The Naples Players Present The Last Romance By Joe DiPietro

NAPLES, Fla. - April 1, 2015 - PRLog -- NAPLES, FL- The Naples Players will present The Last Romance (www.naplesplayers.org) by Joe DiPietro April 22 – May 16 in Blackburn Hall at Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples.

         What if? Everyone wonders what could have been, and Ralph, a widowed retiree, is no exception. A second chance at love brings new hope when Ralph unexpectedly takes a different path on his daily walk and meets Carol, an elegant dog lover. Their late-in-life love blossoms and proves that love has no age limit.  The Last Romance is a bittersweet, romantic comedy that illustrates how it is never too late to make each day count.

Michael Scanlan, who last directed Our Town for The Naples Players, will direct. Scanlan has had numerous plays published, and several translated into other languages during his twenty-five years as a teacher, director and playwright.

Vic Caroli will star as the widowed Ralph. Caroli, a classically trained actor and a retired member of Actor’s Equity has performed professionally in dinner theatre and off- Broadway, as well as in regional theatres such as the Cleveland Playhouse and the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival.  He more recently performed as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes, the Final Adventure and Hank Hadley in Regrets Only with The Naples Players.

         Carol Fenstermacher will perform as the lovely and elegant, Carol Reynolds. Fenstermacher has been an active member of The Naples Players since 2001 and was last seen as Madame de Rosemonde in The Naples Players production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. More recently she occupied the Assistant Director chair for God of Carnage, Gypsy, The Drowsy Chaperone and The Producers.

         Janina Birtolo plays Ralph’s nagging sister, Rose. Janina is a life member with The Naples Players and most recently appeared as Dottie in Good People. Birtolo also played Myra in Regrets Only, Hattie in The Women of Lockerbie and Vivian Bearing in Wit.

         Michael Fratz will play the Young Man. Fratz graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburg with a degree in musical theatre and a minor in opera. While this is his first time performing with The Naples Players, Fratz has performed in numerous musicals and plays at the Pittsburg Playhouse & Children’s Theatre, starred in his own one man show in New York and has sung in numerous professional choral ensembles, including the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington.

Performances for The Last Romance will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under, and 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.

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Carol (Carole Fenstermacher) comforts Ralph (Vic Caroli) in The Naples Players production of The Last Romance, performed April 22 – May 16 in Blackburn Hall at Sugden Community Theatre, 701 5^th Avenue South, Naples. (Photo Credit: Bob Kelly)