Naples Players announce cast for BLACK TIE

"Black Tie" runs Jan. 15-Feb. 8, 2014. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.

The Naples Players have announced the cast for "Black Tie." This came out a while ago - I just didn't get to post it.

Curtis: Jim Heffernan
Father: Val Kuffel
Mimi: Ellen Coper
Elsie: Jenna Canfield
Teddy: Klinton Blair

"Black Tie," about one father's struggle to produce the perfect wedding toast, takes a torch to a lot old High WASP traditions like oyster stuffing and cuff links. Florida Rep produced the show in April 2012. Of the many works in the Gurney canon, "Black Tie" isn't a superb show, but it does offer an interesting culture clash. Read my review of the "Florida Rep" show here.

"Black Tie" runs Jan. 15-Feb. 8, 2014. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.



Complete press release below.

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The Naples Players cast Black Tie

The Naples Players have announced the cast for Black Tie, to be performed in Blackburn Hall January 15 through February 8. John McKerrow will direct this story by A.R. Gurney.

Klinton Blair will make his debut performance at The Naples Players as Teddy. Blair held acting roles in high school, with this being his first community theatre production.

Jenna Canfield will play the role of Elsie. Canfield was a member of the ensemble in Les Miserables this past summer and played the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol in 2010.

Ellen Cooper will play Mimi. Cooper recently played Mayor Matilda Hyde in 2012’s performance of All Shook Up. Before that, Cooper portrayed Maggie in 42nd Street in 2011.

Jim Heffernan will play the role of Curtis. Heffernan played Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly in 2012. Heffernan also played Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure in 2011. Val Kuffel will play Curtis’s father. Recently, Kuffel played in the 2013 performance of Barefoot in the Park as Victor Velasco.

Before Curtis’s father is able to raise his glass and make a memorable speech for his son’s wedding, he must defend the time-honored ways of his past, including his attire. Cultures clash when a surprise guest is announced, threatening to throw convention out the window. Curtis finds that balancing the standards of his late father and the needs of his future family may prove too messy for this black-tie affair.

The show will be performed Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under, and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 239.263.7990 with credit card information, or by visiting naplesplayers.org. Sugden Community Theatre is located at 701 5th Avenue South on the Plaza in downtown Naples.