Gulfshore Playhouse

back and to the future

by Julie Clay

OW that live theatre has finally fully returned to Southwest Florida, Gulfshore Playhouse is ready and excited to present a sensational season featuring professional actors and award-winning producing talent. Covid precautions in place, audiences can rest assured of their safety while enjoying a varied entertainment roster. Gulfshore is also thrilled to finally have the official groundbreaking for construction of their dream-come-true cultural campus. In the meantime, all Gulfshore productions continue their run on the Norris Center stage in downtown Naples.

Speaking recently with Gulfshore Playhouse founder, CEO &

NProducing Artistic Director, Kristen Coury, we got the scoop on this season’s lineup. Following an October Broadway Cabaret kickoff show, Tony Award-winning playwright August Wilson’s Radio Golf runs November 11-December 5. The story of an ambitious real estate developer determined to save his blighted childhood neighborhood and become the first Black Mayor of Pittsburgh. Radio Golf is directed by Marshall Jones III, former Producing Artistic Director at the acclaimed Crossroads Theatre Company. Coury adds that Joseph C. Phillips, who plays lead character Harmond, was a regular on The Cosby Show for several seasons. Higher, written and starring Jeffrey Binder, Gulfshore’s first

back and to the future

Gulfshore Playhouse is busy with their ‘Next Stage’ capital campaign, raising funds to build a world-class cultural campus at the corner of Goodlette-Frank Rd. & 1st Ave. S. in downtown Naples. “A realization of 17 years of dreams,” Coury says.

Associate Artistic Director, follows from January 13-30. Coury shares, “It was written by him last year at our request, for Covid. We thought last fall that the Actors Union would give us permission to do it since it’s a one-person show.” The union refused, so they filmed it instead. However, this season, Higher, a story of faith, healing, and hope, gets its time on stage, where it belongs.

February 10-March 13th, Gulfshore presents a hilarious take on Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece The 39 Steps. Watch over 150 zany characters portrayed by an incredibly talented cast of four!

Next, Coury directs The Invisible Hand, a provocative political thriller written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar. Running March 24-April 16, it’s the story of an American investment banker held for ransom by a militant group in Pakistan. To his dismay, he finds that nobody is coming to his aid.

Finishing the season is Another Revolution April 28-May 15, a world premiere that Gulfshore discovered two or three years ago in their New Works Festival. The story, set in 1968, involves two graduate students forced to share a lab at Columbia University while the campus devolves in the times’ politically and socially charged climate. Coury says, “We’re excited to showcase a female American playwright (Jacqueline Bircher) and Lisa Rothe, a renowned Director across the country. This is the first time we are able to secure her to direct a show.”

Gulfshore’s STAR Academy education department also continues its stellar program, giving teens interested in theatre the chance to learn from seasoned professionals. Their production of Annie happens December 1619th, and the spring production of Clue runs May 20-22.

Following Covid protocols, audiences will be masked, temperatures checked at the door, and capacity at the Norris Center will be at 75% for all shows.

Besides their triumphant return to live productions, Coury is also busy with Gulfshore Playhouse’s ‘Next Stage’ capital campaign, raising funds to build a world-class cultural campus at the corner of Goodlette-Frank Road & 1st Avenue South in downtown Naples.

“The campus is a realization of 17 years of dreams,” Coury says, adding that they were able to raise $45 million in the last year alone. “That’s amazing to me,” she imparts. “We’re now at $55 million out of a $60 million campaign.” A ceremonial groundbreaking will happen on December 1st, and she hints that some Broadway talent may be on hand for that as well.

“I’m over the moon about this exciting moment. Thanks to our wonderful donors and incredible team, we are bringing world-class art and education to the region,” Coury enthuses. She shares that the Broadway-size stage will have 20-foot wings on either side, among other features needed for proper production. This has to be inspiring news for at least a couple of Gulfshore’s board members, Patty Baker and Sandi Moran, who are both Tony award-winning producers.

“This is the new model for regional theaters,” Coury envisions, “Producers can create content where they can practice and hone it before it goes to New York. We’re hoping that we can become the anchor theater in the southeast that Broadway producers look toward to develop Tony award-winning musicals.” She adds that they are in negotiations right now with an internationally known playwright to pen the world premiere of a new play, which will be their first production in the new performance hall. The main stage rehearsal hall can also be used for bank gatherings, civic events, etc.

Once construction starts in December, Gulfshore hopes to open the new cultural campus in late fall 2023. Coury encourages one and all to come by anytime during business hours, enjoy something from the café, use their free Wi-Fi and experience the beautifully designed space filled with natural light. And parking? Don’t worry about it!

Coury reveals, “The city has agreed to build a new garage next door. Gulfshore Playhouse, along with Wynn Properties, will be contributing 1/3 acre to the city to build it. They have hired DPZ CoDesign to bring Duany PlaterZyberk’s expertise to the Design District.”

Coury remarks that every arts organization she knows of in the region has had to add seats due to significant growth, a healthy rebound from the Covid shutdowns a year ago! “Theaters are catalysts to growth, so this is great timing for planned growth.”

There are two exciting upcoming Gulfshore Playhouse fundraiser, Rising Stars: An Afternoon on the Red Carpet on November 15 at the beautiful Arthrex One Conference Center in Naples. The event stars the one and only Rita Moreno, acclaimed winner of all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy. Her latest work is a return to West Side Story in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film adaptation.

Bubbles, Baubles & Broadway, on March 7, encourages ‘Courageous Attire’ for a circus-type show that takes place, literally, inside a giant circus tent. Coury shares that a Cirque de Soleil-type company will do breathtaking aerial stunts and amazing circus tricks, and Broadway talent will perform.

Coury resolves, “We’re just so happy to be back on stage. You can expect old-school Gulfshore Playhouse this season. It’s been over 18 months since we’ve been able to do a real season. We’re thrilled to bring theatre quality excitement to our patrons. Our shows were created to give people things to discuss afterward and are designed to bring people back together safely and joyfully.”

“There are a few thought-provoking plays to chew on, and the actors won’t be wearing masks. They will be tested two-to-six times a week, depending on the show. There are no mandatory vaccine requirements for audience members, but there are temperature checks on the way in and masks are mandatory.” •

Gulfshore Playhouse performs (for now) at the Norris Center, 755 8th Ave, S. in Naples. For information, call 261-7529.

“We’re hoping that we can become the anchor theater in the southeast that Broadway producers look toward to develop Tony award-winning musicals.”

The Gulfshore Playhouse fundraiser, Rising Stars: An Afternoon on the Red Carpet, on November 15 at the beautiful Arthrex One Conference Center in Naples, stars Rita Moreno, acclaimed winner of an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy.