New Tampa Performing Arts Center Archives — Page 6 of 8

Meet The Unsung Heroes Behind The New Tampa Players’ “Grease!”

The members of the crew behind the scenes of “Grease” were just as important as the cast members. Pictured are (l.-r) Shelley Giles, Mark Weisenmiller, Amogha Kuppaa, Emma Hosking, Jannah Nager, Emily Buonaquisiti, Bella Otte, Kristin Nelson,Tami Carr, Katie Carr, James Cass, Nora Paine, Heather Cleveland & Ereka Morton. (Photo courtesy of Picture This of Palma Ceia).

Nearly everyone knows “Grease,” the iconic musical with toe-tapping tunes, incredible dance moves, and romance and drama at Rydell High. Behind all of the show’s glitz and glamour lies tremendous hard work from a dedicated team making the cast look (and sound) as good as possible.

As the first official New Tampa Players (NTP) performance at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, “Grease” is no ordinary musical — it’s a high-energy ride through the fabulous ‘50s, complete with a 1957 Chrysler that has to be dollied on and off stage. A hidden army of talented workers ensures the show’s success, working diligently behind the scenes. They don’t often get the spotlight, but the show could not go on without them.

NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine, a homeschool mom of four and the producing artistic director, also manages the stage, with the help of assistant stage managers Kristin Nelson, Emily Buonaquisiti and aspiring playwright Mark Weisenmiller. With her headset on and monitor in place, the company feels secure as Paine calls out cues from a barely lit space backstage. Her techy husband Joshua, “her theatre saint,” and son Sebastian also play vital roles, helping with support and lights (while Keith Eisenstadt designed the lighting).

Paine jokes that her favorite part of being a stage manager is “going to sound very stage managery, but it’s when a set change goes well. The stage lights go down at the right time. The set pieces move in the choreography that you need them to. Everything slides in. The next set piece comes in. The lights go up, and the orchestra syncs all together.”

Nelson, a medical scribe and first-time assistant stage manager who has performed in some previous NTP productions, says, “My favorite thing has been watching the cast grow. I enjoy getting to be part of the magic behind the scenes. Creating this world was super cool.”

A recent high school graduate, Buonaquisiti adds, “I love working with the actors, especially during set changes making sure everything goes smoothly and safely.”

While the performers spend months perfecting their lines, vocals and choreography, the director and music director are the masterminds behind the magic. In this musical, those roles are handled by the same person.

A computer programmer by day, director and musical director G. Frank Meekins says his favorite moment was when, “we actually got our stage, and the production came to life. We finally had the space to spread our wings.”

Meekins says that wearing both hats for “Grease” required more effort, as his attention was split between the two different roles; however, having true directorial control allowed him the creativity to make the dialogue and music gel. “It’s rewarding when it all comes together,” he says.

Meekins also notes that, “While this show follows the movie that many are familiar with, it’s also a little more gritty and deals with adult situations differently than the movie did. We are actually performing the original Broadway version from 1972. We maintained (most of) the items that would now be considered taboo in keeping the style of society back then.”

Professional dancer, Atlas Modern Ballet founder and HCC professor Sarah Walston provided the choreography for the show’s memorable dance routines. She taught the cast the hand jives, jitterbugs and other energetic dance routines — a new experience for the ballet and contemporary dance choreographer.

“As a dancer, I love ‘Grease,’” Walston says. “The community feel has made a project like this less stressful with all these moving parts. It’s really been a team effort and a great experience for me to learn what can happen in a musical with a great community.”

You can’t have “Grease” without the iconic T-Birds leather and Pink Ladies jackets and authentic ‘50s attire. Retired engineer and current NTP Board of Directors chair Michell “Shelley” Giles and engineer/teacher Heather Cleveland meticulously assembled more than 100 different costumes for the show, going as far as to research if each fabric and pattern would be appropriate for the period. Both women say working with costumes is like solving a satisfying puzzle, especially with an extremely limited budget to purchase the costumes and the materials to make them.

