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.
Among the new features unveiled at B&B Theatres Wesley Chapel’s ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 included the fully-reclining seats at B&B’s Max Relax theater. (Photos by Charmaine George)
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) will hold its first event for the community on Saturday, March 25, with a performance by the New Tampa Players (NTP), following a dedication to the theatre troupe’s founder, the late Doug Wall.
The doors to the new 20,000-sq.-ft. Hillsborough County-owned facility — located across from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green community — will open at 6:30 p.m.. Doors to the theater open at 7, with the ceremony and a performance scheduled for 7:30.
While the grand opening for the NTPAC itself actually will come at a later date, organizers are using the dedication and NTP performance as a soft grand opening and an opportunity to honor Wall, a major driver of the arts in the New Tampa area prior to his death in 2017.
Wall founded NTP, which held its first production “They’re Playing Our Song” at both Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club and at Hunter’s Green Country Club, in 2002. NTP has survived as a gypsy-like troupe, putting on performances at a number of different locations while Wall and others fought for a permanent New Tampa home for the organization, which NTPAC will be.
After the dedication, NTP will put on a cabaret-style show that will give attendees an idea of how a performance is put on by the group, as well as how the troupe plans its seasons.
Shows already scheduled for this season include:
• “Beauty & the Beast Jr.: A Penguin Project Production” (Apr. 14-16)
• “Grease” (July 21-30)
• “Shrek” (Oct. 20-29) and
• “Dreamgirls” (Feb. 2-11, 2024).
For tickets to and more information about NTP and these upcoming performances, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
MOVIE UPGRADES: Speaking of places to watch shows, the B&B Theatres Wesley Chapel (formerly the Cobb Theater) held a North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 to show off some of B&B’s remodeling efforts since taking over management of the theater in 2022. Among the new options at B&B Wesley Chapel are:
• Premium Large Format (PLF) Grand Screen, which provides a true wall-to-wall experience.
• ScreenX, which, according to B&B Theatres’ director of communications Paul Farnsworth, is the world’s first multi-projection platform, allowing viewers to experience select films in an expansive, 270-degree presentation, as the two sidewalls of the theater are utilized to give a more immersive experience.
• The Lyric, a smaller (32-seat) theater designed for a more intimate and upscale theatrical experience. The Lyric will be used for showing independent and art films — such as the poignant comedy “80 for Brady” — and offers other high- end touches, including seat-mounted tray tables and elegant waterfall curtains
• Max Relax — Located in another smaller (only 50+ seats) theater, Max Relax offers commercial-grade, electric, heated, fully reclining leather chaise lounge chairs that are great for movie watching….and, if the movie isn’t great, a nice little nap.
Among the new features unveiled at B&B Theatres Wesley Chapel’s ribbon-cutting event on Feb. 15 included (left) the Cycle Cinema.
• Cycle Cinema, which is being leased to owner Pascal Collard of the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness center in Zephyrhills and three partners (Nick Walton, Andy Sorrentino and SVB co-owner Andy Green), which brings a Peloton-type shared workout experience to the big screen, with classes for everyone from total beginner to expert.
• SideSplitters at The Grove, the comedy club which already has been operational for more than a year before the Grand Reopening event.
For more information, visit bbtheatres.com or Facebook.com/bbtheatres. For more info about Cycle Cinema, visit TheCycleCinema.com.
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) isn’t quite open for business yet, but the ribbon at the new facility has been cut.
A gathering of roughly 50 local dignitaries, residents and politicians gathered on Oct. 17 to snip the ribbon and get a peek at the new facility.
There wasn’t too much to see — some of the classroom areas are close to completion and the stage has taken shape, but there are no seats and no orchestra pit just yet — although after using little more than their respective imaginations for more than 20 years, it was a pleasant sight for those involved in the decades-long attempts to build the center.
The NTPAC dates back to 2001, when Hunter’s Green resident Graeme Woodbrook formed a committee of those involved in the New Tampa arts scene to pursue the idea. The vision was grand — a 50,000-, or even 65,000-sq.-ft. cultural center that would put New Tampa on the map and be the area’s anchor.
