|
crunnells@news-press.com
Originally posted on March 20, 2007
Every day, they swamp the box office at Naples Dinner Theatre.
“That’s all we get all day,” says co-owner
Stuart Glazer. “They keep coming up and saying, ‘Please,
please, don’t close.’
“They’re heartbreakers.”
Actor Barry Marcus hears it, too, during his speeches before
each show.
“I tell them we’re closing,” he says. “And
every night, there are moans and groans. It’s very
sad.”
It’s not that Glazer and Marcus
want to drop the curtain on Naples Dinner Theatre, a popular
Immokalee Road landmark since 1975.
They just don’t have much choice.
“It’s sort of depressing,” says artistic
director Michael Wainstein. “This is happening despite
all the good work we’ve done.”
The theater will lock its doors April 30. Sometime after
that, the bulldozers will arrive to plow it all down.
In the theater’s place: A public-storage
facility. The Lock Up facility could be up and running
by early 2008, according to David Stevens, a real estate
agent who represents the property owners.
When Naples Dinner Theatre closes, there
won’t be
another full-time, professional troupe in Naples. The Naples
Players are community theater, and the professional TheaterZone
only stages a handful of shows each year.
“It’s very sad,” says Elaine Hamilton,
executive director of the United Arts Council of Collier
County. “It’s sad anytime we lose a member of
the arts community.
“There are so few permanent facilities like that.
And certainly there’s not another dinner theater in
the Naples area.”
Even so, the theater isn’t dead.
People can choose from several other venues, including
the Philharmonic Center for the Arts (which features mostly
traveling shows) and the upcoming Gulfshore Playhouse in
Estero. That professional theater could open within a few
years.
“Obviously, there are other options for live theater,” Hamilton
says. “But this is a loss. No doubt about it.”
The theater has been a part of Naples life since the Fiske
family built it in 1975. Back then, it was called the Starlight
Supper Club.
The Starlight closed in 1997 and reopened two years later
with a new name and new owners: Wainstein, Marcus and Glazer.
Their first show was the musical “Forever Plaid.” Since
then, they’ve staged about 85 more.
Now the dinner theater is taking its
last bow. And over and over again, people keep telling
The News-Press the same thing: It’s a darn shame.
Richard Pappas, 75, of Naples has been coming to the theater
for years with members of his men’s club.
Pappas isn’t sure what his club
will do after this. Members may drive all the way to Fort
Myers to see the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.
“This is a place we’ve always felt very close
to,” he says. “It’s just a sad affair.”
It’s even sadder considering that Naples Dinner Theatre
has been playing to packed houses this winter season — especially
for its current powerhouse, “Show Boat.” One
more show — the smaller “Seussical: The Musical” — opens
March 27.
Of course, that begs the question: How
could this happen to such a popular theater? About 20,000
people will watch “Show
Boat” before it ends, Marcus says.
Truthfully, the theater has never been as successful as it
seems, Glazer says. And it’s never really made a profit.
Management blames that on several things,
but mainly it’s
the seasonal nature of Naples. The theater is packed during
snowbird season, but for the other eight months of the year,
actors often play to a half-filled house.
“We’re going to walk away with basically no
profit after all these years,” Wainstein says. “And
that’s frustrating.”
Shows are expensive to put on, Glazer
says. It costs $85,000 to pay everyone’s payroll for two weeks, including
actors. And that doesn’t even include the costs of
sets, equipment, food, etc.
The theater’s closing leaves about
70 actors, stage hands, musicians, cooks, wait staff and
office employees without jobs.
Wainstein, himself, says he’s not sure what he’s
going to do. He’s applied for jobs teaching theater
in college or directing elsewhere, but so far nothing has
come through.
Marcus and Glazer plan to stay in their Naples house and
enjoy their newfound free time.
Developers have approached them about
perhaps anchoring a shopping center (Glazer wouldn’t say which groups).
But they’re ready for a break.
“At this point, we’re not giving it much thought,” Glazer
says. “We’re just looking forward to doing the
stuff we haven’t been able to do for the last seven
years. We’re taking time off.”
Marcus — one of the main draws at Naples Dinner Theater — plans
to keep acting at other local theaters.
“I’m available,” he says and chuckles. “Get
the word out.
Theater managers have already sold their
entire collection of props, costumes, and theater equipment
to two other theaters. And they may sell the remaining
chairs, tables and other equipment in a giant “yard
sale.”
“We’ll be gone after April 30,” Wainstein
says. “We’re starting to close down, and we’re
starting to think about all the things we have to do to exit
from here.”
Others aren’t sure Naples Dinner
Theatre is down for count.
Dick Westlake — who has acted in 21 shows there — thinks
the couple may take a few years off, get bored and start
something new.
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” he
says.
He hates to see such a great theater disappear, even for
the short term.
“I think it’s a shame,” he says. “We
can always use good theater.”
