Professional-grade set design and performances are born of the amazing talent of local volunteers.
March 20, 1953 I Remember Mama, by John Van Druten, opens for a single-night performance at Naples High School (now Gulfshore Middle School).
1953 to 1970 The Naples Players performs hundreds of times in storefronts, church halls and school facilities. Even the Naples Zoo is used as a production site for John Patrick’s Teahouse of the August Moon. Despite some lean years during this period, the curtain continues to rise.
1970s and early 1980s The educational component of the group grows with the addition of workshops, seminars and training sessions; a push to stage more dramas is realized, and the company reaches a consistent fourproduction annual schedule.
1985 The Naples Players rents the Kon Tiki 76 NAPLES ILLUSTRATED
Theater on Goodlette Road, which serves as the organization’s permanent quarters until 1998.
Early 1990 The Kon Tiki landlord gives verbal notice of redevelopment plans for the building, and the search for a new facility commences.
1993 The Naples City Council engages Andrés Duany, a leading urban planner, to revitalize Fifth Avenue South. One major recommendation is to keep the theater group downtown for its proven allure. The southern half of Seventh Street is allocated as a site for a home for The Naples Players to be built in conjunction with a commercial plaza.
1996 A fundraising effort begins, then halts at the $2 million mark. Herb Sugden jump-starts a second-wind effort with a
Now Playing The Sugden’s two stages, the main Blackburn Hall and intimate Tobye Studio, claim a stellar lineup this current season, including a multiple Tony Award-winning blockbuster and an Agatha Christie classic. Blackburn Hall: n Shout! The Mod Musical, October 3-27 n Leading Ladies, November 21-December 15 n Barefoot in the Park, January 9-February 2 n The Producers, February 27-March 30 n The Mousetrap, April 17-May 11 Tobye Studio: n Les Liaisons Dangereuses, October 24-November 17 n Ghost Writer, January 30-February 23 n The Clean House, March 27-April 30