Barbara B. Mann adds second show to Dave Chappelle stop

Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall announced Friday afternoon that the venue had added a second performance to comedian Dave Chappelle's Sunday, Dec. 15 stop. Chappelle will now perform sets at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Tickets to the 10 p.m. show will go on sale at 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 6. Tickets cost $55. Fees are $7 and tax is $3.30 per each ticket. Call (239) 481-4849 or online at bbmannpah.com.

Buy tickets online here: http://www.bbmannpah.com/performance.php?id=624.

I want to see a show!

OPENING:
"Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol"
Cody Nickell stars in the Gulfshore Playhouse production of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol," an alternate take on the Dickens Classic. The show runs at 8 p.m. through Dec. 22 at the Norris Center in downtown Naples, with 3 p.m. matinées on Dec. 8, 15, 21 & 22. Tickets are at $33-$45. Call 866-811-4111 or gulfshoreplayhouse.org. (read the preview)


"My Three Angels"
Florida Rep opens "My Three Angels" on Dec. 6. Three convicts in the tropics, spying on a family with too many problems. It was an old
Humphrey Bogart film, 1955's "We're No Angels." "My Three Angels" opens in previews Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 22. Tickets are $40 & $45. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

"The Nutcracker Goes Pop!"
KidzAct, the youth theatre program of The Naples Players, presents "The Nutcracker Goes Pop!" December 4-21 in the Tobye Studio at Sugden Community Theatre. More than 100 students sing and dance their way through a modern song and dance version of the beloved classic. Performances are at 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under. Call 239-263-7990 or come by the Naples Players box office.


THIS WEEKEND ONLY
The Lab Theater presents its second 24-hour Playwriting Project Saturday. Playwrights get a theme and a few required lines Friday night. They've got 18 hours to write a ten-minute play - and they won't meet the actors until noon Saturday! The curtain goes up at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Get tickets ($12) at laboratorytheaterflorida.com or at the door. Seating is limited.

The Island Theater Company presents "Three Wise Men and a Baby" from Dec. 5-8. All four shows will be free; the production is sponsored by APM Custom Homes as their Christmas gift to the community. "Three Wise Men and a Baby," a humorous, musical twist on the Nativity aimed at children, features many local youths and asks "What do you give someone whose birthday is the very reason for the season?" "Three Wise Men and a Baby" plays in the Rose History Auditorium at the Marco Island Historical Society. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Doors open 1/2 hour before showtime.




NOW PLAYING:

"Becky Shaw" closes continues its run at Theatre Conspiracy. The play takes five people and asks this: Every person has their own truth. What happens when the truths diverge? Equity actress Kim Crow and Tera Nicole Miller deliver standout turns. Interesting, fascinating and worth a look. Tickets are $20. Anyone under 30 can get their ticket for just $10. Call 239-936-3239 or theatreconspiracy.org. | REVIEWS

"Our Town"  plays 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 21 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $35. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org. "Our Town" runs three acts with two ten-minute intermissions. | REVIEWS

Don't miss the Fosse-inspired version of "Nutcracker"
in Broadway Palm's "Swingin' Christmas."

"Swingin' Christmas" runs Tuesday through Sunday evenings with selected matinées through Dec. 25. Tickets run $22-$55, with show-only seats available for just $18. Call 239-278-4422 or broadwaypalm.com. | REVIEWS

"Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas" plays through Dec. 25 in the Off-Broadway Palm. This time the Church Basement Ladies are in the midst of holiday preparations and planning the Sunday School’s Christmas Program. Performances are Tuesday - Sunday evenings with selected matinées. Ticket prices range from $28 to $49. Call (239) 278-4422 or BroadwayPalm.com. (read the review)

My schedule through Jan. 3: Eleven more shows in 2013!

"We Will Rock You" runs Dec. 17-22.

Ok kids, here's my schedule for the rest of the year. If you see something missing, give a yell. You just can't have a Friday. Every Friday until April 4 is booked. Like, for real.

Also, please don't freak out, but I've been accepted into the Google Glass Explorer program. I got mine on Tuesday. I'll be wearing my pair of Glass at shows this weekend. And yes, you can try them on.

