Theatre icon notes final curtain
By Kelly Farrell
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Naples Dinner Theatre will take its final bow on Apr. 22. After 32 years of serving Neapolitans a dinner and show, the final curtain will close, making way for high-end storage units at the intersection of Airport and Immokalee roads.
"It gets sadder with each day of the countdown," says theatre co-owner and associate artistic director, Barry Marcus.
The final presentation, "Show Boat," will run through Apr. 22.
The theater opened in 1975 with 13 owners, including Julius Fiske who operated the business until he died in 1999. Since then, his son and daughter, Richard and H. Sandra Fiske, have been looking to sell the 3.5-acre parcel and building valued at about $3 million.
Naples Dinner Theatre owner's Stuart Glazer, Barry Marcus and Michael Wainstein pose on the stage as the Theatre's last days are approaching. The Naples Dinner Theatre will officially close its doors on April 22, after 32-years of tradition in Naples. The final production will be one of Broadway's most momentous, legendary shows, the production of SHOWBOAT.
Marcus, managing director Stuart Glazer and artistic director Michael Wainstein purchased the dinner theater operation from the Fiskes in 1999 and continued to rent the property until it sold last year to BRB Development, owner of The LockUp, offices and retail stores.
The trio met nine years ago while working for The Naples Players. They considered finding a new location for the dinner theatre, but said lack of press coverage and slow sales in the off-season made it difficult to continue in Naples.
"We really needed that beginning impetus of the review after opening nights this year. We don't make money. That may always be a challenge for a theater, but there's a point where you won't lose your shirt," Marcus said.
Even if the building hadn't sold last year, he said the theatre may not have been able to remain open. He said people approached them with several partnership offers, but a deal could not be finalized in time.
"We really didn't decide to close," Wainstein said. "Our lease was up and a new home for the theater just wasn't found."
Wainstein said there is still a slim chance of opening the theater somewhere else, but it's just that -- slim.
"We've been looking [for a place]. It's possible. The costs are just so outrageous and we have a bad taste in our mouth with the way we've been treated this last year," he said.
The 350-seat theatre attracts about 100,000 people a year, but with royalties of about $20,000 per show, the owners say they have struggled to break even.
"None the less, Naples has been wonderful to us. Our customers have been overwhelming," Marcus said.
The owners said although most of the actors are seasonal, all will miss the theater and the work to some extent. Actors Debbie Guthrie and Dick Westlake have performed at the theatre for five years or more and were devastated by the loss.
"It is unbelievable," Westlake said of the theatre's closing. "This theater is significant because for many years it was the only professional theater in the area."
The owners and actors said they take with them some of the greatest memories of their lives.
The cast and crew became like a family, riding out the hurricanes together inside the theater because it had a secure concrete foundation. Wainstein said it was like a slumber party and something about weathering the storms together brought the cast and crew closer than ever.
The owners said response from the audience has been overwhelming, with five to 10 people a night, begging not to close the theatre.
"It's like a person dying; you want to spend every last moment with them," Marcus said. "It's going to be very sad to bring down the curtain on this one."
By Kelly Farrell
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Naples Dinner Theatre will take its final bow on Apr. 22. After 32 years of serving Neapolitans a dinner and show, the final curtain will close, making way for high-end storage units at the intersection of Airport and Immokalee roads.
"It gets sadder with each day of the countdown," says theatre co-owner and associate artistic director, Barry Marcus.
The final presentation, "Show Boat," will run through Apr. 22.
The theater opened in 1975 with 13 owners, including Julius Fiske who operated the business until he died in 1999. Since then, his son and daughter, Richard and H. Sandra Fiske, have been looking to sell the 3.5-acre parcel and building valued at about $3 million.
Naples Dinner Theatre owner's Stuart Glazer, Barry Marcus and Michael Wainstein pose on the stage as the Theatre's last days are approaching. The Naples Dinner Theatre will officially close its doors on April 22, after 32-years of tradition in Naples. The final production will be one of Broadway's most momentous, legendary shows, the production of SHOWBOAT.
Marcus, managing director Stuart Glazer and artistic director Michael Wainstein purchased the dinner theater operation from the Fiskes in 1999 and continued to rent the property until it sold last year to BRB Development, owner of The LockUp, offices and retail stores.
The trio met nine years ago while working for The Naples Players. They considered finding a new location for the dinner theatre, but said lack of press coverage and slow sales in the off-season made it difficult to continue in Naples.
"We really needed that beginning impetus of the review after opening nights this year. We don't make money. That may always be a challenge for a theater, but there's a point where you won't lose your shirt," Marcus said.
Even if the building hadn't sold last year, he said the theatre may not have been able to remain open. He said people approached them with several partnership offers, but a deal could not be finalized in time.
"We really didn't decide to close," Wainstein said. "Our lease was up and a new home for the theater just wasn't found."
Wainstein said there is still a slim chance of opening the theater somewhere else, but it's just that -- slim.
"We've been looking [for a place]. It's possible. The costs are just so outrageous and we have a bad taste in our mouth with the way we've been treated this last year," he said.
The 350-seat theatre attracts about 100,000 people a year, but with royalties of about $20,000 per show, the owners say they have struggled to break even.
"None the less, Naples has been wonderful to us. Our customers have been overwhelming," Marcus said.
The owners said although most of the actors are seasonal, all will miss the theater and the work to some extent. Actors Debbie Guthrie and Dick Westlake have performed at the theatre for five years or more and were devastated by the loss.
"It is unbelievable," Westlake said of the theatre's closing. "This theater is significant because for many years it was the only professional theater in the area."
The owners and actors said they take with them some of the greatest memories of their lives.
The cast and crew became like a family, riding out the hurricanes together inside the theater because it had a secure concrete foundation. Wainstein said it was like a slumber party and something about weathering the storms together brought the cast and crew closer than ever.
The owners said response from the audience has been overwhelming, with five to 10 people a night, begging not to close the theatre.
"It's like a person dying; you want to spend every last moment with them," Marcus said. "It's going to be very sad to bring down the curtain on this one."