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Tag: Anna Maria Island players

Island Players kick off 76th season with Crimes of the Heart

Island Players kick off 76th season with ‘Crimes of the Heart’

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – Manatee County’s oldest community theater, the Island Players, kicked off its 76th season on Sept. 19 with a production of Beth Henley’s award-winning “Crimes of the Heart,” which runs through Sunday, Sept. 29 at the Island Playhouse, 10009 Gulf Drive.

While the play is a drama, there are ample moments of laughter as the audience is drawn into a family of four sisters who are brought together after one of them commits a criminal act. All the sisters have their own personal issues, and their grandfather (who never appears on stage) is in the hospital, adding drama to their already complicated lives.

Most of the story is learned through the conversation of the sisters, whose life problems cover everything from a failed career, death, love and infidelity to a racial issue. The topic of suicide plays so centrally into the plot that during the introduction of the play, director Mike Lusk gives the audience a telephone number for the suicide hotline to call if they are having personal issues. But the play manages to make the suicide aspect poignant, and even the source of a few laughs.

While not as slapstick or hilarious as many of the Island Players’ productions in the past couple of seasons, there is plenty to love about Crimes of the Heart. Lusk cast the play well, with most of the actors familiar to anyone who is an Island Players’ regular. Even on opening night (first night audiences are most likely to see mistakes by the cast), the performance was nearly flawless and full of genuine emotion, brilliantly acted by a talented veteran cast.

Anna Maria Island is beyond fortunate to have the Island Players, and Crimes of the Heart is another example of why a night at the theater is one of the best options for anyone looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the real world.

Last season, the Players sold out most shows and broke attendance records. To avoid missing out, get tickets as soon as possible. Tickets are available at www.theislandplayers.org, at the box office beginning one hour prior to the show or by calling the box office at 941-778-5755.

‘Farce of Nature’ begins Players’ 75th season with laughs

‘Farce of Nature’ begins Players’ 75th season with laughs

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Art, Entertainment.

ANNA MARIA – Director Mike Lusk’s talented cast brings plenty of laughs as the Island Players’ first performance of their historic 75th season hits audiences in the funny bone with “Farce of Nature,” the first of five plays in the 2023-24 season.

The story takes place in the Ozarks area of Arkansas. Wanelle Wilburn (Janet Salem) and D. Gene Wilburn (Rick Kopp) are an older couple who run a fishing lodge that usually isn’t filled to capacity. Their grown son, Ty (Jeffery Allen Steiger), is away in Chicago, trying to become an actor, and picked an interesting time to come home.

Ty’s girlfriend, Jenna Sealy (Jennifer Kwiatkowski), lives with them at the “Reel ‘Em Inn.” Wanelle’s sister, Maxie (Laura Morales), an incompetent cop trying to get back in the good graces of her department, lives there too. This week, she’s been put in charge of keeping a witness safe, which will prove more difficult than she bargained for. His name is Carmine DeLuca (Joseph Mammina), and his testimony against a mafia associate named Sonny Barbosa (Michael Sacco) sent him to jail for five years. Maxie decides that the best way to keep Carmine safe is to have him stay at the lodge.

Carmine hates the outdoors and wants nothing more than to get back to Chicago away from trees, wild animals and everything else he hates about “the sticks,” but tries to be a good sport, even when Ty comes home to his parents, followed by both his employer, Lola Barbosa (Sharon Bartley), who runs a Chicago dinner theater, and her dangerous husband, Sonny.

To provide much more information would be a spoiler, but pay close attention to the painting D. Gene gifted his wife, Wanelle; it should be given co-star credit in this story that is well acted by one of the larger casts of any play in recent Island Players history.

“Farce of Nature” begins a bit slow, but quickly evolves into a laugh-a-minute solid comedy that leaves the audience wondering what could possibly happen next. Will they all be killed by wild animals? Everybody is having an affair, or are they? What’s that smell? And where do they keep all that vodka? All are questions that unravel as a talented cast nails a well-written play by Jones, Hope and Wooten.

“Farce of Nature” runs through Sunday, Sept. 24 at the Island Playhouse, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Tickets are available online for $30 or at the box office for $28. Box office hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Order by phone during box office hours by calling 941-778-5755.

Island Players documentary premier a sellout

Island Players documentary premier a sellout

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – Operating for 75 years, the Island Players is the oldest community theater group in Manatee County, but the history of their home dates back another 75 years.

How the theater got to its current location on the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue is one of the fascinating subjects featured in a new documentary film about the Players.

Tens of thousands of people have attended plays at the historic theater that is as much a part of Anna Maria Island as the sand and palm trees. But most who walk through the doors have no idea that if somebody had not decided to saw a mid-19th century home in half and float it down the Manatee River, the theater simply wouldn’t exist. The story had to be told and a local filmmaker decided to tell it with his documentary, “The Anna Maria Island Players,” which was accepted and featured at the 2023 Sarasota Film Festival.

“When I pitched this to the studio, I asked if anybody had heard of this little wooden theater that got cut in half and floated down the river,” Director Lucas Piety said. “They didn’t know what I was talking about, but that’s how it all started.”

Piety said without the resources of the Manatee County Clerk of Court and the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, this project would have been impossible.

“The Anna Maria Island Historical Society has a museum right down the street,” Piety said. “If you’re interested in learning more about the history of the Island, I strongly encourage you to go visit it and learn more about the Island. I learned that a lot of money that went into the early years of this Island came from the creator of Fig Newtons; I had no idea.”

Piety said that he feels that Florida history doesn’t get the same attention as other states to the north and he wants to change that. He said it’s important that the history of Florida is shared with the world and, although this film may be a small contribution in the grand scheme, it’s a start, and he hopes more of the same will follow.

There will be no spoilers here, but, fortunately, the film is now online and can be viewed for free online.

Curtain, please!