Friday, Dec. 6 - "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" at Gulfshore Playhouse
Saturday, Dec. 7 - "My Three Angels" at Florida Rep

Wednesday, Dec. 11 - "Private Lives" in cinemas
Friday, Dec. 13 - "A Christmas Carol" at the Lab Theater
Sunday, Dec. 15 - "Dashing Thru the Snow" at the Firehouse Community Theatre

Tuesday, Dec. 17 - "We Will Rock You" at Barbara B. Mann
Thursday, Dec. 19 - "Holiday Spectaclar" at BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater
Friday, Dec. 20 - "The Santaland Daries" at Florida Rep

Thursday, Dec. 26 - "West Side Story" at Artis–Naples
Friday, Dec. 27 - "Into the Woods" at BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater
Saturday, Dec. 28 - "South Pacific" at Broadway Palm

Friday, Jan. 3 - "Relatively Speaking at Theatre Conspiracy

For the curious, "South Pacific" will be the 111th review of the calendar year. I usually don't count reviews that way, because our "seasons" follow more of a tourist season pattern. Here's to 2014!

Dave Chappelle to play Fort Myers on Sunday, Dec. 15

Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall announced today that Dave Chappelle will perform one night only at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15.

Tickets ($55) went on sale at 10 a.m. today. Fees are $7 and tax is $3.30 per each tickets. Call (239) 481-4849 or online at bbmannpah.com.

Buy tickets online here: http://www.bbmannpah.com/performance.php?id=624.

Chappelle will also play the Jackie Gleason Theatre at the Fillmore Miami Beach on Dec. 13 and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Dec. 17.

Chappelle had difficulty during an August event at the Funny or Die Oddball Comedy Tour in Hartford, Conn.  A rowdy crowd and/or an upset Chappelle caused him to abandon his set early.

The music of Queen comes to Fort Myers as "We Will Rock You" hits on Dec. 17

Jacqueline Arnold in the national tour of We Will Rock You. © Paul Kolnik

"We Will Rock You" kicks off the Broadway season at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall. Really, we don't count "Mamma Mia!" Seriously.

The show uses the songs of Queen - attached to a book from the writer of "Mr. Bean." Yeah. And it is billed as a "rock theatrical." I. Cannot. Wait. It has run for 12 years in the West End. Let's hope Fort Myers is ready for a "Bohemian Rhapsody!"

Here's my preview:

© Paul Kolnik

Music of Queen promises Fort Myers: 'We Will Rock You' next week!
Tracey Flye has loved the music of Queen since high school. "They have such a huge canon," she told me. No surprise then that she's been with Queen musical "We Will Rock You" since its North American debut in 2007. Wait. A Queen .. MUSICAL?

Heroes Galileo and Scaramouche find a statue of Freddie Mercury, which leads to an electric guitar. After a medley of "Tie Your Mother Down," "We Will Rock You," and "We Are the Champions," rock music is saved and the evil Killer Queen is defeated.

Flye admits that maybe a jukebox musical with the music of Queen isn't the first thing you might think of as a blockbuster hit. But remember, this one has played five continents. It just hasn't played Broadway. "Nothing surprises me anymore," she laughs. "I worked on 'Mamma Mia!" (read the full preview)

"We Will Rock You" runs Dec. 17-22. Tickets are $34-$69. Call (239) 481-4849 or online at www.bbmannpah.com.  For more information on the show, visit wewillrockyou.com and schoolswillrockyou.com.

Complete press release below.

---

Auditions: "Little Shop of Horrors" at Center for the Arts Bonita Springs

The Center for the Arts Bonita Springs Teen Theater program will hold auditions for "Little Shop of Horrors" from 5-7 p.m. Dec. 16 & 18.

Auditions are open to students age 13-21. Be prepared to sing a song and read from a script. Call (239) 495-8989 to schedule an audition time.

Rehearsals are 5-7 p.m. MWF and selected Saturdays. Performances are February 21 & 22. "Little Shop" will be the inaugural teen performance in the organization's New Performing Arts Center.

Audition: THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES

Open auditions for a 2014 production of "The Vagina Monologues" will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Myers.

The church is located at 13411 Shire Lane, off Daniels between Six Mile Cypress and I-75. For more information, contact director Patti Chamness at (239) 839-5775 or producer Marcie Kaveney at (239) 333-8292 or mkaveney@actabuse.com.

Complete press release below:

Do Christmas the Detroit way with BBMann's Motown Holiday Spectacular on Dec. 13

I like Motown. That is all. Here's a press release. Oh. Here's the hook for the show. "features an all-star line-up of vocalists and musicians assembled from the ranks of the Capitols and the Miracles and former members of the Temptations."