“My favorite part of the job was being able to make some of the dresses,” says Giles, who is a self-taught seamstress. “As a costumer, I enjoy seeing the actors come to life on stage. My hobby is sewing. I sew everything.”

Cleveland adds, “You want everybody on stage to feel fantastic. I enjoy the creativity, starting from nothing and having it blossom into something.” As an example, Cleveland says, “We took Frenchy’s prom dress apart three or four times — a new bodice was made, and we hand-pleated the skirt. I’m pleased with the results of the work that went into that one.”

Behind the curtain, a small army of costume, prop assistants, stagehands and costume “dressers,” including college senior and aerial acrobat Emma Hosking, assist by waiting in the wings to help the actors with quick costume changes and to make sure they all have the props they need for each scene.

“During Freddy My Love,” Hosking said, “we made a tradition of dramatically lip-syncing along to the song. I looked forward to that every performance.”

Among the costume and stage crew, all coordinated by Giles, Cleveland and prop master Tami Carr (the mom of Olivia, who played Sandy, and Sean Carr, who played bass in the orchestra) were Amogha Kuppaa, Ereka Morton, Ryan Pettaway, Bella Otte, Tracy Stemm, Katie Guerra, Jannah Nager and Katie Carr.

Tami Carr, a retired children’s orthotist and prosthetist, is the woman behind all the props. From sourcing authentic ‘50s items to crafting realistic-looking food, this creative wizard turns trash into treasure… literally. She says she created Sonny’s “zipgun” from items she found in the trash.

Tami explains how excited she is for NTP to have a new home, “They do everything with such integrity and excellence. Over the years, it made me sad that people didn’t always see the shows because they didn’t have a consistent place. To have all these sold-out shows, I feel not just happy for the cast of Grease but for everyone. Finally, people can experience and appreciate what they do.”

Assisted by most members of the cast, the set stagehands, led by Paul McColgan, work swiftly and silently, changing scenes with precision and coordination, like ninjas in black. Scenic artists Leiann Klein, Kyle Billington, Tami and Olivia Carr, Olivia’s fellow cast member Dakota Henry, Alex DeJoseph and Joshua Paine gave each piece of built-for-the-show set “furniture” its distinctive ‘50s look.

In addition, sound man John Camacho made sure all 24 of the performers’ microphones not only worked but also had compatible levels of volume before every performance. Stagehand James Cass of Picture This of Palma Ceia also served as the show’s official photgrapher. The orchestra included Meekins, rehearsal pianist Rick Barclay, Stan Martindale (guitar), Todd DuPriest (drums), Josh Hollenbeck and Elliott Domagola (sax) and Sean Carr. Diana Diaz designed the “Grease” program.

‘Grease’ Was The Word At The New Tampa Performing Arts Center!

*Photo above courtesy of Picture This Photography of Palma Ceia. All other photos on these pages by Charmaine George*

The last time I performed in “Grease,” the 1972 Tony Award-winning musical about mythical Rydell High in 1959, I was Teen Angel and Johnny Casino in summer camp.

I auditioned to be Teen Angel in the New Tampa Players production of “Grease” — which missed selling out all six shows in the new New Tampa Performing Arts Center by fewer than 10 seats total — but the role rightly went to the much more talented Trevor Lloyd (more on him in a bit).

Instead, I portrayed radio DJ “The Main Brain” Vince Fontaine and was officially the oldest member of an incredible cast of mostly “kids” ages 15-34 — and loved every minute of it.

With five cast members either still in or having just graduated from high school, NTP’s “Grease” had the look and feel of the Broadway hit and the cast didn’t disappoint. Under the direction and musical direction of G. Frank Meekins, with great choreography by Sarah Walston, these very young performers wowed close to 2,000 people between the six shows.

“We’re season ticket holders at the Straz Center (in downtown Tampa),” one couple told me after the first performance. “And this was a good as anything we’ve seen there.”

