October 19, 2025 • 9 mins
We spoke with producer Summer Orlando of Summer Orlando Productions about Hocus Pocus Live, starring some of the most memorable characters and scenes from the Halloween cult classics, Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison Demurz. My guest this morning is producer Summer or
Orlando with Summer Orlando Productions. Good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
How are you Allison.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm great. I'm so happy you're here. I've known you
since you came out of the womb pretty much.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's true, and you were.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
A talented baby and now you're a talented adult and
you have an amazing show that's going on called hocus
Pocus Live. It's going to be at the Palace Theater
and the Guard Arts Center. Let's talk all about it
absolutely so for people who don't know about hocus Pocus,
it's based on the movie hocus Pocus.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Correct, Yes, that's correct. It is an amazing Disney film
that came out nineteen ninety three starring Bett Middler, Cassin
and Jimmy Sir Jesica Parker, and they play three evil
witches that long for beauty, so they suck the life
out of all the children in Salem so that they
can stay young and beautiful. Well this is back in
sixteen ninety three. Then they get executed and they have
(01:00):
a curse saying that they will return when a virgin
lights a candle and it cuts to nineteen ninety three
and the these three kids break into the house. They
bring back the witches, and it's a race against time
where they have to you know, battle the witches and
try to save their lives one Halloween night, and hilarity
(01:20):
ensues and there's musical numbers and lots and lots of fun.
It is a cult classic film of all kids. It
actually just got a sequel that you can get on
Disney Plus, which I actually was in. Yeah, and it
kind of just the show. The movie stuck with me
as a kid. You know, those movies like The Wizard
(01:42):
of Oz and things like that that just kind of
they hit you in a in a very special way
and they stick with you. Focus Focus was like that
for me when I create projects. I'm a very creative person.
And when I create projects that I want to work on,
I find basically, you know, a movie or a subject
or something, and I came apart and I put it
(02:05):
together again and I put my own spin to it.
And that's kind of how this show developed. This show
is creaty eight years of sold out performances, which is
absolutely amazing. Eight whole years of my life. It was
supposed to be a one off little skit in a
bar many many years ago, and it was like a
(02:25):
thirty minute thing that I had just put clips of
the movie together and got a little small cast together,
and it has developed now into this full length musical
parody show that is kind of like a jukebox musical
that features songs that you know in love from both
of the Hocus Focus films, some Halloween favorites, and some
other songs that you think you know but now have
(02:47):
a Hocus Focus twist to them.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So what do you hope people take away with them
when they leave the show.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I hope that for the very few people that come
that have not seen the movie will fall in love
with our show and the story of Hocus Focus, and
then we'll want to go and actually see the real
you know, where it came from, and see the movie
and kind of get a new audience for it. But
for those die hard fans of Hocus Focus, I just
(03:14):
want them to come and have a good time and
see all of the magical moments that they know and
love from the movie live on stage and kind of
just go back to childhood and get just get escaped.
Into our magical world.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So I hear there's going to be actual flying.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh yes, So we have partnered with z Effects Flying Effects,
which is the company that flies Wicked on Broadway, and
they are helping us achieve flying effects at the guard
Arts Center, which is the last performance of our show
November first and seconds, and you can see the Witches
(03:59):
literally fly live on stage and create some of those
magic flying moments from the movie.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You know, I learned how to fly like Peter Pan
from Kathy Rigby. Do you even know who that is?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh? Of course I do. I love Kathy Rigby and
believe it or not, this Kathy Rigby, I believe flies
with this company when she used to do Peter Pan
as well.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Really, so that means I did because at the Bushnell
actually many many years ago, got to make myself so old.
But yeah, they were like swinging me all over the place.
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Oh yeah, it's absolutely fantastic to fly. It looks a
lot more glamorous than it feels. But you know what,
how many people can say they have have flown on
a broom in the air across the stage. Literally, I'm
doing the same exact things that Bette Midler was doing
when she was filming the movie with all of the
(04:55):
flying sequences, So it's very very cool.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
So what is one of your favorite things about this
particular show you'd like to share.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
My favorite thing about this show is it's family friendly,
so people from age six to one hundred and six
can come see this show enjoy it together. It is
an amazing, amazing show. It's an interactive show as well,
so the witches not only will you see them on stage,
they also come off of the stage, they go on
(05:24):
into the aisles. They encourage people to dance, we encourage
people to dress up in costumes and come and really
have a Halloween celebration. It's it's kind of part show
and part celebration of the movie. So we really just
kind of have this giant fun of them filled with
people who love it just as much as we do.
(05:44):
And there's even a special part of the show where
if you show up at the beginning before the show
starts over by our photo booth area where you can
take a picture with a life size cutout of our witches,
you can enter your name in a very special cauldron,
and if chosen, you get to play a part in
the show that night.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Wow, very very cool. You've thought of it all, you.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Know, Like I said, this has been eight years of
like my brain working. And I'm very grateful this year
because we have written a whole new book with the
help of my amazing sister Danielle Orlando. We wrote an
amazing book. We wrote some new parody songs, some new staging.
