Check Out ‘Shrek: The Musical’ At The New Tampa Performing Arts Center! 

By NORA PAINE 

NTP Producing Artistic Director 

Source: IMDb, original Broadway cast poster 

Remember that terrifying-but-secretly-lovable ogre, his annoying-but-lovable donkey, and that captive princess hiding a secret or two? Dreamworks’ classic movie “Shrek,” loosely based on a book by William Steig, was one of the biggest animated hits of all time: a funny, irreverent send-up of fairy tale clichĂ©s, with catchy music, iconic voice acting, and — underneath it all — a heart of gold. “Shrek” spawned several sequels and a hit Broadway show: “Shrek The Musical,” with twenty original songs. “Shrek The Musical” is coming to the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) for two weekends — October 20-22 & 27-29. 

The New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe has been operating for 20 years and more than 70 productions, but “Shrek The Musical” will be only the second Broadway musical the troupe has presented at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), the beautiful, 350-seat facility located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the main entrance to Hunter’s Green that opened its doors earlier this year. 

As we have already come to expect from our NTP, “Shrek The Musical” will have a shockingly-talented local cast, a live orchestra and gorgeous costumes, sets, and lights. NTP’s previous Broadway musical, “Grease,” completely sold out the last four of its six performances in July, with a waiting list of 60, so if you want to catch everyone’s favorite green ogre, you should pick up those “Shrek” tickets right away. 

“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek
.” — thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists being rescued. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and more than a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. And luckily, there’s one on hand, and his name is Shrek. 

Shrek the Musical’s cast of 30 includes residents from New Tampa and the local area, including Chris Cordero (photo below) as Shrek, Brianna Filippelli-Peterson as Fiona, Evan Lomba as Donkey, and Kyle Fisher as Lord Farquaad. Cordero, Filippelli- Peterson and Fisher were featured performers in NTPAC’s dedication performance in March, and if you were lucky enough to catch “Grease,” you saw Fisher as Kenickie. 

Chris Cordero will play the titular ogre.

NTP also has assembled an amazing artistic team with newcomers Karissa Barber, Megan Zietler and Victoria Zisi as director, music director, and choreographer, respectively. 

For Barber, Shrek is a passion project and very dear to her heart. 

“Shrek is about loving yourself and finding your people in life,” she says. 

Cordero, as the titular ogre, agrees wholeheartedly with Barber, “Most of the characters have to learn not to judge a book by its cover. Everyone has their own story, their own dreams and things that make them special. This show is about acceptance, vulnerability and love. These themes are universal to everyone, and everyone will find something in this show that will touch their hearts.” 

“Shrek The Musical” is funny and fast-paced with a warm heart. Seeing familiar characters brought to life on stage (along with some truly stunning costumes and effects) makes the show exciting and accessible for kids, parents, grandparents, and anyone who enjoys a musical good time. Similar to the animated film, “Shrek the Musical” is considered appropriate for ages 12 and up, due to mild language and some crass humor. Some jokes will be over the younger kids’ heads and, as always, parents should use their own judgement. 

Mark your calendars and get your tickets now for “Shrek The Musical” on Fri. & Sat., Oct 20-21, both at 8 p.m. & Sun., Oct. 22, at 3 p.m.; it also will be performed Fri.-Sat., Oct. 27-28, at 8 p.m., & Sun., Oct. 29, at 3 p.m., all at the beautiful New Tampa Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at NewTampaPlayers.org. 

Lennar Getting Ready To Build Townes At Cross Creek In Two Locations 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

A rendering of the buildings at The Townes at Cross Creek.

If you drive on Cross Creek Blvd. regularly, you probably have seen the signs for what appears to be two separate new townhome communities by Lennar Homes that are both being called “The Townes at Cross Creek.” 

Well, despite the distance between them, the two separate communities are actually being developed as one, with 60 three-bedroom, 2.5-bath, two-story townhomes in nine buildings in the western section of the development (east of the New Tampa Dance Theatre, or NTDT on the map below) and 35 similar townhomes with the same model names in six buildings due east of The Parq at Cross Creek apartments. 

The map of the two halves of the community. 

The three model sizes currently being shown in The Townes at Cross Creek at Lennar.com are the 1,597-sq.-ft. Allegiance model, the 1,760-sq.-ft. Constitution model and the 1,807-sq.ft. Liberty model. 