Were they kidding or exaggerating? Not in my book. Real-life substitute teacher Dylan Fidler was a powerhouse as Danny, especially his hand jive contest-winning duet dance with Makayla Raines as Cha-Cha DiGregorio, and crowd-pleasing karaoke favorite duet “Summer Nights” with Olivia Carr’s innocent (but later transformed) Sandy. At 17, “Liv” owns her own music business and she and Dylan also got high marks for the Olivia Newton-John/John Travolta duet “You’re the One that I Want” from the hit 1978 movie version of the show.

But, the rest of the cast members were all so talented and fun to work with, too.

Kyle Fisher, who works for USAA Insurance, was perfectly cast as Kenickie. His rendition of “Greased Lightning,” with Walston’s outstanding choreography with both the full-sized 1957 Chrysler and most of the guys in the cast, definitely rocked the house.

Target employee Jake Veit, 22, who was rightfully likened to late-‘50s pop star Ricky Nelson by Broadway World.com reviewer Peter Nason, charmed while singing “Those Magic Changes,” while the duet between 18-year-old Tripp Peavyhouse (as Roger, aka “Rump”) and University of Tampa musical theatre major Anna Jeffries (as Jan) on “Mooning” was so sweet and cute it gave me a toothache every time.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Heather Rich (Marty), who hopes to be a forensic psychologist after graduating with Psychology and Theatre degrees from the same program at UT as Jeffries, belted out a stirring “Freddy, My Love.”

And, commercial leasing agent Alyson Gannon was another audience favorite as the rough-edged Rizzo, whose sarcastic “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” was one of the best-received songs in Act 1, and her heartfelt “There are Worse Things I Could Do” was one of the top moments from Act 2.

Speaking of Act 2, Lloyd, who previously wrote for another local publication and who currently writes for Savvy Dealer automotive websites, was a super-cool Johnny Casino on “Born to Hand Jive” and a true show-stopper as the Teen Angel on “Beauty School Dropout.” Oh, how I wish I could match Trevor’s falsetto. “Dropout” also featured most of the female cast members in pyramidic hair curlers providing comic relief. Props also go out to Chelsea Orvis, an ensemble player who not only rejects my Vince character at the dance but who also sang “It’s Raining on Prom Night” as a beautiful duet with Sandy — even though Chelsea was off-stage for the entire song, as it was supposed to be coming from a radio in Sandy’s lonely bedroom.

As for the cast members who didn’t have solo songs or duets, whether featured players or members of the ensemble, their backing vocals were always outstanding and their dance moves were super-impressive. One such standout was Michael Figueroa as the crude Sonny, who spent as much time being battered around the stage by Kenickie, Danny and even stay-at-home mom Suzanne Bainbridge’s Miss Lynch character when he wasn’t turning cartwheels or other athletic dance moves (which he says he learned how to do from the Just Dance! video game; who knew?).

Ariyonna Thomas, who manages two local Join Chiropractic centers, was super-cute as the high school and beauty school dropout Frenchy, who loves her friends but can’t pronounce anyone else’s name correctly.

Although they’re also really good singers and dancers as part of the ensemble on most of the musical numbers, Starbucks barista Cassidy Haberland was great as Patty, the peppy cheerleader who’s sweet on Danny, while young substitute teacher Zach Smith provided lots of laughs as the bumbling class valedictorian Eugene. Meekins, Walston and NTP producing artistic director (and “Grease” stage manager) Nora Paine also did a great job of picking their ensemble players.

Not only was Raines, a behavioral therapist who works with special needs kids (including as one of the on-stage mentors during NTP’s Penguin Productions), amazing as Cha-Cha, her voice was as impressive as her dancing and her acting was spot-on, too.

Dakota Henry, at 15, was the youngest cast member. She is just starting her sophomore year at Pasco High, but she already is an accomplished singer who also has professional dance credits and is a standout in every ensemble dance number. Also fantastic was credit card processor Zane Sanrsour, who also learned how to dance from Just Dance!, but who somehow knew not only his own dance steps, but everyone else’s, too. I told Zane I would give him a much-deserved “assistant choreographer” credit for his efforts.

