(Above, l.-r.) Jan (Anna Jeffries), Rizzo (Alyson Gannon), Kenicke (Kyle Fisher), Danny (Dylan Fidler), Sandy (Olivia Carr), Frenchy (Ariyonna Thomas) and Marty (Heather Rich) headline the cast of ‘Grease’ through July 30, at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center. (Photos by Charmaine George).
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!
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
Producing artistic director Nora Paine (far left) and the New Tampa Players finally got to perform at their new home — the New Tampa Performing Arts Center — fulfilling the dream of NTP founder Doug Wall. (Photos by Charmaine George)
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.
Original New Tampa Players cast member Janine Hartfield performs a song & dance routine with Jarrett W. Koski-Kohler to “No Time at All” from the Broadway hit “Pippin.” Kyle Fisher as Conrad Birdie from “Bye Bye Birdie.”The orchestra pit at the NTPACThe entire current cast of the Players. Graeme (one of the original PAC organizers) and Sharyn Woodbrook (front left) enjoying the festivities.
The New Tampa Peforming Arts Center could be ready for its ribbon cutting in September.
The decades-in-the-making New Tampa Peforming Arts Center (NTPAC) should be ready to open this fall, says Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
Hagan, who represents New Tampa in District 2, said a ribbon cutting is tenatively scheduled for September 22 or 23.
“Nothing is set in stone yet,” Hagan says. “But that’s what county staff is looking at right now.”
The 20,000-sq.-ft. NTPAC, which can be expanded later to 30,000 sq. ft., will have a 343-seat theater with retractable seating, a stage, a catwalk and an orchestra pit. There will be four multipurpose rooms and parking for 215 vehicles. The facility, located behind the Village at Hunter’s Lake shopping plaza, across from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green community, is expected to be used for community performances and arts training of all kinds.
No one has been selected to run the facility yet, a responsibility the county may end up assuming. It had originally chosen The Florida Cultural Group, formerly known as The Manatee Players, Inc., but some of the commissioners objected and said they preferred a local group be hired to manage the NTPAC.
A new company was expected to be chosen to run the programs at the PAC by March but nothing has yet been announced.
But, the NTPAC ribbon cutting isn’t the only thing the county has planned for September in our area — Hagan says he also expects the new Branchton Regional Park to break ground that month.
The park, which will be located on Morris Bridge Rd. just south of Cross Creek Blvd., will have pickleball and basketball courts, a splash pad and a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) substation in its first phase, to name a few of the amenties.
“County staff is finalizing plans and getting the final permits,” Hagan says.
And, prior to the NTPAC and Branchton events, Hagan said there will be a public meeting held in August so local residents can weigh in on a proposed public recreation center, which would be the first such county-run facility in New Tampa.
The recreation center will be located at Cross Creek Park, adjacent to Pride Elementary just off Kinnan st.
The facility will include indoor basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts and be available for other sports, and there will be community meeting space as well.
The basketball courts and playground already at the park will be upgraded, and a splash pad also would be part of the improvements.
Hagan says he has secured $1.5 million for the project, and is looking at the rest of the funding to come from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding. Hillsborough County has received $285 million from the federal program.
The recreation center’s proposed location, near Pride Elementary, could be an issue for many K-Bar residents without major road improvements in that area.
At various townhalls and meetings with city officials, residents have expressed safety concerns about school traffic in that area, due to the unusual configuration of the road leading past the school and into K-Bar Ranch, which has created logjams for years.
Wesley Chapel and New Tampa have been on a great run of fun and interesting projects, and 2022 should be no different. Here are the five we’re most looking forward to this year.
1. KRATE Container Park
The long-awaited KRATE container park at The Grove at Wesley Chapel is expected to be fully open by summer 2022 — which is great news for local residents in the quickly expanding S.R 54 corridor looking for more shopping and dining options.
Photos by Charmaine George
There are so many cool things coming to Wesley Chapel this year, but KRATE ranks as No. 1, thanks to the unique nature of the project and the anticipation that has built up because it has taken much longer than many expected, due in no small part to a variety of Covid-related issues.
KRATE was the jewel of developer Mark Gold’s plans when his company, Mishorim Gold Properties, bought The Grove — then a moribund 250-acre parcel anchored by a shopping center — for $64 million in September 2019. Gold has invested an additional $20 million in the KRATE, which he claims will be the largest container park in the U.S. and something that will draw visitors from around the state to Wesley Chapel.
The seven-acre KRATE project will feature 55 businesses in converted shipping containers, each with their own product-centric mural painted on the side by artist Whitney Holbourn of Colorado.
At our press time, only two stores — Provisions Coffee & Kitchen and Shake-A-Salad — were already open. Once the others are ready, the KRATE is expected to cash in on what is likely to be a welcome experience in these Covid-ridden times — walking an open-air market featuring restaurants, retail shops and even a stage that will host concerts and other performances.
Its proximity to The Grove’s big box stores, and its popular restaurants like Treble Makers and the Falabella Family Bistro (see pg. 36), the Double Branch Artisanal Ales craft brewery, The Grove movie theater (and home of Side Splitters comedy club) and a new mini-golf course (see below) will make The Grove arguably the top entertainment destination hub in Pasco County, if not all of Tampa Bay.
2. New Tampa PAC
If we didn’t like shopping and desserts so much, this would be our No. 1.
Regardless, the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC; photo, left) will provide a cultural boost to the area with its promise of music, dance and theatrical performances. The area already has an acting troupe, the New Tampa Players (NTP), that will call the PAC home and be one of what we hope are hundreds of groups to bring productions to the 350-seat theater.
When was the last time you had to get dressed up to attend anything in New Tampa proper?
Our only gripe — it would have been nice to see the NTPAC fronting Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in all its glory, lit up at night as drivers-by gawked, as opposed to being tucked out of view between an apartment complex and a grocery store.
But, after a nearly 20-year battle to get the place built, who’s complaining?
3. Lotte Market
This, very quietly, might be the coolest thing to open anywhere in 2022, because if you know, you know.
While we haven’t had any updates in a while on the plans for the new market, and no official announcement at all, we’re guessing Lotte Market will fill the 55,000-sq.ft. former Sweetbay Market with hard-to-find Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese food items, as well what is likely to be the largest selection of fresh — and, dare we say, unique — seafood, fruits and vegetables in the area.
The only other Lotte Market in Florida is located in Orlando, and that store, like most of its others located in Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia, have a handful of Asian restaurants or a food court. Lotte has already been approved by the city to put restaurants in the market, and we can’t wait to see which ones they will be.
4. Mini-Golf
The groundbreaking of PopStroke Entertainment was held on Feb. 2
Remember a few years ago, when the major complaint about the area was that there was nothing to do? Well, since 2016, we’ve added an Urban Air Adventure Park in Tampa Palms, and in Wesley Chapel we now have the Advent Health Center Ice facility, the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County, an indoor recreation center and outdoor roller hockey rink at the Wesley Chapel District Park and the Main Event bowling alley and game center on S.R. 56.
As if that’s not enough, in 2022, Tiger Woods PopStroke Entertainment, a mini-golf and restaurant concept the golf superstar owns with entrepreneur Greg Bartoli, is coming to Wesley Chapel’s Cypress Creek Town Center on the north side of S.R. 56.
The project officially broke ground on Feb. 2 and should be ready by the beginning of summer, if not sooner.
Builders describe the place as an “experiential golf and casual dining concept merging a dynamic, technologically advanced competitive golf environment with food and beverages.”
Sign us up!
And while we’re at it, please also reserve us a spot at the new Grove Mini-Golf, which is expected to open in March. While PopStroke skips all the bells and whistles associated with a traditional mini-golf course, Grove Mini-Golf is leaning into them with plenty of holes requiring tricky shots — one hole you shoot over a river, another into a river (you’ll see), and there’s even a figure-8 hole and lots of hills and rocks to accentuate a rich, tropical oasis experience.
And, nighttime neon lighting and fire will give it a fun, festive feel. All of the holes will be illuminated with neon lights and glow-in-the-dark flags and balls. Very cool!
5. Diverging Diamond Interchange
If navigating castles, rocks and water on a mini-golf course doesn’t get you excited, how about navigating the soon-to-be-completed (no, we’re not kidding) Diverging Diamond Interchange at the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection?
We’re not sure if it will be easier figuring out the DDI or, say, shooting par, but the folks building it promise the new intersection is less confusing than it looks.
That would be great for those who want to venture out to that area but don’t because, well, ugh…that traffic. But, the DDI is supposed to eliminate all those conflict points and make for a safer interchange, using free flowing lanes — sometimes taking you to the other side of the road (relax, it’ll be fun!).
Just to be safe, though, we’d suggest hitting up YouTube to watch a few videos.
And…While these are our top 5, they aren’t the only cool things happening in our area in 2022, like the completion of the S.R. 54 widening project, Wesley Chapel’s second lagoon at Mirada —which, at 15 acres, is twice as large as the one in Epperson — new restaurants like The Living Room, and we might even see a few surprises. (We’re looking at you, empty Best Buy building on BBD).