In the Townes at Cross Creek West (also known as “Cross Creek- Parcel B”), there will be 16 Allegiance, 26 Constitution and 18 Liberty units among the 60 total. 

In the Townes at Cross Creek East (also known as “Cross Creek-Parcel D”),, there will be 9 Allegiance, 14 Constitution and 12 Liberty units among the 35 total. It appears that all of the units have attached garages, and lanais or porches. 

The sign announcing that The Townes at Cross Creek townhomes are coming. (Photo by Charmaine George) 

According to what we could find in both the site plan and on the Lennar website, we don’t believe The Townes at Cross Creek will have any amenities — no clubhouse, pool, etc. — but it also will not have a Community Development District. According to the site plan by Halff Associates, Inc., on behalf of the property owner — the SDD Trust — the roads inside both sides of the community are private, so we believe they will both be gated, although no one at Lennar had returned our phone calls or emails at our press time to address any of the questions we had about this new community. 

For example, because the vertical construction of the new townhomes has not yet begun, the Lennar.com website also did not mention any price points yet for The Townes, nor did it address when construction on the communities will actually begin or when it is expected to be completed. 

For more information, visit Lennar.com/new-homes/florida/ tampa-manatee/tampa/the-townes-at-cross-creek or call (888) 211- 6153 to join The Townes at Cross Creek interest list. 

County’s Live Oak Park Site Sale Will Help Pay For Pride Rec Center 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

A drone shot of the Anand Vihar 55+ community just north of the Pasco County line on Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe. (Map & photos provided by Hillsborough County & AnandViharTampa.com) 

Earlier this year, we told you about Hillsborough County’s plans to build an indoor recreation center at Pride Park, just south of Pride Elementary. 

The problem the county faced was how to fund the nearly $7 million needed to build the 16,000-sq.-ft. indoor Pride Recreation Center, which is planned to include space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and even space for meetings, after-school programs and perhaps an outdoor splash pad. 

The 61.89-acre parcel in Live Oak Preserve purchased by Anand Vihar, LLC, from Hillsborough County is outlined in purple.

Well, for many years, as part of the development of Live Oak Preserve, Hillsborough has owned an unused 61.89-acre parcel a little bit west and north of where the Pride Rec Center is planned that abuts the boundary between Live Oak in the county and the City of Tampa’s K-Bar Ranch/Easton Park development. 

The same parcel, which is shaped like a much smaller version of the state of Nevada (see map), also extends north to the Hillsborough/Pasco County line, basically to where Kinnan St. (in the city) meets Mansfield Blvd. in Pasco — where there currently is a gated arm that only opens for emergency vehicles, as Pasco has rejected all attempts over the years to open that patch of roadway to regular vehicular traffic. 

On Apr. 5 of this year, Hillsborough County sold this nearly 62-acre parcel of land — which countywide District 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan said was not in the plans to be developed into a park by the county — to Anand Vihar, LLC, for the price of $6,001,200. It just so happens that Anand Vihar, LLC (and its development group, Convergent Capital Partners) is the same group that owned and developed the property immediately to the north, in Pasco County, as an age 55+ community by the same “Anand Vihar” name. 

That Pasco-based property, which is home to a large number of doctors and engineers originally from India, was just turned over to the community’s condo association in June 2023, and is now home to 167 attached townhomes. 

However, Santosh Govindaraju, the chief executive officer of Convergent Capital partners, says that when plans are filed in November with Hillsborough County, Convergent will seek approval for 111 single-family homes on the new property, with homes ranging in price from $550,000 to $1 million, and from 1,800-2,500 square feet. The property in Live Oak also is expected to be developed as an age 55-and-older community. 

The monument sign of the Anand Vihar 55+ community just north of the Pasco County line on Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe.

Although the original zoning approval for the site would allow for 143 homes, Govindaraju has said that with only 111 homes, there will be more open “green” space available. In other words, whether the Hillsborough-based community also will be called Anand Vihar or not, it will prove to be a more upscale community than Anand Vihar in Pasco. 

