A massive fundraising effort to bring a regional playhouse to
Estero will move into high gear as organizers try put together
$20 million over the next 18 months.
Kristen Coury, founder and artistic director of the Gulfshore
Playhouse, is working on a plan to raise enough money to build
the 499-seat theater and cover operating costs for its first
year. With less than $1 million in the bank, her campaign has
become slightly more aggressive.
"Our full attention would probably turn to fundraising
by the end of the year," Coury said.
A Naples-based developer recently pledged to donate land for
the theater on an 85-acre residential and commercial development
in Estero. The D'Jamoos Group will make room for the 35,000-square-foot
theater in the Estero on the River development at the intersection
of Corkscrew Road and U.S. 41.
With the Estero on the River development expected to break ground
next year, Coury is also trying to raise enough money to begin
construction on the theater. "Suddenly we were in a development
that had its own timeline," Coury said. "Obviously
if Joe D'Jamoos donates the land to us he wants us to be ready."
The building itself will cost around $15 million. Design work,
along with operating costs for the theater's first year, will
bring the total project to about $20 million. Coury hopes to
have chosen an architect by January and have design work completed
by April.
The facility will be constructed several miles from its previous
site in a Naples development on Airport-Pulling Road just north
of Golden Gate Parkway. The site's $4.5 million price tag proved
too costly, Coury said. "When we were donated land by Joe
D'Jamoos and it just made much more sense," Coury said.
With millions left to raise before the project can break ground,
Coury has $300,000 in donations and pledges from corporate and
private sponsors. She has decided against bringing in a professional
firm to raise money.
"We don't necessarily feel like that's a wise expenditure
of donors' money," Coury said. "What we're doing is
a much more grass roots approach."
Coury said she is working with the same fundraiser who raised
$66 million in donations for the Kravis Center for the Performing
Arts in West Palm Beach.
The Gulfshore Playhouse has held small fundraisers, including
a show at the Sudgen Theater this month, but a bulk of the money
will be brought in through a capital campaign that will kick
off in November. A golf tournament at the Tiburn Golf Club will
include a $275 entry feel and offer sponsorships for $750, $1,250
and $2,500.
In January the playhouse will offer tickets for cocktails with
Broadway and film star Carol Channing. Those tickets will sell
for $125 to $200 per couple. A dinner with the star will cost
from $300 to $500 per couple.
While Coury tries to bring in donations and corporate sponsorships,
Estero residents are also working to make sure the theater is
built. The Estero of Council of Community leaders has appointed
a resident to help Coury approach Estero communities for donations.
The amount of money needed to bring the theater
to Estero is considerable, said Arnie Rosenthal, vice chair
of the Estero Council of Community Leaders, but residents
have been reassured by Coury's enthusiasm for the project.
"They need $20 million, that is a lot of money,"
Rosenthal said. "But she's a very energetic person. If
anyone can do it she is the one."
The theater will feature a mixture of traditional
and new age plays, Broadway and off-Broadway shows. It will
play an important role in establishing Estero in the arts
arena, said resident Sam Levy, who also serves on the council.
"For an unincorporated area, I think it
is a tremendous thing," Levy said. "To put it quite
bluntly, there's nothing in Estero at this point. This will
put some culture and entertainment on our doorstep."
Lee County residents have to travel to the
Barbara B. Mann Theater in Fort Myers, the Philharmonic Center
for the Arts in Naples or the productions at Florida Gulf
Coast University to see a performance, Levy said.
"For the D'Jamoos Group to offer land
for something like this, I think it's something the community
should take advantage of," Levy said. "I think a
playhouse would really cement Estero as something other than
a bunch of gated communities."
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