The remaining ensemble players also all had beautiful singing voices and auditioned for bigger roles, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t just as important to the success of the show, as they were the people most responsible for moving and locking down the brakes on the big, rolling set pieces between every scene.

Michael Neary, a remote IT tech for Stavvy in Boston, was Paine’s go-to guy for making sure everything was in its proper place on stage. He also earned laughs for his over-the-top solo hand jive during the dance contest.

Amanda Schapiro, a high school math teacher; Wesley Santana, who works for GTE Financial; and youngsters Mia De Choudens, a 17-year-old Wharton High senior; and Cypress Creek high junior Julian Rebelo, 16 (who also works at Sbarro at the Tampa Premium Outlets); rounded out the cast.

Yes, I was by far the oldest of the performers and had the smallest of all the speaking parts, but I can’t imagine that anyone had more fun on stage in “Grease” than I did. I even got my first-ever stage review from BrodwayWorld.com’s Nason, who raved about the show as a whole and called me “such a fun presence.” Thanks, Peter!

‘Shrek’ Is Next!

Although the cast had not yet been announced at our press time for NTP’s production of “Shrek, the Musical” (with shows Oct. 20-22 & 27-29) the auditions already were held and I chose to not try out, after seeing what a huge commitment it was to perform with this community theatre troupe. I can’t thank Nora, Frank, Sarah and the entire cast and crew (again, see pg. 28) for making me feel so at home. For “Shrek” tickets and more info, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.

Grease Grease Musical New Tampa New Tampa Performing Arts Center new tampa players

‘Grease’ Is Still The Word — At Least Through Next Weekend!

Although there already has been a New Tampa Players (NTP) preview show and a Penguin Productions presentation of “Beauty and the Beast” at the sparkling new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), “Grease” — the first official show of NTP’s 2023-24 season — made its debut at the NTPAC last weekend.

Unfortunately, due to the timing of our issues, we aren’t able to share pictures of actual scenes from ‘Grease” in this issue, but as a minor player in the cast, I am able to share these preview pictures we were able to take of some of the cast members, in their costumes.

I will tell you that, even the week before the cast premiered the 1972 Tony Award-winning musical, that “Grease” is a super-fun show with an awesome cast that you should still be able to check out this weekend — although tickets were already getting a little scarce at our press time.

According to NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine, the six performances of “Grease” over two weekends (July 21-23 and July 28-20) were already nearly 70% sold out as this issue went to the printer (on July 16), with the Sunday matinee (3 p.m.) performances both weekends having the fewest tickets remaining.

*Vince Fontaine (a certain local publisher & editor) and Miss Lynch (Suzanne Bainbridge) will be cutting a (very brief) rug again this weekend.*

More tickets, however, still remained for the Friday and Saturday night (at 8 p.m. both nights) performances, but after what I’m certain was a smash opening weekend — under the direction of G. Frank Meekins with choreography by Sarah Walston — all I can say is don’t wait too long to get yours!

The outstanding ensemble cast delivers too many standout performances to name everyone here, but rest assured, all will be praised (and hopefully, pictured) in our next issue.

Among my favorite moments from the show include Tripp Peavyhouse (“Roger”) and Anna Jeffries (Jan) performing “Mooning,” Heather Rich (Marty) singing “Freddie, My Love,” Kyle Fisher (Kenicke)’s “Greased Lightning,” Alyson Gannon (Rizzo)’s mocking “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee,” the perfect falsetto of Trevor Lloyd (who portrays both Teen Angel and Johnny Casino) on “Beauty School Dropout,” and Olivia Carr (as Sandy) on both “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and her duet with Dylan Fidler (“Danny”) on “You’re The One That I Want.”

