{"id":153371,"date":"2018-02-18T04:51:15","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T09:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=153371"},"modified":"2018-02-18T04:51:15","modified_gmt":"2018-02-18T09:51:15","slug":"open-mic-night-at-pilars-is-hot-spot-for-disney-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/02\/18\/open-mic-night-at-pilars-is-hot-spot-for-disney-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"Open mic night at Pilars is hot spot for Disney talent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Photo:<\/a>
The mood is light (Photo<\/a>: Pilars Martini\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — At the end of the day, when the tourists are gone, Disney performers head out to their favourite spot to keep on singing after their shifts are over.<\/p>\n

Every Thursday, they perform at open-mic night at Pilars, a Winter Garden martini bar that’s developed a loyal following the past five years.<\/p>\n

Joey Fatone of (asterisk)NSync fame might show up — or the original Belle who opened up Beauty and the Beast Live at Hollywood Studios. Others are retired from performing but want a moment on stage again.<\/p>\n

Host Billy Flanigan, a 35-year Disney performer, once played Barbie’s famous boyfriend at Epcot. Kelly Richards, known for his piano-playing at Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Epcot’s Rose and Crown pub, provides the music.<\/p>\n

The mood is light.<\/p>\n

If a police officer walks in, Richards spontaneously bursts into \u201cYMCA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flanigan introduces singers with fake biographies, like, \u201cThis woman is a nun,\u201d or, \u201cHere is Miss Winter Garden 1959.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the talent can be serious.<\/p>\n

Winter Garden is a bedroom community for the people who perform at the nearby theme parks, says Pilars owner, Becky Roper.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’ll hear people who sang for decades entertaining thousands and thousands of people. They come out and sing a song and you think, ‘Wow. They have something really special,\u201d’ said Juan Cantu, a performer and director who sang in Disney’s Tarzan show at Animal Kingdom.<\/p>\n

The regulars, who don’t like change so they sing their favourites over and over again every week, cheer her on.<\/p>\n

They scoff at the word \u201ckaraoke\u201d — no, call it open-mic night. Broadway songs tend to be favourites.<\/p>\n

Even in a room full of Disney enthusiasts, you won’t ever hear \u201cLet It Go,\u201d the song from the movie \u201cFrozen\u201d that is on repeat for little girls everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet It Go\u201d is notorious for its difficult-to-hit high notes. A screechy singer who could be heard down the street was partly responsible for the bar owner’s permanent ban.<\/p>\n

On a recent night, Shari Skaling sets down her Bud Light and then nails a high note in a \u201cPhantom of the Opera\u201d song, \u201cAll I Ask of You.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flanigan gives the microphone early in the night to a real-estate agent who isn’t intimidated by the Thursday traditions. He is here for the first time and confidently sings a Spanish song.<\/p>\n

A 94-year-old who sits in the corner with his cane gets up and performs a Glenn Miller big-band-era song.<\/p>\n

And \u201cWhat a Wonderful World\u201d serves as a go-to for Joy Andersen, who interacts with guests at Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, an attraction at Magic Kingdom.<\/p>\n

She calls Pilars her \u201csafe place.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Andersen, 51, mourned her husband’s death, her friends coaxed her to go out on a Thursday night. Andersen kept coming back, sometimes bringing her tap shoes or a strawberry pie to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s become Winter Garden’s version of ‘Cheers,\u201d’ Flanigan says. \u201cEverybody knows everybody and if they don’t, I introduce them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — At the end of the day, when the tourists are gone, Disney performers head out to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":153372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[46884,16125,46882,46883,568,46881,46878,46879,46880],"class_list":["post-153371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lifestyle","tag-barbie","tag-beauty-and-the-beast","tag-belle","tag-billy-flanigan","tag-disney","tag-joey-fatone","tag-open-mic","tag-pilars","tag-winter-garden","mauthors-gabrielle-russon","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}