ANNA MARIA – The Island Players’ 76th season will soon resume with the performance of British playwright Robin Hawdon’s “Birthday Suite.”
Directed by Island Players veteran Heiko Knipfelberg, “Birthday Suite” tells the tale of “Four hotel guests who, for very different reasons, check into adjoining hotel suites, where an unlocked door and an enthusiastic waiter leads to hilarious mistaken identities and misdirected infatuations.”
“One thing leads to another and this gets pretty crazy. It’s very farcical,” Knipfelberg said, chuckling as he spoke.
The second production of the Island Players’ 2024-25 season opens on Thursday, Jan. 9 and closes on Sunday, Jan. 26. Tickets are $18-$28 and on sale now at the Island Players website and at the box office, which during the run of performances is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the box office beginning one hour before showtime. The Island Players theater is located at 10009 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria.
The “Birthday Suite” cast features Daniel Coppinger as Tony (an Italian waiter), Eric Johnson as Bob (a civil servant), Pamela Hopkins as Kate (an attractive female), Jeff McMahon as Dick (a psychiatrist) and Sylvia Marnie as Liz (another attractive female).
“The play was chosen by our executive director, Sylvia Marnie. She started a campaign, reaching out to the author and convincing him to let us do his play. That’s a feather in her cap,” Knipfelberg said.
“It’s a very difficult play to put on, but we’re having fun putting it together. Timing is essential,” he said, noting separate scenes unfold simultaneously in the two side-by-side hotel rooms.
“You see both things happening, but the dialogue is only happening at one side of the stage, and then it goes on to the other side of the stage,” Knipfelberg said.
Knipfelberg, a Bradenton resident, said the theater building experienced some minor hurricane-related water damage, but nothing too serious. However, the back-to-back hurricanes that struck Anna Maria Island and the Bradenton/Sarasota area may have prevented some actors and actresses from auditioning for the play. The hurricanes also likely contributed to a smaller than usual production crew.
“So many people have so many other things on their minds,” Knipfelberg said.
McMahon, now an Ellenton resident, responded to a Facebook post seeking cast members.
“He was a community theater actor in the northwest and he asked if I still needed somebody. I had him come over to my house to audition. We read half a page and I knew he was the one I needed,” Knipfelberg said.
When describing the director’s role, Knipfelberg said, “The actors need someone to coordinate their behavior with one another so it all falls into place. The director’s job is to pull it all together so they’re on the same page and working towards the same end in terms of the emotional aspects of the characters and their relationship to each other.”
Knipfelberg has directed a play a year at the Island Players for the past 10 years or so, including, “Mouse Trap,” “39 Steps,” “Unexpected Guests,” “Relatively Speaking,” “Play On,” “Murder to Death” and “Regrets Only.”
Rehearsals began about a month ago and community theater members receive minimal compensation for their time and efforts.
“It’s a labor of love. Nobody’s going to make a living off this,” Knipfelberg said. “It’s fun. I get a kick out of community theater as an actor and director and I like to see people have fun.”
As for what he hopes the audience takes away from the “Birthday Suite” performances, he said, “I hope they enjoy it. I hope they had a laugh and enjoyed themselves. It’s just a crazy little play. There’s no moral statement to be made here. It’s just a silly play and it’s meant to be laughed at.”
