Wesley Chapel Theater Group Presents ‘Arsenic & Old Lace!’

Get ready for an evening of laughter and thrills as the Wesley Chapel Theater Group (WCTG) brings the classic comedy “Arsenic & Old Lace” to the stage. This timeless play will be directed by Colleen DeFelice at the Zephyrhills Lions Club (5827 Dean Dairy Rd.) on Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m. 

First premiered in 1941, “Arsenic & Old Lace” is a farcical dark comedy by Joseph Kesselring revolving around the eccentric Brewster family. The play is filled with witty dialogue, quirky characters and a hilarious plot that will leave audiences laughing from start to finish. 

Founded in 2022, the Wesley Chapel Theater Group has quickly become a beloved part of the local arts scene, bringing both new and classic productions to life. With a commitment to fostering creativity and community, the WCTG continues to bring quality entertainment to the region. 

Don’t miss out on this unforgettable performance – “Arsenic & Old Lace” promises to be a hit! 

Tickets are available for just $25 and can be purchased online at Simpletix.com/e/arsenic-and-old-lace-tickets-202354. Be sure to get yours before they sell out! For more information about the Wesley Chapel Theater Group, visit WesleyChapelTheaterGroup.org. 

Here’s Another Chance To See Wesley Chapel Theater Group’s ‘Broadway Through The Decades’ 

“We Go Together” from “Grease. (Photos by Charmaine George)

A few short months ago, we told you about the Wesley Chapel Theater Group (WCTG)’s “Broadway Through the Decades” performance at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant in The Grove. 

That performance attracted about 150 people and nobody who attended (including yours truly) went home disappointed. 

Well, the weekend we went to press with this issue (Mar. 9-10), WCTG was at it again with another “Broadway Through the Decades: Contemporary Era” show, with the performances this time being held at the Zephyrhills Lions Club. 

The Lions Club provided dinner on Saturday night and dessert for the Sunday matinee, so WCTG secretary Samantha Grahn, who also did the publicity for the show, said that the theater group had to provide a hard number of attendees to the Lions Club a couple of days before the two performances. 

The WCTG cast from “Broadway Through the Decades: Contemporary Era.” 

“That limited us to only about 130 people total for the two shows,” Samantha says. “But, we had a lot of wonderful singers performing and the audiences both days really seemed to enjoy the performances.” 

The “Contemporary Era” performances includes many current and recent past Broadway favorites, including the entire company singing “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast,” Danielle Warren’s “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar,” Vette Berrian & the Company on “Day By Day” from “Godspell,” the entire company on “We Go Together” from “Grease” and favorites from “Rent,” “Pippin,” “Chicago,” “A Chorus Line,” “Sweeney Todd,” “42nd Street,” “Into the Woods,” “Les Miserables,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and many more. 

“A Little Priest” from “Sweeney Todd” performed by Krystian Kopycinski & Danielle Warren. 

“We’re now three years in with this group,” Grahn said afterwards. “And every performance we do is a fund raiser so we can afford to rent theaters for our future performances. We’re also writing some grants to try to get some more money to do more shows and we’d like to have them at the (Pasco School District’s) Instructional Performing Arts Center (IPAC) and other venues in Wesley Chapel.” She adds that the School District is looking into building a smaller “black box” theater for community performances. 

She adds that in the meantime, however, “We have a great relationship with the Zephyrhills Lions Club. They don’t charge us to rehearse there and the rent to do our shows there isn’t that expensive. We really owe them a big thank-you!” 

So, What’s Next? “Office Hours!” 

Grahn says that WCTG’s next show will be the comedy play “Office Hours,” written by Norm Foster, which also will be performed at the Zephyrhills Lions Club, this time without food service. 

There will be three performances of “Office Hours” — matinees on Saturday, April 20, and Sunday, April 21, and a Saturday (Apr. 21) evening performance. Also coming up April 4 at 7pm, the next performance of “Broadway Through the Decades” at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar. 

“We also would love to have feedback from the Wesley Chapel community regarding what shows or types of shows they would want to see,” Grahn says. 

For tickets to see “Office Hours” or the April 4 encore of “Broadway Through The Decades” at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar and more info about the Wesley Chapel Theater Group, visit WesleyChapelTheaterGroup.org or search “WesleyChapel TheaterGroup” on Facebook.  


Cheryl Abramson performing “On My Own” from “Les Miserables. 
Jonathan Hogsett performing “If I Can’t Love Her” from “Beauty & the Beast.”

“Be Our Guest” from “Beauty & the Beast.” 

Wesley Chapel’s Theater Group Set To Make Its Debut Jan. 9!

Members of the Board of Directors of the Wesley Chapel Theater Group.

Considering that New Tampa has had an acting troupe for 20 years and is awaiting the opening of the New Tampa Performing Arts Center early next year to call home, it seems only fitting that Wesley Chapel should have a theater troupe of its own.

So, it’s exciting to announce that the Wesley Chapel Theater Group (WCTG) Inc. is set to make its own debut, on Sunday, January 9, at 2 p.m., at the clubhouse at The Ridge at Wiregrass Ranch.

Wesley Chapel’s theater troupe will be performing three short plays written and directed by Marc Sanders and between each play, the Wesley Chapel Theater Singers will perform a variety of musical numbers, led by WCTG’s artistic director Rodney Bueno.

“All of us have backgrounds in theatre and performing,” Sanders told me when I both went to cover (and decided on the spot to audition for) the group in late October. “We all just felt the time was right for Wesley Chapel to have its own theater group.”

And, although I wasn’t selected to be a performer, I told the group members that I will support their efforts in much the same way I threw the support of the Neighborhood News behind the New Tampa Players theatre troupe two decades ago — and have promoted that group’s efforts ever since.

Performers with the Wesley Chapel Theater Group rehearse for their upcoming debut showcase on January 9 at The Ridge at Wiregrass Clubhouse.

The three plays to be performed on Jan. 9 include “Stick ‘Em Up!,” a send-up of a silent movie, the drama “Legos For Tim” and a comedy and all are short plays.

I unfortunately couldn’t attend a recent rehearsal (top photo) and performance at Avalon Park Wesley Chapel to find out what songs will be performed but according to the group’s post on Facebook, they will perform some “beautiful musical numbers.”

The singers include Jim Kendall, James Hernandez, Mike Dixon, Liz Loftus, Cheryl Sanchez, WCTG President Diana Dechichio, and artistic director Rodney Bueno, who also serves on the WCTG Board.

The other Board members include Vice President Colleen DeFelice, treasurer Dan Dechichio, secretary Kendall Bueno, fund-raising chair Meshalynn Olsen, publicity chair Rachael Naylor and Sanders. 

WCTG is still seeking performers, volunteers, sponsors, stage hands and more.

For tickets to WCTG’s Jan. 9 showcase event, which will be followed by light refreshments and a meet & greet with the group, visit eventbrite.com/e/wctg-showcase-introducing-new-theater-group-in-wesley-chapel-tickets-217583115957?aff=eand&fbclid=IwAR21Uscb-Bp1Emdqwt-LhGylvyTpTfbrxHIvtG2OYJrXJh6z95GWowq7FC8. For more information, follow the Wesley Chapel Theater Group Inc. on Facebook. Â