The Motown Holiday Spectacular plays Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13. For tickets ($42, $53, $63) call (239) 481-4849, bbmannpah.com or motownholiday.com. Or you can buy online here.

updated | Holiday Theater in the 239

GRANNY'S GOT A GOOSE - AND IT SURE IS COOKED!
 Greed, glowing lips and goose-induced fatalities are three sure signs that Compton & Bennett are home for the holidays. Catch them in "Grandma's Christmas Goose," playing Dec. 5, 12 and 19 at Fred's Diner. "Grandma’s Christmas Goose" is a tribute to the excess, duress and unfulfilled desires that simmer within us all at this time of year. Rick and Betsy even suggest donated organs as stocking stuffers! Dinner and show is $39.95 (plus tax, tip and drinks). Limited show-only tickets are available ($15 each). For reservations, leave a message at 239-431-7928, or email ComptonAndBennett@aol.com. Fred’s Diner is located at 2700 Immokalee Road in the Jason’s Deli Shopping Center.

A WHOLE NEW CHRISTMAS CAROL
Cody Nickell stars in the Gulfshore Playhouse production of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol," an alternate take on the Dickens Classic. The show runs at 8 p.m. through Dec. 22 at the Norris Center in downtown Naples, with 3 p.m. matinées on Dec. 8, 15, 21 & 22. Tickets are at $33-$45. Call 866-811-4111 or gulfshoreplayhouse.org. (read the preview)

ANGELS AND CONVICTS AT CHRISTMAS
Florida Rep opens "My Three Angels" on Dec. 6. Three convicts in the tropics, spying on a family with too many problems. It was an old
Humphrey Bogart film, 1955's "We're No Angels." "My Three Angels" opens in previews Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 22. Tickets are $40 & $45. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES
Starring Florida Rep regular, Jason Parrish, "The Santaland Diaries" follows the outrageous exploits of an unemployed writer who desperately takes a job as a Macy's Elf and exposes the underside of the Christmas season. Written by bestselling humorist and NPR and New Yorker contributor, David Sedaris, "The Santaland Diaries" is a hilariously funny and bitingly honest portrait of the Christmas season that Sedaris spent working as an Elf.  "The Santaland Diaries" runs Dec. 18-29. All tickets are $25. Call 239-332-4488 or floridarep.org.

Island Theater Company and APM Custom Homes gifts "Three Wise Men and a Baby" to community

The Island Theater Company presents "Three Wise Men and a Baby" from Dec. 5-8. All four shows will be free; the production is sponsored by APM Custom Homes as their Christmas gift to the community.

"Three Wise Men and a Baby," a humorous, musical twist on the Nativity aimed at children, features many local youths and asks "What do you give someone whose birthday is the very reason for the season?"

"Three Wise Men and a Baby" plays in the Rose History Auditorium at the Marco Island Historical Society. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Doors open 1/2 hour before showtime.

Preview: Cody Nickell takes on Dickens in Gulfshore's "JACOB MARLEY"

Cody Nickell.

It's the day before Thanksgiving. I'm sitting on the patio at the Norris Center with Cody Nickell and Kristen Coury. He's starring as Jacob Marley in "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol" and she's directing.

I wanted to do one of those Entertainment Weekly-style "Three Drinks with Cody & Kristen" interviews, but rehearsal schedules got in the way.  Kristen is having a grande extra-hot Americano, I'm having my usual salted caramel hot chocolate and Cody doesn't quaff coffee. Instead of three drinks, we're gonna do three questions.

Here's a teaser from the interview. You can subscribe and read the whole thing now, or wait for the dead trees later this week.

Read the preview: Cody Nickell and Kristen Coury talk 'Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol'

Cody Nickell.

1) Why Jacob Marley? What makes this version special? What is in it that
isn't in any other version of "A Christmas Carol?"


"We know Scrooge and we don't know Marley at all." This is from Kristen Coury. We compare notes. Cody and I like Scrooge McDuck; Kristen prefers 1992's "The Muppet Christmas Carol."

On a side note - and this didn't make it into the story - the Scrooge McDuck mention led down the road to "Duck Tales," and then more Disney cartoons. Anyone passing by the Norris Center that afternoon was treated to Cody and I duetting the theme to "Gummi Bears." Truth.

