On October 19th, Gulfshore Playhouse,
Naples' Florida burgeoning regional theatre, held its first
premiere benefit with a show entitled "3 Men and a
Diva" starring Carol Lawrence, Brian Lane Green, Johnny
Rodgers and Jim Caruso.
Almost $11,000 was raised toward programming of this up-and-coming
professional theatre, as it embarks upon its capital campaign
to build a new theatre in Naples.
Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury, who recently
moved to Naples from NYC, says, "I am touched and enthused
that the community of Naples Florida is as passionate and
excited about this project as I am. We, at Gulfshore Playhouse,
look forward to bringing lots of stimulating and enriching
theatrical experiences to Southwest Florida."
The show, which started with Kristen Coury making a small
fundraising push which ended with the speech, "There
are not a lot of mountains in Florida, but if you have a
dream, you have to build a mountain so that you can get
your dream that much closer to heaven. With your help, we're
gonna build a mountain" segued seamlessly into Johnny
Rodgers smoky rendition of "Gonna Build a Mountain".
The rest of the cast joined in, the music swelling when
Carol Lawrence entered to much applause and appreciation
from the audience. The show was a melange of Broadway standards
and original work that Johnny, Jim and Brian often use in
their cabaret shows, as well as a portion of Carol Lawrence's
show that she does when she tours the country. The audience
jumped two their feet with two standing ovations.
Broadway Veteran Carol Lawrence will headline
an evening of music and song entitled “3 Men and a Diva”
featuring Tony-nominated actor and singer Brian Lane Green,
pianist and singer Johnny Rodgers, and Master of Ceremonies
Jim Caruso. The performance will be followed by an exclusive
After-Party called “Under the stars with the Stars”,
where invitees can meet the performers, on the Rooftop of
Inn on Fifth, courtesy of Phil McCabe.
This benefit is made possible in part thanks
to the generous contribution of
John R. Wood Inc., Realtors, our major corporate sponsor.
Gulfshore Playhouse brings a self-producing
theatre company to Naples in the same category and class as
the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota and the Coconut Grove
Playhouse in Miami. The Playhouse promises to be a place where
Neapolitans will be able to find innovative and stimulating
new plays and musicals, recent Broadway and off-Broadway hits,
exciting concerts and one-man shows, as well as our beloved
classics.
The mission of Gulfshore Playhouse is to produce
superior-quality theatrical productions, using professional
actors from around Florida and the US, thereby creating another
cultural institution in Naples and heightening the quality
of life for the residents of Southwest Florida.
Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury says,
"I believe there is a niche to fill between the high-quality
community theatre that currently exists and the large-scale
Broadway Tours offered by "The Phil". At Gulfshore
Playhouse we will produce our own shows ranging from US or
Florida premieres to imaginative re-visionings of the classics.
I believe the community of Naples, or any community for that
matter, can always benefit from an increase in the arts, and
that creating a regional theatre here will add another colorful
thread to the already vibrant fabric of the Naples arts scene."
The challenge, according to Coury, lies in the
scarcity of the pre-existing theatre space in town, "and
what there is, is booked all year long", Coury notes.
As a result, Gulfshore Playhouse is embarking on a major Capital
Campaign to raise enough money either to build a brand new
space comparable to the Sugden Theatre -- a state-of-the art
complex including room for a scene shop, costume shop and
rehearsal studios -- or to find an already-existing space
that might be suitable for renovation.
Neapolitans will have their first opportunity
to see the caliber of performers and performances that The
Playhouse intends to bring to Naples with "3 Men and
a Diva". It promises to be an evening filled with spectacular
talent and great music.
For further information, to buy tickets for
"3 Men and a Diva" or to make a charitable contribution,
please contact>Kristen Coury, Producing Artistic Director,
at 239-398-3143.
Gulfshore Playhouse is a not-for-profit corporation
in the State of Florida and has applied for its 501c3 status
from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of
America. All contributions will be tax deductible to the fullest
extent of the law provided the IRS determination is favorable.
Should you have any questions with regard to the tax treatment
of your donation, please contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
 Carol
defines the phrase “Triple Crown”. An actress, singer
and dancer of the first magnitude, Ms. Lawrence created the
role of Maria in the Leonard Bernstein/Jerome Robbins Broadway
Classic West Side Story . Ms. Lawrence went on to star in
various other Broadway productions including I Do, I Do and
Kiss of the Spiderwoman as well as star in several National
Tours such as Funny Girl, The Sound of Music, Sweet Charity
and No, No Nanette. Ms. Lawrence broke box office records
for playing the title role in Mame in Los Angels and was the
first person to receive a star on the Hollywood “Walk
of Fame” in the category of “Live Theatre”.
As a regular on ABC’S “General
Hospital” Ms. Lawrence played the Italian Matriarch “Angela
Eckhart”, and in “Touched by an Angel” gave
a heart-warming performance as a woman facing death. Other
recent TV appearances include ”Murder, She Wrote”,“Sex
and the City”, and “Murder One”.
