‘The Animatronicans’ to return in Orlando Fringe double feature

The hit theme park parodies The Animatronicans and The Animatronicans: Under New Management are returning this fall in a double feature fundraiser for the Orlando Fringe Festival. 

At the 2016 Orlando Fringe Festival, local comedian, playwright, and performer, Jeff Jones presented The Animatronicans, a play that tells the story of four animatronic characters from local theme parks that live together in a Central Florida home. It carried the tagline, “See what happens after the attraction closes,” and was written by Jones and directed by Michael Wanzie. After selling out every performance in their original run, The Animatronicans went on to win the Critics Choice award for Best Comedy and Patron’s Pick.

Earlier this year, Jones revisited the cast of animatronic characters in his follow up show, The Animatronicans: Under New Management, during the 2019 Orlando Fringe Festival. This time the animatronic characters’ lives are turned upside down when company management assigns a red-haired woman from a popular pirate attraction to be their new roommate. Just like the original, the new show sold out every performance and won Patron’s Pick and the Critics Choice Award for Best Ensemble Performance.

Now, for the first time, both Animatronicans shows will be performed back-to-back as a fundraiser for the Orlando Fringe at the Orlando Museum of Art on October 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, and 27.

“Seeing a show doing so well during the festival that is written by a local artist and cast with so many incredibly funny local performers is beyond exciting,” says Orlando Fringe Executive Director Alauna Friskics. 
Orlando Fringe organizes the annual 14-day festival where artists from around the world come to Orlando to perform. The organization prides itself on keeping the costs low and returning 100% of the ticket sales to the artist.

“When we were looking for a show to produce in October, we thought it would be fun to revisit the original Animatronicans show as a double feature,” added Friskics.

Writer and one of the stars of The Animatronicans, Jeff Jones said, “We are super thrilled to bring these shows back and perform them back-to-back for the first time ever! Let’s see if we get the lines right!”

Fringe has confirmed that the original cast members (Jeff Jones, Doug Ba’aser, Erin Cline, James Keaton, Janine Klein, Josh Siniscalco, and Brett Waldon) are returning. “We will be adding some tweaks and updates to both shows as well,” added Jones.

Tickets for the shows are $20 if you are planning on seeing only one of the two parts. If seeing both as a double feature, tickets are $35 with an intermission in between the shows. Tickets will be available at orlandofringe.org starting August 1 for Club Fringe members and August 15 for the public. Performances take place at the SunTrust Auditorium inside Orlando Museum of Art. 

Purchasing a ticket to the double feature before September 15 offers a couple of perks for the buyer. Patrons are entered in a drawing for a limited edition Animatronicans art print and given an invitation to an exclusive meet-up with Jeff Jones and some of the cast at Magic Kingdom; park admission is not included. 

For more about The Animatronicans visit aninmatronicans.com and watch these videos: