocus’ twists,” Orlando said. Some versions involved improvisation, but for this year “we’ve written a very strong book,” 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.
One aspect of the show where nothing is left to chance? “I learned to fly in it for the first time last year. It’s amazing to watch, but as the person flying, it is extremely uncomfortable,” Orlando said.
She feels the live show “really took off when I got a phone call from Disney that they knew about the show.” That connection landed Orlando a role, replete in her Winifred drag, in “Hocus Pocus 2,” 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 “a fevered childhood dream.”
Summer Orlando as the divine Winifred in “Hocus Pocus Live! (David Marciniszyn)
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’s listings on the websites of the venues where it is playing reads: “We 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.”
When the “Hocus Pocus” 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’ll spend February doing her “Broadway Queen” revue in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In Connecticut, she does monthly drag shows at Aquila’s Nest Vineyards in Newtown and regular drag bingo events at the Carousel Museum in Bristol.
Orlando, who’s 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 “Hocus Pocus” bug bit was involved with productions of another garish horror comedy, “Rocky Horror,” in both its stage and film shadow-cast versions.
Now that “Hocus Pocus Live!” has conquered Connecticut with shows at three large venues, Orlando is hoping to line up bookings in other states next year. “It’s hard to take 10 people, but it’s getting easier the more we do it,” she said.
“Hocus Pocus Live!” will be performed on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Warner Theatre’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre, 84 Main St.,Torrington ($50-$61; warnertheatre.org),Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theater, 100 East Main St., Waterbury ($50-$75, $25-$45 children; palacetheaterct.org) 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. For more information on these and other “Hocus Pocus” related productions, see hocuspocusliveofficial.com.
