‘Dreamgirls’ Tickets Are Nearly Sold Out, So Grab Yours Now! 

The New Tampa Players Production of “Dreamgirls” has only three performances left — Feb. 9-11 — at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. (Above, l.-r.) Caron Davis, Patty Smithey, & NaTasha McKenzie. (Rehearsal photos by Charmaine George)

Get ready, theatre enthusiasts! The vibrant and talented cast of the New Tampa Players’ production of “Dreamgirls” is in the middle of two weekends of an unforgettable experience, as the Players bring this iconic musical to the stage at the brand-new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (off Bruce B. Downs Blvd., behind the plaza that is home to Sprouts). 

In what promises to be a showcase of local talent, this production is set to captivate audiences with signature songs, like “Dreamgirls,” “Move” and “Hard to Say Goodbye.” 

By the time this issue hits your mailbox, “Dreamgirls” will already have completed its first weekend, with only shows on February 9-11 remaining. If you haven’t seen it as you’re reading this, hurry to NewTampaPlayers.org to get any of the very few tickets that may be left. 

Since its premiere on Broadway in 1981, “Dreamgirls” has had a revival, three US tours, an international tour, and a West End run, as well as a hugely successful movie adaptation. With the New Tampa Players’ production, the musical is receiving a fresh and dynamic interpretation under the skilled direction of Clay Christopher, who brings a unique vision to this beloved classic. The excitement is palpable as the cast and crew pour their combined passions into every rehearsal, promising a show that resonates with energy and spirit. 

“‘Dreamgirls’ is more than just a show; it is a celebration of local talent, community spirit, and the transformative power of theater,” says New Tampa Players Producing Artistic Director Nora Paine. “The echoes of the soulful melodies and poignant moments will undoubtedly linger in the hearts of the audience, showing once again that the magic of Broadway is alive and well in our own backyard.” 

Dreamgirls isn’t just a Broadway musical spectacle: the plot takes inspiration from the tumultuous rise of R&B and soul music during the 1960s and ‘70s. Written by Tom Eyen with music by Henry Krieger, the show delves into the challenges faced by a female African- American singing group, the Dreams, as they navigate the cutthroat world of the music industry. 

The musical’s portrayal of the struggles and triumphs of the Dreams mirrors the real-life stories of several iconic R&B groups, including The Supremes and The Shirelles. The show deals with themes of ambition, betrayal and the cost of success while shedding light on the challenges faced by artists, particularly women of color, in an industry that often prioritized image over talent. 

Don’t miss your chance to see the magic unfold on the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (8550 Hunters Village Rd.) stage. Whether you’re a seasoned theatergoer or a first-time attendee, this community production of Dreamgirls promises an evening of entertainment, inspiration, and incredible talent. Get your tickets now at NewTampaPlayers.org. 

The New Tampa Players Present “Dreamgirls”
Featured Cast 

Effie White
.. NaTasha McKenzie 

Deena Jones
. Caron Davis 

Lorrell Robinson
.. Patty Smithey 

James Early

 Christan McLaurine 

Curtis Taylor
. Eric Erte Stillings 

CC White
 Javen Jackson 

Marty
.. Yolanda Cabrera-Liggins 

Michelle Morris
. Leia Ambrister 

Tiny Joe Dixon
.. Michael Dixon 

Ensemble 

LaVette Berrian 

Kieshia Clarke 

Alyson Gannon 

Angel Larrieux 

Bill Liggins 

Stephon Mikell 

Joseph Moore 

Monica Paine 

Makayla Raines 

Jamyra Rainey 

Monai Saberille 

Pavonne Scott 

Jake Veit 

Genesis Wiley 

Director: Clay Christopher 

Musical Director: G. Frank Meekins 

Choreographer: Eboni Graham 

Looking Back At The Top-5 New Tampa News Stories Of 2023! 

The cast of the New Tampa Players’ “Preview” performance at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center on March 25. 

Although there’s no doubt that there were (and still are) more major news stories coming out of Wesley Chapel in 2023 than there were in New Tampa, zip code 33647 certainly had any number of big news stories of its own the past 12 months. Below are the five that made the biggest splashes. 

1. The New Tampa Performing Arts Center Opens!
“Grease” officially opened NTP’s 2023-24 season in July of 2023. (Below) The group known as “Save Pebble Creek” helped get a redevelopment plan for the community’s shuttered golf course rejected by Hillsborough County. 

It took more than 20 years for it to become a reality, but the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) did finally open in March of 2023, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a New Tampa Players (NTP) “Preview”show. The NTPAC was dedicated to the memory and in honor of NTP founder Doug Wall, who passed away nearly six years before his dream of a local place for his theatre troupe to perform came true. 