What remains to be seen, of course, is whether or not the two separate communities can ever be connected by anything other than the nature trail that is in the current site plan for the Hillsborough County property. At the present time, the residents of the Hillsborough County Anand Vihar property would only be able to access Pasco County by taking K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. east to Meadow Pointe Blvd., turn north to Beardsley Dr. and then back to the west on Beardsley Dr. to access the Anand Vihar property on Mansfield Blvd. 

Is there a possibility — with former Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore — who never budged on allowing the connection at Kinnan St./Mansfield Blvd. — now replaced by Commissioner Seth Weightman in Pasco’s Dist. 2, that a road connection between the two Anand Vihar communities could be allowed? That remains to be seen. 

As for the Pride Recreation Center, Commissioner Hagan says the $6-million in proceeds from the Live Oak park site sale will pay for most of the cost of its construction, which is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024 and be completed by the end of next year or early in 2025. 

“There was an additional funding need of about $750,000 or $775,000 to build the rec center,” Hagan says. “But, we already have that additional funding worked out in our fiscal 2024 budget.” 

Hagan adds that he is excited that the rec center is now coming to fruition. 

Recapping The New Tampa Performing Arts Center’s First Fall Festival 

Dancers from the Tampa City Ballet catch some air during the ballet company’s performance at the first-ever Fall Festival at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center Sept. 8-10. (Photo by Charmaine George and Gary Nager)

If you somehow missed the first-ever Fall Festival at the all-new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), you missed a truly special weekend (Sept. 8-10) of 100% free performances of virtually every kind. 

A spectacular dance performance by the Jansen Dance Company.

Everything from ballet to modern dance and from Broadway to traditional Indian dance was available to attendees, thousands of whom packed the NTPAC throughout the weekend. NTPAC executive director Keith Arsenault (photo below) was clearly beaming all three days of the Fall Festival. 

“We couldn’t be happier with the performances, the attendance and the feedback we’ve received from everyone who visited this weekend,” Arsenault said. “It’s clear that this community has been hungry for more cultural opportunities.” 

Although we weren’t able to take pictures at every performance, Neighborhood News photographer Charmaine George and I were proud to be on hand for most of the weekend’s festivities, which also included Arsenault unveiling a plaque of thanks (bottom middle) to Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan (bottom left). Arsenault said that the land for the NTPAC was dedicated 15 years ago, and that it took 15 County Commission votes to make the Center a reality. “We have many people at the county to thank,” Arsenault said, “but we would not be standing here today without the long-standing efforts of Ken Hagan.” 

Hagan was clearly moved by the plaque. “Politicians are rarely at a loss for words, but I am blown away by this. Thank you!”

Among the memorable performances and activities on Friday afternoon and evening at the NTPAC’s Fall Festival were song-&- dance routines by the Freedom High chorus.
A hands-on “Instrument Petting Zoo” sponsored by The Florida Orchestra.
Members of the New Tampa Players theatre troupe (l.-r., Makayla Raines, TrevorLloyd, Alyson Gannon, pianist G. Frank Meekins & Kyle Billington) kept the huge crowd entertained with a cabaret lounge-style set of timeless classics.

After the impressive and super-fun performances on Friday afternoon and evening, the NTPAC’s Fall Festival didn’t rest on its laurels. To the contrary, it may have even stepped it up to another level on Saturday, as the outstanding Wharton High band (above) first filled the main stage theater and no one left disappointed. 

But, as great as the ‘Cats musicians were, the performance by the Tampa City Ballet (above pics) Saturday evening was the first of the weekend to have to turn away people who wanted to check out this professional-level ballet company, as somewhere between 20-30 people had to watch the dancers and the troupe’s incredible backgrounds that were projected onto the cyclorama (cyc) at the back of the NTPAC stage on a TV in the lobby. 

There was no let-up on Sunday, either, as the Rudram Dance Company brought a huge number of traditionally-costumed Indian dancers to the NTPAC’s main stage. Then, before two one-act plays (“Co-Workers” and “Sherlock Holmes & Case of the 5-Pound Note”) were presented by winners of the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival, the folk rock acoustic duo of Daisies & Axes performed in Studio 2. There also was a “Fun with Broadway Trivia” game presented by the New Tampa Players, followed by ATLAS Modern Ballet’s contemporary dance performance, but we didn’t get to shoot those because of our deadline. Wow! Can’t wait ‘til next year!—GN 


The Rudram Dance Company ‘s performance filled the Theater’s stage with traditional Indian dance, costumes & pageantry. 

