The Naples Players Announce the 2015-16 Season

NAPLES, Fla. - April 8, 2015 - PRLog -- (Naples, FL) -The Naples Players have assembled a compelling combination of plays and musicals for the upcoming year, all of which reflect a satisfying mix of mystery, drama, music and comedy for their eight play season at Sugden Community Theatre.

Something’s Afoot with book, music and lyrics by James McDonald, David Vos and Robert Gerlach, and additional music by Ed Linderman, kicks off the fall on the Blackburn stage October 14 – November 8.  Murder, mystery, music and comedy abound in this zany spoof of detective stories.  As each guest is picked off one by one by clever and comically fiendish devices, hilarity ensues, leaving the audience trying to deduce, whodunit?

Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman, comes to the Tobye Studio October 28 – November 21.  In this provocative drama, students and administration alike are forced to confront their own feelings on racism when an African American student at Belmont College begins receiving racist hate mail.  What they discover is not at all what they expected.

The Foreigner by Larry Shue takes the Blackburn stage November 25 – December 20.  When pathologically shy Charlie joins his friend Froggy for a much needed getaway, he dreads having to converse with people he doesn’t know.  The solution?  Tell everyone he is from an exotic foreign country and does not speak English.  The result?  Deep secrets and diabolical plans are revealed in this outrageously wacky comedy.

Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz follows in Blackburn January 13 – February 7, 2016.  The Wyeths are a family that appear to have it all, but their carefully crafted facade is on the verge of shattering when daughter Brooke reveals the impending publication of her “tell-all” memoir. With crackling wit and razor-sharp one-liners, this new American play is a funny, searing and thought provoking presentation. Rated R for language.

Spy thriller comedy, The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow and John Buchan, will fill the Tobye with laughter February 3 – 27, 2016.   Richard Hannay is bored with life until he meets a mysterious female spy. When she ends up murdered in his apartment, he becomes the sole suspect and is launched into a mad-cap adventure in this fast-paced farce that has 150 campy characters played by only four actors.

The new Mel Brooks musical, Young Frankenstein, with book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, and original direction and choreography by Susan Stroman, comes to life on the Blackburn stage March 2 – April 3, 2016.  This electrifying comedy follows Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, his beguiling lab assistant, Inga, his hunchbacked side-kick, Igor, his map-cap fiancé, Elizabeth, and the enigmatic Frau Blucher as they succeed in bringing a monster to life, but not without dangerous and often hilarious consequences.

A Sleeping Country, by Melanie Marnich takes the Tobye stage March 23 – April 16, 2016.  Julia is plagued by chronic insomnia. When she discovers that it could be a very rare and even fatal prognosis, she travels to Venice for answers.  What she learns on her journey awakens her to more than she ever expected to discover.   A clever and thoughtful comedy that begs the question, are we sleeping through life or are we truly awake?

Ending the Blackburn season is The Dixie Swim Club, which will run April 20 – May 15, 2016. Enduring friendships are at the heart of this endearing and witty comedy where five very different women who met on their college swim team, reconnect every year to laugh, reminisce and meddle in each other’s lives.

Blackburn Hall performances are as follows,Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.  Please be advised that this season our Wednesday shows in Blackburn Hall will begin at 7:30 p.m.  Tobye Studio shows are held Wednesday – Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Blackburn Hall adult tickets are $40 for musicals and $35 for plays.  Adult tickets for the Tobye Studio are $30. All performances offer a discounted ticket price of $10 for students 21 and under. Subscriptions, which offer a savings over individual ticket prices and provide assured seating, are currently available for the entire Blackburn or Tobye seasons.  Individual tickets go on sale in September 2015.  Subscriptions can be purchased at the box office, by calling 239-263-7990, or by visiting www.naplesplayers.org. Sugden Community Theatre is located at 701 5th Avenue South, Naples.