|
Ladies in sweeping dresses on the arm of a
beau.
An atmosphere of refinement. An evening of
enchantment and imagination.
That is what Gulfshore Playhouse founder Kristen Coury hopes
the conceptual design for the theater, planned for the Estero
on the River development, will evoke.
The 500-seat main stage and 150-seat studio theater, with
all the conveniences of the 21st century, is designed to whirl
residents of Southwest Florida back to a time when life revolved
around the theater, she said.
"This type of theater is not being built in America anymore.
It was never built in America," she said. "I wanted
a building that would represent the high quality of the area."
Working with the architectural firm Westlake Reed Leskosky
out of Washington, D.C., she shunned the sleek contemporary
designs that are the hallmark of modern theaters in favor
of arching windows with balconies and high-reaching columns.
A watercolor rendering of the Gulfshore Playhouse was revealed
Friday evening during a fundraising gala and concert for the
theater with Tony award winner and Broadway star Anna Maria
Alberghetti.
Jerry Coury makes a halfhearted attempt at convincing his
wife that he should bid on an antique Edison phonograph, part
of a silent auction at Quail West Country Club on Friday to
raise money for the Gulfshore Playhouse, a 550-seat theater
planned for Estero.
The rendering, by local artist David Coolidge, also features
a varying roofline and a red-tiled roof, key elements of the
Mediterranean architecture required by Lee County codes for
developments in Estero.
"I certainly hope it's going to pass in Estero,"
Coury said.
She added that the Comedie Francais theater in Paris, built
between 1786 and 1790, and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires,
are where she drew most of her inspiration.
Friday, the rendering was met with approval from Neal Noethlich,
an Estero activist who helped draft the design codes for the
community. He called it "impressive" with "an
aura befitting of some place special."
If Estero on the River, a mixed-use development on the northeast
corner of U.S. 41 and Corkscrew Road, is approved by the county,
Gulfshore Playhouse will be the crown jewel, said Betsy D'Jamoos,
chief operating officer for The D'Jamoos Group, the developer
of property.
An artist's rendering of the Gulfshore Playhouse, planned
for the Estero on the River development.
"Our feeling is that a cultural institution should have
a presence," D'Jamoos said.
The zoning application for Estero on the River should go before
the Lee County Commission by late summer or early fall, said
Brad Guarino, development manager for JED of Southwest Florida,
an entity of The D'Jamoos Group.
Even if the development is approved, however, Gulfshore Playhouse
is a long way from reality.
The playhouse will cost upward of $20 million, Coury said.
A professional fundraising consultant firm recently was hired,
and a massive capital campaign should start within the next
two months, she said. Smaller events, such as the concert
with Alberghetti or a previous show with Broadway star Carol
Channing, have been successful, she said, but larger events
with lower admission will play a part in the new campaign.
"I want to raise awareness, too," she said.
|