Carol recently headlined both the
“Fabulous Palm Springs Follies” and the newly-created
“Florida Follies”. She has performed with all the
major symphonies around the US and Canada and has received
both Tony and Grammy Award nominations for her work.
 Tony
Award nominee for “Best Actor in a Musical” for
his performance as Spacepunk in Starmites, Green made his
Broadway debut as Huck Finn in Big River. He went on to star
in the first national tour of that show and also in the national
tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat. He appeared on Broadway as Jo Jo in the Cy Coleman
musical The Life. Green's regional theater credits include
West Side Story, The Pirates of Penzance, Pippin, Camelot,
La Cage Aux Folles, 1776, and Julius Caesar,
in which he played Marc Antony.
On television, Green has guest
starred on numerous prime-time shows, including “Sabrina
the Teenage Witch”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Matlock”,
“Hotel”, and “Highway to Heaven”. Daytime
audiences know him as Alan Brand on “Days of Our Lives”,
Sam Fowler on “Another World”, and Brian Bodine
on “All My Children”.
One of the stars of the cult film
“Circuit”, Green also co-starred with Tovah Feldshuh
and Tony Lo Bianco in the recently released film “Friends
and Family”.
Green can be heard on the live
recording of The Words and Music of Jerry Herman: Tap Your
Troubles Away (LML), Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
(RCA) with the Tonics, George and Ira Gershwin: A Musical
Tribute (MCA), and Grateful: The Songs of John Bucchino (RCA).
On The Today Show (NBC), Ice Wars(CBS), and in the 25th Anniversary
Tour of Champions on Ice, Olympic Gold Medalist Viktor Petrenko
performed to Green's recording of "Flight" from
his debut CD, Brian Lane Green (LML).
Green recently made his debut
as a playwright and composer with Waiting for Glaciers to
Melt. This original musical was chosen to be part of New
York City's Midtown International Theater Festival.
 Jim
has won four MAC Awards and two BackStage Magazine Bistro
Awards for his sold-out New York runs at Arci’s Place,
The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, The Russian Tea Room,
Carnegie Hall, Caroline’s Comedy Club and Birdland. He
has also performed in runs at the Cinegrill and Gardenia in
Los Angeles, The Vic Theater and Davenport’s in Chicago,
Libby’s in Atlanta, the Colony Palm Beach Hotel in Florida
and the Connaught Room in London. Caruso guest-hosted "Broadway
On Broadway 2000" in Times Square for a crowd of 100,000
theater fans. Caruso was the founding member of the nationally
acclaimed, award-winning jazz vocal and comedy trio, Wiseguys.
After performing in an all-star Inaugural extravaganza, they
were invited to sing at President Clinton’s First State
Dinner at the White House in an evening hosted by Lauren Bacall.
Wiseguys were also special guests of Liza Minnelli in her
sold-out Las Vegas, Atlantic City, United Nations and Central
Park concerts. The trio performed in concert at the Weill
Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and in "the big room"
with Rosemary Clooney.
For the past two years, he has
hosted Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, a weekly Monday night
showbiz bash which was honored with a New York Nightlife
Award, and was recently highlighted in the New York Times
Arts Section.
 From
Off-Broadway theaters to the Manhattan nightclub scene,
Johnny Rodgers has been knocking audiences out with his
powerful vocals, sophisticated piano and emotionally charged
original songs. Since his move from Chicago three years
ago, he has shared the stage with such diverse luminaries
as Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde at the PETA Humanitarian
Awards, Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall, Liza Minnelli
at Gotham Hall, and was featured on Garrison Keillor's "A
Prairie Home Companion" on National Public Radio. Last
year, Johnny appeared in the Off-Broadway production of
Our Sinatra. In March of this year, Johnny headlined at
Birdland, New York's most legendary jazz club, with an evening
of original music.
Johnny has been the recipient of many performance
and songwriting awards, including the prestigious Abe Olman
Scholarship from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the Manhattan
Association of Clubs (MAC) Award for Best Male Debut Performer,
the Backstage Magazine Bistro Award for Outstanding Debut,
the Gerald Marks Award from the New York Sheet Music Society,
Show Business Weekly's Best One-Man Show Award and numerous
ASCAP scholarships.
Johnny is featured on the recently released
Maury Yeston Songbook (ps classics). He is currently working
on his debut solo recording, funded in part by the ASCAP Foundation
and featuring Grammy Award winner Randy Brecker. The project
is being produced by writing partner Richard Barone. In June
of this year, the Songwriters Hall of Fame chose the new recording
of Johnny performing his song "Is It the Way?,"
co-written with Richard Barone, for the opening track of their
new CD, The Best of the New Songwriters Showcase.
As a producer, Johnny is currently working
on recording projects with Tony nominee Brian Lane Green and
Lee Lessack.
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