Desiree Montes will direct and choreograph From My Hometown: A Celebration of the American Dream in Classic R&B, which will feature Adourin Jamelle Owens, Quentin Avery Brown and James White III as three singers who form a killer trio in the mold of classic vocal groups from the 1960s and 1970s. | Courtesy The Winter Park Playhouse
If you’ve noticed that the musical menu at The Winter Park Playhouse seems to have taken on a slightly funkier groove as of late, it isn’t just your imagination running away with you (so to speak).
Following in the footsteps of such past offerings as 2023’s Motown: Pride of the Motor City, the theater—still in temporary digs at Orlando Shakes as its Orange Avenue location undergoes renovation—will kick off 2026 in soulful style with From My Hometown: A Celebration of the American Dream in Classic R&B.
In this Southeast regional premiere of the 1998 jukebox musical, three young men (Adourin Jamelle Owens, Quentin Avery Brown and James White III) meet while auditioning to perform at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater.
That setup provides the narrative pretext for spirited run-throughs of two dozen classic songs and a smattering of originals by Lee Summers, Ty Stephens and Will Barrow. (Summers and Stephens also wrote the book to the musical, in collaboration with Herbert Rawlings Jr.).
Meanwhile, the fact that the fellas just happen to be named “Philly,” “Detroit” and “Memphis” introduces a note of trash-talking geographic rivalry—until the three of them decide to pool their expertise to form a killer trio in the mold of the classic vocal groups of the 1960s and 1970s.
The interstate angle of the story has a certain resonance for director and choreographer Desiree Montes, a Hawaii-born military brat who says that her extended family hails “from all over.” More salient to this particular production, however, is the passion that she inherited from her elders for vintage blues, soul and R&B.
Montes says that she has relished the opportunity to share that background with her young cast, although in at least one case not much of a crash course was required: Brown produces and performs his own solo shows in the genre, which he’s presented on tour and at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival.
“There’s just something about being able to direct a show with three men, and particularly three men who are Black,” says Montes. “As a Black woman, being able to help tell their story is something that really appealed to me.”
It’s a commission that she shares with a creative team that’s made up mainly of women and people of color, including musical director Jeanine McAdams Nesbit. (Pianist James Stewart will lead the live band during performances.) Overall, Montes offers high marks for the strides she has seen the Playhouse make in expanding the representational palette of local theater.
Says Montes: “I firmly believe, and have seen with my own eyes, that the people there really do care and are extremely intentional about all the casting choices they make.” From My Hometown will mark the second time that Montes has directed and choreographed a mainstage presentation at the Playhouse. The first time was The Bikinis at the outset of 2025.
From My Hometown will be the penultimate show of the 2025-26 season. The grand reopening at the Orange Avenue location is expected to be in August. When the Playhouse is back on its home turf, expect harmony to remain a priority—in every sense of the term.
Orlando Shakes is located at 812 Rollins Street, Orlando, in Loch Haven Cultural Park. For more information, call or visit the website.