I have a brand new choreographer, so we have incredible
(06:30):
high production numbers, choreographed production numbers by Shelley Shelby Griffin,
and I have an amazing new tech director. So there's
more smoke and special effects and spooky fog and amazing
lighting design and lots of lots of extra magic this year.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
You know, I mean so many actors, so many producers.
You were truly born to do this work.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
That means a lot, really, honey, honest to God. So
Hocus Focus Live is taking place at the Palace Theater
on October thirtieth, and then at the Guard Arts Center
in New London November first and second. What's happening after that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Well, the Witches, the Sanders and sisters, we are all
over the place between now and the end of our
season in November, you can catch us at just a
Brunch of hocus Pocus at the Carousel Museum, which is
a hocus Pocus style cabaretio with the witches and the brunch.
We're also I'm very excited to announce this, like with you,
(07:32):
we are playing off Broadway for one night only on
October seventeenth. We're going to be at the Lori Beachman
Theater and all of our VIP tickets have already sold out,
so all we have is general left. But it is
a show Net Smiths. If you're in the New York
City area. We're playing one of the most iconic and
historical theaters down there, and I can't believe it's happening.
(07:53):
We just got done playing Salem, where they filmed parts
of Hocus Focus the first movie, and that was a
dream come true. We're also playing some of the wineries
in Connecticut. Akila's Nest Vineyards will be on October sixteenth,
at October twenty sixth, and we're going to be at
Prian Vineyards on October twenty fourth.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Wow. So everybody go to Hocuspocusliveofficial dot com for all
of this information that.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Is correct, And I just want to shout out our
amazing sponsor, Ape Community Care that is sponsoring the performance
at the Palace. They are absolutely incredible. They're in an
organization that helps people who need help with get resources.
Doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. You
can show up at one of their locations and they'll
give you resources to anything that you need to get
(08:40):
you help. And so we're so glad that they partner
with us year after year and they have been just
a major part in making it possible for us to
play at the Palace.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Wonderful. I'm speaking with producer Summer Orlando. It's hocus Pocus
Live at the Palace Theater and at the Guard Arts
Center and at all these different places throughout the month
of October and November. Again, go to hocuspocusliveofficial dot com. Summer,
thank you so much for being here today and for
all the amazing work you do.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Absolutely absolutely oh so friends. The time is near. We
are getting closer and closer to our tickets turning to dust.
There is one hundred and twenty three tickets left for
the Palace Theater. If you want to see it in Waterbury, Connecticut,
get your tickets at Hocusfocus liveofficial dot com or I'll
put a sell on you
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison Demurz. My guest this morning is producer Summer or
Orlando with Summer Orlando Productions. Good morning, Good morning.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
How are you Allison.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I'm great. I'm so happy you're here. I've known you
since you came out of the womb pretty much.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's true, and you were.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
A talented baby and now you're a talented adult and
you have an amazing show that's going on called hocus
Pocus Live. It's going to be at the Palace Theater
and the Guard Arts Center. Let's talk all about it
absolutely so for people who don't know about hocus Pocus,
it's based on the movie hocus Pocus.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Correct, Yes, that's correct. It is an amazing Disney film
that came out nineteen ninety three starring Bett Middler, Cassin
and Jimmy Sir Jesica Parker, and they play three evil
witches that long for beauty, so they suck the life
out of all the children in Salem so that they
can stay young and beautiful. Well this is back in
sixteen ninety three. Then they get executed and they have
(01:00):
a curse saying that they will return when a virgin
lights a candle and it cuts to nineteen ninety three
and the these three kids break into the house. They
bring back the witches, and it's a race against time
where they have to you know, battle the witches and
try to save their lives one Halloween night, and hilarity
(01:20):
ensues and there's musical numbers and lots and lots of fun.
It is a cult classic film of all kids. It
actually just got a sequel that you can get on
Disney Plus, which I actually was in. Yeah, and it
kind of just the show. The movie stuck with me
as a kid. You know, those movies like The Wizard
(01:42):
of Oz and things like that that just kind of
they hit you in a in a very special way
and they stick with you. Focus Focus was like that
for me when I create projects. I'm a very creative person.
And when I create projects that I want to work on,
I find basically, you know, a movie or a subject
or something, and I came apart and I put it
(02:05):
together again and I put my own spin to it.
And that's kind of how this show developed. This show
is creaty eight years of sold out performances, which is
absolutely amazing. Eight whole years of my life. It was
supposed to be a one off little skit in a
bar many many years ago, and it was like a
(02:25):
thirty minute thing that I had just put clips of
the movie together and got a little small cast together,
and it has developed now into this full length musical
parody show that is kind of like a jukebox musical
that features songs that you know in love from both
of the Hocus Focus films, some Halloween favorites, and some
other songs that you think you know but now have
(02:47):
a Hocus Focus twist to them.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So what do you hope people take away with them
when they leave the show.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I hope that for the very few people that come
that have not seen the movie will fall in love
with our show and the story of Hocus Focus, and
then we'll want to go and actually see the real
you know, where it came from, and see the movie
and kind of get a new audience for it. But
for those die hard fans of Hocus Focus, I just
(03:14):
want them to come and have a good time and
see all of the magical moments that they know and
love from the movie live on stage and kind of
just go back to childhood and get just get escaped.
