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The historic Garden Theatre is reopening its doors in downtown Winter Garden for the first time in more than 40 years with a live performance of The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! Feb. 1-17. This show, by local professional theater company Jester Theater, will kick off the 2008 inaugural season with its international hit.

Sponsored by Progress Energy, The Musical honors the greatest composers of our time in a humorous sense.

The show is actually five musicals rolled into one and reveals how a simple story would be turned into a totally different musical by five of the greatest composers of modern musical theater: Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander & Ebb.

Tickets are $25 ($22 for students and seniors).

After this inaugural show, the theater folks will have less than two weeks to prepare for the grand-opening gala Feb. 29.

Davis Gaines, an Orlando native who rose to fame on Broadway as the lead in The Phantom of the Opera, is scheduled to perform.

Tickets are $229 for a full evening at the theater. This includes a reception, pre-show, dinner featuring Walt Disney World chefs from Winter Garden, a locally produced stage show and Gaines' performance, a dessert reception and a "Meet the Artist" session in which guests can talk to Gaines.

The locally produced stage show is Curtain Up!, which offers a history of the original theater that stood on the same grounds.

Theater fans can spend Saturday attending free family-friendly events, such as a movie, musical acts and possibly some workshops and classes.

Ticketed shows continue Saturday evening ($35) and Sunday afternoon ($25) with the stage show, minus Gaines but featuring a local performer.

For ticket information, call the Garden Theatre box office at 407-877-GRDN (4736). Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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