They’re not going out without a
party, though.
Naples Dinner Theatre plans a celebration
after the last show on April 22. It will include champagne,
cake, speeches — and
probably some tears, too.
There are lots of memories packed into
that building, Marcus says. He’s had a great time playing everyone from Tevye
in “Fiddler on the Roof” to the narrator in “Rocky
Horror Picture Show.”
“It’ll be a strange feeling,” Marcus says. “Suddenly,
we’re no longer here. This has been our home.”
During a recent speech before “Show Boat,” thanked
the audience members for all their love.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you
who have been here from the very beginning,” he said. “And
for those of you who are here for the first time, you’ll
see what you’ve been missing for the last seven years.
“Thanks for being here.”
Timeline:
1975: The Fiske family builds the Naples Dinner Theatre,
then called the Starlight Supper Club
March 30, 1997: The Starlight closes. The owner cites health
problems.
Dec. 20, 1999: The Starlight opens with
new owners and a new name, Naples Dinner Theatre. Their
first show is “Forever
Plaid”
June 2005: The Lock Up public-storage business strikes a
deal with the Fiske family
April 22, 2007: Final shows at Naples Dinner Theatre
April 30, 2007: Theater management locks the doors and leaves
for good
Summer 2007: Bulldozers begin tearing down the building
Early 2008: The new Lock Up storage building is expected
to open for business
Here’s what The News-Press reviewers
have written about Naples Dinner Theatre through the years:
“The bulldozers are circling, and time is running
out for Naples Dinner Theatre. But you’d never know
that from watching its latest musical.
“Show Boat” is one of the catchiest, most touching
musicals Naples Dinner Theatre has done. And actor Barry
Marcus — a Naples Dinner Theatre mainstay — seems
to sum up the theater’s attitude in Act 1.
“Whatever happens,” his character says, “always
remember to smile.”
Naples Dinner Theatre puts on a big, bright smile for its
last show. And it’s downright infectious.”
— “Show Boat” (Charles Runnells, 2007)
“The theater’s production of ‘Sugar’ packs
a tommy-gun wallop thanks to high-energy dance numbers; powerhouse
singing; glitzy, Prohibition-era costumes; and several stand-out
comedic performances.
— “Sugar” (Charles Runnells, 2006)
“A rock musical about a ‘sweet transvestite’ from
Transsexual, Transylvania ... doesn't sound like it would
go over well in conservative Southwest Florida.
“Well, the camp classic is back for a third season
at the Naples Dinner Theatre, and it's a blast. Director
Michael Wainstein pulls out all the stops and winds up with
a sexy, funny, rocking good time.”
— “Rocky Horror Picture Show” (Drew Sterwald,
2003)
“Barry Marcus’ every mannerism,
every vocal inflection contributes to a fully embodied
characterization of the much-performed Russian peasant.
“His poor man is a rich mixture of emotions — ambition,
devotion, disappointment, hope — that play across his
face and alter the dynamics of his voice.
“It's a plum role, and Marcus makes the most of it.
— “Fiddler on the Roof” (Drew Sterwald,
2002)
“To call ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ colorful
would be the understatement of the year. This musical comedy
bursts with so much color and glitz it could almost get by
without stage lighting.”
— “La Cage Aux Folles” (Charles Runnells,
2001)
“Sizzling and sexy, ‘Ain't Misbehavin'’ shimmies
off the stage at the Naples Dinner Theatre, turning the bordello-red
venue into a hothouse of lust, jealousy and longing.
“Directed and staged by Michael Wainstein with musical
direction by Ben Bedenbaugh, the show steams by in about
two hours, propelled by passionate singing and playing.”
— “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Drew
Sterwald, 2001)
“First you hear the rhythm, a chugging,
hypnotic, almost tribal beat on a scuffed rehearsal floor.
Then the curtain raises partway to reveal a line of fiercely
tapping legs, pounding with percussive fury, pounding,
pounding, pounding.
“The effect is nothing short of stunning.”
— “42nd Street” (Charles Runnells, 2000)
“The ensemble of 16 rises, their
voices soaring, their movements expressing passion. A viewer
can't helped but be stirred by the grand scale of it all.”
— “Evita” (Drew Sterwald, 2000)
“I hate to keep harping on the
same subject here, but let's give credit where it's due.
Something miraculous is happening at Naples Dinner Theatre.
“This troupe has topped itself with every show, continuously
wowwing this critic with some of the best, most consistent
musical theatre in Southwest Florida. And it's current production
of "Godspell" does nothing to break that admirable
habit.”
— “Godspell” (Charles Runnells, 2000)
“What counts is that the performers
are loaded with talent, beginning with Ethan Popp playing
piano on stage.
“They sing with such purity of tone playgoers surely
must be lifted to a higher plane.”
— “Forever Plaid” (Maureen Bashaw, 1999)
|
