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ETC READERS THEATRE OF THE NAPLES PLAYERS PRESENT A READING OF THE NAPLES PLAYERS WORLD PREMIERE OF  JUNE & JASON’S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO DIVORCE BY LAURA LORUSSO

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly May 2018

The Naples Players’ (TNP) ETC Readers Theatre present a reading of the World Premiere comedy by Laura Lorusso, June & Jason’s Survival Guide to Divorce on Sunday, May 6, 2018; 2:00pm. This Fun and Fresh reading is the first step to producing this comedy as a World Premiere in October 2018 as part of TNP’s 2018-19 65^th Anniversary Season on the Tobye Studio stage.

Continue reading “ETC reading paves the way for a world premiere this fall”

KIDZACT PRESENTS TIM RICE & ANDREW LLOYD WEBER’S JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly May 2018

KidzAct present Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on Mondays and Tuesdays, May 7 & 8 and 14 & 15, 2018; 7:30pm. One of the most enduring shows of all time, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an irresistible family musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph, Israel’s favorite son.

Continue reading “KidzAct presents ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’”

IT’S LIKE “THE GOLDEN GIRLS ON CABLE”  THE NAPLES PLAYERS PRESENT LINDSAY DAVID-ABAIRE’S COMEDY RIPCORD 

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly April 2018

The Naples Players 2017-18 season ends on a high-note with David Lindsay-Abaire’s award winning comedy Ripcord, which opens with a red-carpet reception on April 25 and runs through May 20, 2018. A seemingly harmless bet between two old women quickly escalates into a hilarious game of one-upmanship with the prize being the sunny upper floor room of the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility.

Continue reading “‘Ripcord’ promises to pull on your heartstrings”

ETC READERS THEATRE OF THE NAPLES PLAYERS PRESENT ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL CELEBRATING PLAYWRIGHTS RICH ORLOFF AND DAVID IVES

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly March 2018

The Naples Players’ (TNP) ETC Readers Theatre present their One-Act Play Festival celebrating playwright Rich Orloff on Saturday, April 7, 2018; 2:00pm and David Ives on Sunday, April 8, 2018; 7:00pm. ETC Readers Theatre of The Naples Players offers original one-act play readings, daring dramas, and classic works performed with scripts in hand and without props or costumes. The focus is on the written word! Join us for an intimate but relaxed evening of play readings.

Continue reading “Catch two days of one-acts by ETC … Readers Theatre”

LOVE IS EVEN MORE WONDERFUL (AND FUNNIER) THE SECOND TIME AROUND

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly March 2018

The Naples Players (TNP) present Michelle Kholos Brooks and Kelly Younger’s Riva Shiner Award-winning comedy Kalamazoo, opening with a red-carpet celebration on March 28 with performances through April 22, 2018. Peg (Debi Garnett) and Irv (television comedy legend Jerry Rannow) are two quirky but endearing 70-something baby boomers, who bravely venture into the world of modern dating, but as these opposites attract, they discover love is not any easier or less wonderful the second time around.

Continue reading “Opposites attract in ‘Kalamazoo’ on the Sugden’s Tobye stage”

A POIGNANT AND ELOQUENT ODE TO FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS THE NAPLES PLAYERS PRESENT JESSICA DICKEY’S CHARLES IVES TAKE ME HOME

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly January 2018

The Naples Players (TNP) present Jessica Dickey’s poignant and eloquent ode to fathers and daughters, Charles Ives Take Me Home, with performances January 17-February 11, 2018. Whether the relationship between a father and daughter is nonexistent or reminiscent of Atticus Finch and Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, that relationship will prove to be one of the most profound of both of their lives. Charles Ives Take Me Home eloquently guides us through the lives of John Starr (Mark Vanagas), a talented concert violinist and his equally gifted athlete daughter Laura (JamieLynn Bucci). Throughout their lives John Starr’s love of music and his daughter Laura’s passion for basketball are at odds, but thankfully they have the spirit of modernist composer Charles Ives (Robert Ball) to play referee.

Continue reading “Father-daughter bond in the spotlight”

The Naples Players Expand the Cultural Experience of Theatre to Families and Children with Autism

Patrice Shields Ebella Magazine December 2017

The Naples Players Sugden Community Theatre has been a large part of the exciting experience of Downtown Naples for 64 years. Rated by The American Association of Community Theatres as one of the best theatres of its kind in the nation, The Naples Players offer a variety of plays and musicals in two intimate spaces that include the 340 seat Blackburn Hall and the 100 seat Tobye Studio that are both located in their Sugden Community Theatre on Fifth Avenue South. Although The Naples Players enjoy sold-out houses, packed with residents and tourists for most of its shows, The Naples Players new Artistic Director Bryce Alexander noted a growing group of the Southwest Florida community that was missing in the audience; families and children with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorders and other disabilities that effect a their ability to attend a show together.

Continue reading “Expanding Cultural Experiences for Families and Children with Autism”

MAKE SMILING YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO THIS HOLIDAY KIDZACT PRESENTS ELF THE MUSICAL JR. – THE NAPLES PLAYERS SUGDEN THEATRE

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly December 2017

The Naples Players’ (TNP) premier Youth Theatre Program KidzAct presents the Holiday Musical Comedy Elf The Musical Jr, December 2-11, 2017. Directed by Craig Price and choreographed by Erica Sample, this modern-day holiday musical comedy classic is based on the beloved New Line Cinema film about Buddy the Elf and his quest to find his true-identity. Elf The Musical Jr. features songs by Tony Award-nominees, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Tony Award-winners, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin.

Continue reading “The Sudgen welcomes a holiday ‘Elf’”

ETC READERS THEATRE OF THE NAPLES PLAYERS PRESENTS JOHNNA ADAMS ELEGANT AND CHILLING PLAY GIDION’S KNOT

Patrice Shields Florida Weekly October 2017

The Naples Players’ (TNP) ETC Readers Theatre presents its first full-length reading of the season, Johnna Adams elegant and chilling, Gidion’s Knot, Sunday, October 15, 2017; 7:00pm. Over the course of a 90-minute parent/teacher conference, a distraught mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the mother’s son, the teacher’s student, Gidion. As his story is revealed, the women try to reconstruct a satisfying explanation and come to terms with their excruciating feelings of culpability.

Continue reading “ETC … season opener tackles a tough topic – Gideon’s Knot”