Buffyfest descends on the Palladium this Saturday, along with one of the stars of the iconic show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I was prepared to write a piece setting our audiences up for this one-of-a-kind show by the Florida Bjorkestra, but the Tampa Bay Times did it for me. So I’m sharing this piece that was the cover story of the Weekend section this week. To see the entire story, with suggestions for costumes based on Buffy characters, follow this link.
On Saturday the doors (and our bar) open at 5 as the Side Door becomes The Magic Box, a curated space for all things Buffy. Photo and autograph opps will happen here as well. Doors to The Bronze (Hough Hall) will open at 7 for the 8 p.m. show.
Tickets are going fast, so if you are joining us for Buffyfest, please follow this link for online info and tickets, or call the Palladium box office at 727-822-3590.
Here’s an excerpt from the TBTimes story:
By Ellen E. Clarke, TBT Editor
Who’s your favorite superhero? I always answer Buffy.
The seven-season Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired its last episode in 2003, but spins on Netflix (no longer available) and Hulu (still streaming) have kept the show bingeable for super fans and newcomers alike. Early seasons are a fun trip back to the ’90s, and the dialogue is sharp and punny until the end. There’s romance, heartbreak, awesome fight scenes, witches, demons and, of course, vampires. Something for everyone.
So when St. Petersburg’s Palladium announced the Florida Björkestra’s Buffyfest, I bought tickets and started planning my costume.
The Palladium plans to turn Hough Hall into the Bronze, a nightclub on the show that let high school students in and was regularly attacked by vampires. The Side Door will be transformed into the Magic Box — which is exactly what it sounds like — with Emerald City Comics and Serenity Games selling their wares. Expect Buffy cast member James C. Leary, who played the friendly, loose-skinned demon Clem.
For the Florida Björkestra — a 20-piece alternative-classical ensemble that tributes groundbreaking pop artists — founder Jeremy Douglass said Saturday’s concert will be the biggest show they’ve ever done, staging eight vocalists for Once More with Feeling, the Season 6 musical episode of Buffy. They’ll cover all the songs from the episode and even one from a flashback in Season 7.
And they want the audience to sing along and have fun.
“If everyone in the audience was louder than us, that’d be great,” Douglass said.
Attendees are invited to dress up like their favorite character from the Buffy universe, which is pretty easy to accomplish.
“Everyone on that show was really a normal person,” Douglass said.
The Palladium and the Björkestra are fine with people showing up with prop weapons like stakes so long as they’re foam or otherwise safe. No guns, of course.
Douglass hopes that Buffyfest will become an annual event, a la a Rocky Horror Picture Show performance. Most Buffy cast members were already booked at fan conventions across the country this year, but Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander Harris, has expressed interest in attending next year and singing his part on stage with the Björkestra.
While you don’t have to dress up, why not accept the challenge and get in a little practice for Halloween. Me? I’m going as Dark Willow.
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