PHOTOS: Winter Park Playhouse unveils newly renovated theater

(Photo by Bellanee Plaza)

ORLANDO | After a 10-month renovation, The Winter Park Playhouse unveiled its new theatre home with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 7.

The night included speeches by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Winter Park Mayor Sheila DiCiccio. City and County Commissioners, community leaders and members attended. The newly renovated building includes a new theatre with expanded capacity and Broadway seats, a new lobby and restrooms, a new cabaret space and a host of structural upgrades.

In 2024, the City of Winter Park and the non-profit Winter Park Playhouse partnered to apply for an $8 million Tourist Development Tax grant to acquire, enlarge, remodel, and improve the theatre building at 711 N. Orange Avenue in Winter Park. The grant was officially awarded on October 29, 2024, and construction began in November 2025.

The grant from Orange County is ensuring the “survival of a beloved cultural cornerstone” as the playhouse attracts visitors from around the world and makes a $2.3 million-dollar economic impact on the region.

Heather Alexander, Executive Director of The Winter Park Playhouse, says the goal of the playhouse was to bring joy to the world, as art and music can unite people.

“You come in the door, and you forget all the things,” Alexander shares. “It doesn’t matter what your political leanings are. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, the color of your skin, your gender, any of those things, your age, you all come together and you escape, and that’s what this place is all about. We wanted it to be a home, a home for you all, a home for our artists, a home where you walk in and you just feel happy.”

Since the playhouse was founded in 2002, the team has successfully produced 135 main stage musicals, 171 cavarets and 56 special events.

“This ribbon cutting represents more than a new beginning for The Winter Park Playhouse, and celebrates the continued commitment to enriching our community through the performing arts,” Alexander says.

The newly renovated theatre will open just in time to kick off its new 2026 – 2027 Series of Professional Musicals in August 2026.

Watermark Out News attended the ribbon-cutting. View our photos below.

Photos by Bellanee Plaza.