2) What is the most difficult part of telling such a well-known (and
beloved) story with just one actor?

"I'm standing on Scrooge right now!" Cody Nickell said.

3) What have you already discovered about "A Christmas Carol" that you
didn't know before? What do you think will surprise audience members?

Cody Nickell takes flight. But Kristen Coury refuses to reveal how or why.

Cody Nickell stars in the Gulfshore Playhouse production of "Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol," an alternate take on the Dickens Classic. The show runs at 8 p.m. through Dec. 22 at the Norris Center in downtown Naples, with 3 p.m. matinées on Dec. 8, 15, 21 & 22. Tickets are $33-$45. Call 866-811-4111 or gulfshoreplayhouse.org. Buy tickets online here: https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/920126.

Read the preview: Cody Nickell and Kristen Coury talk 'Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol'

Auditions: APARTMENT 3A at the Marco Players

The Marco Players will hold auditions for "Apartment 3A" from 6-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2. Greg Madera directs this play about a PBS worker who threatens to hold Big Bird hostage until she finds a reason to live again. The show runs Feb. 12 - March 2, 2014. Call (239) 404-5198 for more information.

Lab Theater preps for Saturday's second 24-hour Playwriting Project

 

Carmen Crussard (far right) won the Critic's Choice award
at last year's event with "Zeus's Erotic Massage Parlor."

The Laboratory Theater of Florida lifts the curtain on its second 24-hour Playwriting Project at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7.

Playwrights get a theme and a few required lines on Friday night. They have 18 hours to write a ten-minute play - and they won't meet the actors until noon Saturday!

Playwrights include last year's winners Carmen Crussard and Char Loomis as well as Laura Lorusso, Michael Tomes, Taylor Adair Nave and John Fry.

The 24-hour Playwriting Project debuts at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7; doors open at 7:30. Tickets ($12) are available at laboratorytheaterflorida.com (buy online here) or at the door. Seating is limited.

Alas, I can't attend this year, (I judged last year's contest), as I'll be a few blocks away watching the convicts in "My Three Angels" at Florida Rep.

Complete Press Release Below:

"Deck the Halls" with Gulf Coast Symphony at BBMann Saturday

Gulf Coast Symphony will "Deck The Halls" at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Carols, Santa, sing-alongs and seasonal favorites from the symphony dot the program. For tickets ($22), call (239) 481-4849 or bbmannpah.com.

Here's the direct ticket link: http://bbmannpah.com/performance.php?id=580

Review: HAMLET {solo} at BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theatre

Canadian actor Raoul Bhaneja does a one-man
version of Shakespeare's great tragedy.

Angels and minister of grace defend us, there's something stinky on the sands of Sanibel. Canadian actor Raoul Bhaneja imports a brilliant "Hamlet {solo}" to BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater.

Then, as if the melancholy Dane didn't deliver enough drama, theatre-goers got a second helping Saturday night. Two rude (and apparently bored) patrons whispered (loudly) to each other throughout the first half before standing up and walking out (again, loudly).

Art took that opportunity to imitate life.

Bhaneja, performing the scene in Act II where Hamlet plots with actors to expose a guilty Claudius in the death of his father, seizes the moment. He walks coolly to the row, lolls back in the seat, crosses his legs and lounges. He holds his wrist cocked, as if enjoying a refreshing beverage or an expensive cigar.

He's the picture of bored royalty (Claudius & Gertrude) gamboling on their playground, unaware of the viper (Hamlet) within. He strikes, with perhaps the most fortuitously timed dialogue in all of Shakespeardom.

"That guilty creatures sitting at a play…"

The Bard of Avon himself could not have planned it better. The Old Globe could not have staged it with more style. Bravo.

Now, "Hamlet {solo}" still delivers - even if you don't get a bonus floor show. There's a 4 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Dec. 1. Additional shows are 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday at the BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater, located at 2200 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel. Tickets are $35 for adults, $5 for students. Call the BIG ARTS Marks Box Office at (239) 395-0900, Strauss Theater box office at (239) 472-6862 or bigarts.org.

Read the complete review:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/dec/01/review-big-arts-raoul-bhaneja-hamlet-solo-tickets/

Read the preview (from Charles Runnells)
One actor, 17 roles: 'Hamlet' at BIG ARTS Herb Strauss Theater

Read the full text of "Hamlet" - http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html