
I can remember the first-ever conversation I had with Graeme Woodbrook and Doug Wall about trying to bring a professional performing arts center to New Tampa. It was the year 2001 and Woodbrook and Wall (the founder of the New Tampa Players) were both on the original organizing committee and both of them told me they believed that one day, their shared vision would bear fruit.
Fast forward 22 years, to the evening of March 25, 2023, and even though Wall â who passed away in 2017 after battling pancreatic cancer â unfortunately didnât live to see his Players take the stage at the sparkling new, 350-seat New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), Woodbrook and I were both on hand to see the Playersâ âPrelude & Recognition Performanceâ at their new home.
As new NTPAC general manager Keith Arsenault was proud to proclaim to that eveningâs packed house, âMission Accomplished!â

New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) GM Keith Arsenault and spoke before the âPrelude & Recognition Performanceâ by the New Tampa Players at the NTPAC.
Arsenault, who we introduced in our last cover story about the NTPAC, said he has been involved in Tampaâs arts scene for 50 years, since his mother owned a ballet studio near the University of Tampa. He thanked Woodbrook, former Hillsborough County Commissioner (and State Senator) Victor Crist and former Tampa City Council member (and State Rep.) Shawn Harrison, as well as original Players Lydia Macias, Jennifer Barnakow and Janine Hartfield (who is still a member of the theatre troupe today), current Players producing artistic director Nora Paine (âwho is everywhere and doing everything,â he said) and, of course, Wall.Â
Arsenault, who called the NTPAC a âstate-of-the-artâ theatre, also said, âWe also would not be here without the continuous efforts of (current Hillsborough County Commissioner) Ken Hagan,â who he then introduced as the eveningâs next speaker.
Hagan, who said he has been involved in trying to bring the PAC to New Tampa for, âat least 15 years,â also thanked many of the same people â and especially focused on Wall.Â


âThe theatre was Dougâs heart, soul and light,â Hagan said, quoting Wallâs cousin Neil Berg, himself a Broadway composer and producer. âWe wouldnât be here tonight if not for his efforts. We realize Dougâs dream tonight!âÂ
Hagan also noted and displayed a photo of a plaque created in Wallâs honor and memory that wasnât quite finished in time for the âPreludeâ performance, and mentioned that until the PAC was completed, the Players were a âtheatre troupe without a home.â
Also speaking before the performance was Michelle Giles, the current chair of the Playersâ Board of Directors, who presented Paine with a pre-performance floral bouquet.
The âPrelude & Recognition Performanceâ itself included almost 30 musical performances by the 13 current Players, interwoven with explanations of how the troupeâs shows are chosen, how the audition process works (including for directors and choreographers) and other ins and outs of the community theatre business.
The performances themselves were amazing and Iâm sad that I donât have room here to hit all of the highlights, but here are a few:
Kyle Fisherâs âOne Last Kissâ from âBye Bye Birdie,â Janine Hartfieldâs âNo Time at Allâ from âPippin,â Bri Filippelliâs âDo Re Miâ and the title song from âThe Sound of Music,â Makayla Raines singing âLittle Girlsâ and Olivia Carrâs âTomorrowâ from âAnnie,â and âWe Go Togetherâ from âGreaseâ by the entire company. What a great night!
Speaking of âGrease,â that will be the first show produced by the Players at the NTPAC. As shown in the ad below, the auditions will be held at the Uptown Stage at University Mall on Monday & Tuesday, April 24-25, and all performers are welcome to try out at this open audition.
For more information, to volunteer and/or make donations to the New Tampa Players, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
For questions about the NTPAC, email ArsenaultK@HCFLGov.net.





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