Michael Figueroa (Sonny) and Heather, Tripp and Anna, Kyle and Alyson and Makayla Raines (as Cha-Cha) and Dylan provide standout dance performances.

Don’t have your tickets yet? Visit NewTampaPlayers.org or see the ad below to get yours now!

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Check Out ‘Grease” At The NTPAC!

If you love songs like “You’re the One That I Want,” “Hopelessly Devoted To You,” “Grease (Is The Word)” and “Beauty School Dropout” from the Broadway musical and subsequent movie (starring John Travolta and the late, great Olivia Newton-John) “Grease,” I can personally guarantee, in all sincerity, that you will not be disappointed if you check out the New Tampa Players (NTP) production of the 1972 Tony Award winner later this month.

The performances will be presented at the all-new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (PAC) off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. the weekends of July 21-23 and July 28-30 and tickets are already selling very well.

“We had less than 100 tickets left (of the 350 available for each performance) for the two Sunday matinee shows (on July 23 & 30),” said NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine shortly before we went to press with this issue. “We definitely expect to sell out all six shows.”

The hard-working cast (photo above), under the direction of G. Frank Meekins with choreography by Sarah Walston, features the tremendous talents of Dylan Fidler as Danny, Olivia Carr as Sandy, Kyle Fisher as Kenicke and Alyson Gannon as Rizzo. But honestly, as someone excited to be playing a minor character (Vince Fontaine) in this show, the entire ensemble is amazing.

For tickets & more information, see the ad below or visit NewTampaPlayers.org. — GN

Grease New Tampa New Tampa Performing Arts Center NTPAC PAC Performance

New Tampa Players Take First Bows At NT Performing Arts Center!

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 — who passed away in 2017 after battling pancreatic cancer — unfortunately didn’t 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 Players’ “Prelude & Recognition Performance” at their new home.

As new NTPAC general manager Keith Arsenault was proud to proclaim to that evening’s packed house, “Mission Accomplished!”

*New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) GM Keith Arsenault and spoke before the “Prelude & Recognition Performance” 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 Tampa’s 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 (“who is everywhere and doing everything,” he said) and, of course, Wall.

Arsenault, who called the NTPAC a “state-of-the-art” theatre, also said, “We also would not be here without the continuous efforts of (current Hillsborough County Commissioner) Ken Hagan,” who he then introduced as the evening’s next speaker.

Hagan, who said he has been involved in trying to bring the PAC to New Tampa for, “at least 15 years,” also thanked many of the same people — and especially focused on Wall.

*County Commissioner Ken Hagan both spoke before the “Prelude & Recognition Performance” by the New Tampa Players at the NTPAC.*

*The future plaque remembering New Tampa Players founder Doug Wall. The orchestra pit at the NTPAC.*

“The theatre was Doug’s heart, soul and light,” Hagan said, quoting Wall’s cousin Neil Berg, himself a Broadway composer and producer. “We wouldn’t be here tonight if not for his efforts. We realize Doug’s dream tonight!”

Hagan also noted and displayed a photo of a plaque created in Wall’s honor and memory that wasn’t quite finished in time for the “Prelude” performance, and mentioned that until the PAC was completed, the Players were a “theatre troupe without a home.”

Also speaking before the performance was Michelle Giles, the current chair of the Players’ Board of Directors, who presented Paine with a pre-performance floral bouquet.

The “Prelude & Recognition Performance” itself included almost 30 musical performances by the 13 current Players, interwoven with explanations of how the troupe’s 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 I’m sad that I don’t have room here to hit all of the highlights, but here are a few:

Kyle Fisher’s “One Last Kiss” from “Bye Bye Birdie,” Janine Hartfield’s “No Time at All” from “Pippin,” Bri Filippelli’s “Do Re Mi” and the title song from “The Sound of Music,” Makayla Raines singing “Little Girls” and Olivia Carr’s “Tomorrow” from “Annie,” and “We Go Together” from “Grease” by the entire company. What a great night!

Speaking of “Grease,” 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.