Daisies & Axes perform acoustic folk rock in Studio 2. 

“Sherlock Holmes & the 5-Pound Note.” 

Walmart To Begin Utilizing Robotic Order Fulfillment By Next Year 

Research by Joel Provenzano 

The construction of the auto dispense towers at the New Tampa Walmart on BBD Blvd. should be completed and open for business by early 2024. (Photo by Joel Provenzano).

A few issues ago, we told you about the New Tampa Walmart’s drone delivery of a surprise reward for two teachers at Clark Elementary. 

The New Tampa location is still one of very few Walmart stores nationwide, and one of fewer than ten in Florida, to offer drone deliveries. 

But, for those who couldn’t help but notice the long-term construction at the New Tampa Walmart (especially anyone trying to access the store from Wharton High), the news about that construction is that the local Walmart store will be the first in Florida — and only the second in the country — to offer robotic/automated customer fulfillment pods for pickup orders. Walmart calls them “auto dispense towers” and the corresponding area inside the store as a Market Fulfillment Center (MFC). 


Blue bins that have been loaded with groceries & other items into the Alphabot are then brought to the store’s Market Fulfillment Center. (Photo from Walmart Corp.) 

The track-and-rail system of bins inside the MFC at Bentonville, AR. 

Items (including groceries) will be run in blue containers on a rail system that runs through (and inside of) the thick blue part of the ceiling structure, from inside the store, and then down to waiting vehicles parked under the awnings that cover the parking area (see top photo on this page). 

Customers awaiting their pickup orders put in a code, and their groceries and other items are transported through the ceiling out the door in front of their vehicles. There are eight dedicated parking spaces for customers to pick up from these digital auto dispense towers. There also are an extra four loading spaces to the right of the large doors for ‘other’ customer orders — including for large items, etc., where employees will manually bring the items out to waiting vehicles. 

The very large “fulfillment center” area behind the newly constructed pharmacy inside of Walmart is where products will be pulled in an automated fashion to fill orders. There will be refrigeration for cold items. Employees also will be back there to ensure orders are filled correctly. 


A Walmart associate inputs data for an order in one of the blue bins filled with groceries. 

A filled blue bin being brought out to the w area. 

It may be hard to understand how the auto dispensing works without being able to see it, so we have provided some photos from Walmart’s recently begun pilot program at its Store 100 in Bentonville, AR, near the company’s headquarters. 

The MFC is built inside the store and is powered by a proprietary storage and retrieval system – named Alphabot. Walmart believes fulfillment through digitization and connecting its store and supply chain assets end to end will transform order fulfillment. And, along with it, the company believes, this should improve customer satisfaction and offer more opportunities for associates. 

“This new order fulfillment system is truly game changing,” said Ryan Simpson, the store manager at Walmart’s Store 100. “Not only does it enhance the customer experience through quicker, more accurate online order fulfillment, it also provides us the runway to continue growing our business now and in the future.” 

Once the fulfillment center opens, Walmart management believes that customers can expect to see the benefits of the MFC almost immediately. 

A Walmart associate in Bentonville helps load a customer’s groceries. (All photos from Walmart Corp.) 

MFCs will significantly increase the number of orders the store is able to fulfill in a day, promising faster fulfillment with lower substitutions. Walmart+ members have even more to look forward to, with free unlimited delivery. MFCs also improve the in-store shopping experience by freeing up associates to help customers shopping in-store. 

“I love the MFC,” says Gilbert Giron, MFC digital team lead at Walmart. “The dedicated space allows us to concentrate on picking items for our online customers. I feel confident that the items our associates are looking for are going to be there when a customer wants them. I know our team is providing our customers with great service.” 

When Will Ours Open? 

Walmart began the permitting process for the New Tampa store’s new addition back in the fall of 2021. 

According to the plans filed, the inside portion of the new MFC area will take up approximately 27,000 sq. ft. inside the Walmart building. This will be one of the first operational ones in the nation with this new technology. 

The staff at the New Tampa Walmart stated that they expect the new system to be open for customers by sometime early in 2024. They explained that once the construction has been completed, they will need to test the system and run trials to smooth out any kinks. 

For more info, visit Walmart.com.Â