Manny Moreira, founder and artistic director of the New Deco Orchestra, created a special New Deco Total Immersion Experience on Halloween night, presenting a celebration of elegance and sophistication, glamour and glitz.
Fully embracing the challenge, guests arrived at the Executive Courthouse dressed in feathers and fedoras, exuding the timeless elegance of the ’60s, dressing to kill as their favorite characters, including James Bond, Don Draper and Austin Powers. There were also more than a few Bond Girls in the crowd, but it was anyone’s guess as to whether they were friends or foes.
Guests nibbled on a light buffet and visited with the ‘green fairy’ while sipping on Absinthe, before enjoying what Moreira dubbed as a “provocative, immersive multimedia dance party.” As soon as the five-piece band and vocalists started the show, people took to the dance floor for a hauntingly good time.
Moreira said that beyond exposing people to sophisticated entertainment, he wanted them to experience “an elegance of character and civility.”
“There was a great amount of optimism in the country after the Depression. We want to bring the best of that era because that kind of thinking epitomizes the American spirit,” Moreira explained.
To do so, he had opted to blend dimensions, producing a proscenium show in which the stage is framed as if the audience is looking in through a window.
A portion of the proceeds from the evening will benefit the Suncoast School, where Moreira teaches drama, and Quail Valley Charities.
“The area was really hit hard [by the recent storm], and Quail Valley Charities does a lot for the community. From the earliest days of New Deco, I always wanted to do something charitable with every event,” said Moreira.
For information about an upcoming Carnival-themed show in February 2025, visit newdecoorchestra.com.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