I was in the cast of the first show of NTP’s 2023-24 season — “Grease,” which was true to the original Tony Award-winning Broadway version, but also incorporated songs from the hit 1978 movie starring John Travolta and the late Olivia Newton-John. The Performing Arts Center’s first-ever Fall Festival was held in September and was followed by “Shrek The Musical” in October. NTP will next host performances of “Dreamgirls” (see ad on pg. 5) in February. 

2. Pebble Creek Redevelopment Plan Rejected!

As 2023 came to a close, we still had no idea what will happen to the former Pebble Creek Golf Club golf course, which has been shuttered since July of 2021. 

The plan submitted by GL Homes to redevelop the 149-acre golf course property into 251 single-family homes was rejected on July 17 by the Hillsborough County Commission by a vote of 5-2, as Commission Chair and District 2 (which includes all of Pebble Creek)

Commissioner Ken Hagan told his fellow commissioners that the feedback he had received from the residents of Pebble Creek was overwhelmingly against the GL Homes plan, leaving property owner Bill Place with few options moving forward for his property. 

With three County Commission seats — including Hagan’s District 2 — up for grabs in a presidential election year, it’s possible that Place is waiting to see how the election changes the Board’s makeup before trying again to redevelop his land. 

3. Lotte Plaza Market Opens!
Lotte Plaza Market’s Grand Opening in November was attended by hundreds of New Tampa residents and continues to attract large numbers of people for everything from its Korean beauty products (below) to its Sijang Eatery food court. 

While the opening of the new Aldi supermarket in the former Ruby Tuesday location in New Tampa did receive some fanfare a few years ago, it was nothing compared with the expectations and reaction to the opening — finally! — of the new Lotte Plaza Market Korean/Asian grocery store in the former Sweetbay/Kash N Karry location next to Home Depot. 

The long-vacant 49,000-sq.-ft. store became the 15th link in the Lotte Plaza chain (the only other Florida location is in Orlando) of Korean/Asian superstores on Nov. 3 and immediately attracted large crowds of people (photos on next page) of all backgrounds and nationalities to its huge selections of produce, fresh fish, meat and groceries, as well as its unique Korean beauty products and its Sijang Eatery food court, which features a half-dozen eateries never before seen in our area. 

Although the crowds have died down somewhat since that opening month, there’s no doubt that Lotte Plaza Market’s opening is still one of the biggest 2023 news stories for New Tampa. If you still haven’t visited it yet, what are you waiting for? It literally has something for everyone! 

4. Live Oak Property Sale To Help Build Pride Park
The developer of Anand Vihar in Pasco County purchased an adjacent parcel of land in Live Oak from Hillsborough County that will help the county pay for its planned rec center at Pride Park. 

Hillsborough County has had a plan in place to build an indoor rec center and expand the outdoor facilities at Pride Park (just south of Pride Elementary) for some time. The county also has owned an unused 61.89- acre parcel of land intended to be a county park, but didn’t have enough money to construct facilities at either location. 

That is, until Anand Vihar (in Meadow Pointe) developer Santosh Govindaraju decided to purchase (for $6 million) the unused park site in Live Oak, which means the county will be able to begin construction on the Pride Park rec center early this year. 

5. Early Storm Causes Damage In New Tampa

he unnamed first major storm of 2023 hit New Tampa hard on June 4. Fortunately, no other major storms blew through our area (or Florida) for the remainder of the 2023 hurricane season.

Thankfully, 2023 was a relatively quiet hurricane season throughout Florida, especially coming on the heels of 2022, which saw two major hurricanes decimate portions of the Sunshine State. 

And, although Florida and New Tampa were virtually unscathed by any of the 20 named storms (including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes) that hit the Atlantic in 2023, our area received an early dose of hurricane-like Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera had to call for assistance to remove uprooted and downed trees in several New Tampa neighborhoods. 

‘Shrek’ Was A Monster Hit; ‘Winter Wonder’ & ‘Dreamgirls’ Are Next!

Sadly, because of the timing of our print issues, we didn’t get to put a full review of the New Tampa Players’ production of ‘Shrek The Musical’ (at the end of last month) in print, but what a fun, touching, magical show it was!

Chris Cordero as the titular ogre & Brianna Fillippelli as his love interest Fiona were the outstanding stars, but the performances by Evan Lomba as Donkey, 6’-4” Kyle Fisher as the diminutive Lord Farquaad (which he impressively played on his knees) and 7-year-old Jordan Boyer as both Young Fiona & Baby Bear, plus a terrific supporting cast & great costumes & sets, really made the show something special.

Tickets are on sale now for NTP and Atlas Ballet Theatre’s one night only ‘Winter Wonder’ on Dec. 8, and for NTP’s ‘Dreamgirls’ in Feb.

Visit NewTampaPlayers.org for tickets & more information.

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. 

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.”Â