Into our magical world.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
So I hear there's going to be actual flying.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Oh yes, So we have partnered with z Effects Flying Effects,
which is the company that flies Wicked on Broadway, and
they are helping us achieve flying effects at the guard
Arts Center, which is the last performance of our show
November first and seconds, and you can see the Witches
(03:59):
literally fly live on stage and create some of those
magic flying moments from the movie.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
You know, I learned how to fly like Peter Pan
from Kathy Rigby. Do you even know who that is?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Oh? Of course I do. I love Kathy Rigby and
believe it or not, this Kathy Rigby, I believe flies
with this company when she used to do Peter Pan
as well.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Really, so that means I did because at the Bushnell
actually many many years ago, got to make myself so old.
But yeah, they were like swinging me all over the place.
It was amazing.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Oh yeah, it's absolutely fantastic to fly. It looks a
lot more glamorous than it feels. But you know what,
how many people can say they have have flown on
a broom in the air across the stage. Literally, I'm
doing the same exact things that Bette Midler was doing
when she was filming the movie with all of the
(04:55):
flying sequences, So it's very very cool.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
So what is one of your favorite things about this
particular show you'd like to share.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
My favorite thing about this show is it's family friendly,
so people from age six to one hundred and six
can come see this show enjoy it together. It is
an amazing, amazing show. It's an interactive show as well,
so the witches not only will you see them on stage,
they also come off of the stage, they go on
(05:24):
into the aisles. They encourage people to dance, we encourage
people to dress up in costumes and come and really
have a Halloween celebration. It's it's kind of part show
and part celebration of the movie. So we really just
kind of have this giant fun of them filled with
people who love it just as much as we do.
(05:44):
And there's even a special part of the show where
if you show up at the beginning before the show
starts over by our photo booth area where you can
take a picture with a life size cutout of our witches,
you can enter your name in a very special cauldron,
and if chosen, you get to play a part in
the show that night.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Wow, very very cool. You've thought of it all, you.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Know, Like I said, this has been eight years of
like my brain working. And I'm very grateful this year
because we have written a whole new book with the
help of my amazing sister Danielle Orlando. We wrote an
amazing book. We wrote some new parody songs, some new staging.
I have a brand new choreographer, so we have incredible
(06:30):
high production numbers, choreographed production numbers by Shelley Shelby Griffin,
and I have an amazing new tech director. So there's
more smoke and special effects and spooky fog and amazing
lighting design and lots of lots of extra magic this year.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
You know, I mean so many actors, so many producers.
You were truly born to do this work.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
That means a lot, really, honey, honest to God. So
Hocus Focus Live is taking place at the Palace Theater
on October thirtieth, and then at the Guard Arts Center
in New London November first and second. What's happening after that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Well, the Witches, the Sanders and sisters, we are all
over the place between now and the end of our
season in November, you can catch us at just a
Brunch of hocus Pocus at the Carousel Museum, which is
a hocus Pocus style cabaretio with the witches and the brunch.
We're also I'm very excited to announce this, like with you,
(07:32):
we are playing off Broadway for one night only on
October seventeenth. We're going to be at the Lori Beachman
Theater and all of our VIP tickets have already sold out,
so all we have is general left. But it is
a show Net Smiths. If you're in the New York
City area. We're playing one of the most iconic and
historical theaters down there, and I can't believe it's happening.
(07:53):
We just got done playing Salem, where they filmed parts
of Hocus Focus the first movie, and that was a
dream come true. We're also playing some of the wineries
in Connecticut. Akila's Nest Vineyards will be on October sixteenth,
at October twenty sixth, and we're going to be at
Prian Vineyards on October twenty fourth.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Wow. So everybody go to Hocuspocusliveofficial dot com for all
of this information that.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Is correct, And I just want to shout out our
amazing sponsor, Ape Community Care that is sponsoring the performance
at the Palace. They are absolutely incredible. They're in an
organization that helps people who need help with get resources.
Doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. You
can show up at one of their locations and they'll
give you resources to anything that you need to get
(08:40):
you help. And so we're so glad that they partner
with us year after year and they have been just
a major part in making it possible for us to
play at the Palace.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Wonderful. I'm speaking with producer Summer Orlando. It's hocus Pocus
Live at the Palace Theater and at the Guard Arts
Center and at all these different places throughout the month
of October and November. Again, go to hocuspocusliveofficial dot com. Summer,
thank you so much for being here today and for
all the amazing work you do.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Absolutely absolutely oh so friends. The time is near. We
are getting closer and closer to our tickets turning to dust.
There is one hundred and twenty three tickets left for
the Palace Theater. If you want to see it in Waterbury, Connecticut,
get your tickets at Hocusfocus liveofficial dot com or I'll
put a sell on you
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