The current NTPAC is 20,000 sq. ft., but is expandable to 30,000 sq. ft.
Woodbrook and his group eventually formed a nonprofit organization called the New Tampa Cultural Arts Center, but attempts to find a home for the center, and the support they sought, fizzled by 2005 and the nonprofit dissolved.
However, Doug Wall, who founded the still-vibrant New Tampa Players theatre troupe and served on that nonprofit committee, continued the fight.
Woodbrook was on hand at the ribbon cutting, along with former Tampa City Councilman Shawn Harrison, District 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan and former District 2 Commissioner (and State Sen.) Victor Crist, all of whom played vital roles in keeping the dream alive for so many years.
Wall passed away from cancer in 2017. Without Wall and Woodbrook, the NTPAC would have never come to fruition, according to Hagan.
Nora Paine, the current producing artistic director of the New Tampa Players, said the opening of the NTPAC for the troupe’s first performance, likely sometime in early 2023, will usher in the vision of the original theatre pioneers, and be a haven for those interested in the arts.
“For 20 years, we have made progress in building the New Tampa arts community,” Paine said. “I cannot wait for us all of us to see how the New Tampa Players and the whole New Tampa arts community will be able to flourish with an affordable, reliable and permanent home, here at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.”
Tampa City Councilman and long-time Hunter’s Green resident Luis Viera officially files to run for a third term.
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who represents the New Tampa area as part of District 7, likes to joke that he only won his first election by a mere 65 votes in a runoff.
In his second election, however, he trounced opponent Quinton Robinson 76.2 percent to 23.8 percent.
After building a strong list of accomplishments and being attentive to New Tampa, where he has lived for 16 years, Viera thinks a third term is in order. He officially filed for reelection earlier this month.
The Tampa City Council election isn’t until March 7, 2023; Viera does not have an opponent yet.
“I feel like I have a lot more work to do for the district, and the City of Tampa,” Viera said. “There’s a lot more things to be done.”
Viera played a significant role in rallying New Tampa residents to be more active politically and impacted a city budget that led to funding for the New Tampa Recreation Center expansion and the building of the New Tampa Sensory & Autism Friendly Park, the first of its kind in the city. The Sensory Park is under construction and will hold a ribbon cutting later this year.
Viera, who fancies himself as a throwback politician focused more on bridge-building and working with opponents to get things done, says there still are a number of transportation and fire rescue needs, like a fire station in K-Bar Ranch, that he says he will tackle if reelected.
One thing he has tackled is finally open — the closed-and-opened-and-closed and now open again Meadow Pointe Blvd. connector road to K-Bar Ranch, officially voted on by the City Council on August 27.
The connection between Meadow Pointe Blvd. (in Wesley Chapel/Pasco County) and K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. was opened around May 30 for utility workers to finish their work, but eager K-Bar Ranch residents immediately began driving on the new extension, forcing the barricades to be put back in place. The long-awaited connector has been back to being closed since early June.
New Tampa residents in the Cross Creek/Live Oak/K-Bar Ranch areas are now be able to bypass Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. by driving north on Meadow Pointe Blvd., which leads all the way to busy S.R. 56.
Ready For Branchton Park
A massive upgrade to the current Branchton Park will break ground on Wednesday, September 14.
A splash pad, pickleball and basketball courts, two dog parks and hiking trails are just some of the amenities planned for Phase 1 of the new park, which will be just south of the current Branchton Park, which sits on the southwest corner of Morris Bridge Rd. and Cross Creek Blvd.
The second phase could include a Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office mini-substation at the park, according to Hagan.
Hagan also has said a second phase could include a possible public-private partnership (PPP) with a zip line or “challenge” course for the park.
PAC Opening Set
The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) ribbon cutting is officially set for Friday, October 7, says Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who represents New Tampa in District 2.
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 among its other features. The NTPAC is located behind the Village at Hunter’s Lake shopping plaza, across BBD from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green community.
