Orange Blossom Award: The Year Julia Rifino Climbed a Musical Mountain

Julia Rifino, whose powerhouse performance in Tell Me on a Sunday capped a year of extraordinary roles across Tampa Bay. Photo credit: Thee Photo Ninja

By Avery Anderson

Some artists bloom slowly. Others spend years quietly filling the room with talent until suddenly—one night, one show, one impossible marathon of a performance—the city realizes, oh… she’s a force of nature.

This year, that moment belonged to Julia Rifino.

If you’ve been around Tampa Bay theater long enough, you’ve seen Julia everywhere: American Stage, Stageworks, the Straz, freeFall. Dozens of roles, all delivered with that unmissable Rifino magnetism. But Tell Me on a Sunday at freeFall Theatre wasn’t just another credit. It was a 90-minute, no-intermission, vocally unbroken sprint—performed while she held a full-time job, maintained a thriving visual arts practice, and somehow still managed basic human things like sleep and skincare.

This wasn’t a role; this was Everest. And Julia scaled it in one breath.

And here’s the thing: it didn’t come out of nowhere.
Before stepping into the pressure cooker of Tell Me on a Sunday, Julia had just come off a stacked season at freeFall—first Stephen Sondheim’s Road Show, then the intimate, reality-bending House of Future Memory. Two wildly different productions, both demanding in their own ways, both showcasing her range and stamina. Most artists would have taken a nap. Julia took on a 90-minute solo musical with no intermission and no escape hatch.

Julia Rifino, whose 2025 season—*Road Show*, *House of Future Memory*, and a 90-minute solo musical—cemented her as one of Tampa Bay’s brightest artistic forces. Photo credit: Noa Michele Photography.

Her music director, Michael Raabe, put it in the most Raabe way possible:
“Julia is the perfect example of a role model aspiring artists can look up to. She’s a joy on and off stage and truly puts in the work. Those fortunate to see her work or collaborate with her on both sides of the bay know that she’s a true treasure to our community.”

BroadwayWorld didn’t hold back either, writing:
“No one deserves more accolades than the ever exceptional Julia Rifino… You have never seen Julia like this. A true star of the highest honor… Her strongest performance of her career. This show, this experience, this moment in time, was written for her!”

This is the part where a typical awards piece might say, “It’s her breakout year.”
But that’s the wrong takeaway.

Julia didn’t “break out.”
She’s been building toward this for years—on stage, backstage, in the paint shop, in the admin office, in rehearsals, in late-night design sessions—doing the unglamorous work that makes a life in the arts possible.

What happened this year is that Tampa Bay finally caught up.

That’s why Julia Rifino receives today’s Orange Blossom Award: because excellence isn’t an accident. It’s a practice. And in 2025, we witnessed the full power of hers.

What Are the Orange Blossom Awards?

A month-long series from The Arts Passport celebrating the people and organizations whose quiet, steady work strengthens Tampa Bay’s arts ecosystem. No applications. No campaigning. Just community-driven recognition, released daily in December.