Sunday, October 7, 2012
Carol Marden, the organizer of the Greater Seffner Relay For Life dinner theater banquet at The Regent offers praise and words of hope for those who helped stage the event and for those living with and through cancer.
The following report was submitted by Carol Marden, who chaired the Greater Seffner Relay For Life fundraiser banquet held Oct. 3 at The Regent in Riverview, with a performance by Stagedoor Performing Arts. _______________ Last year was my first Relay for Life. Sue Smith and Ann Renee Rehm, who were the chairpersons for the Seffner Relay for Life, asked me to attend. They also asked if I would speak as a survivor. I experienced a feeling that was very warm, pleasing and the acknowldgment of much more hope. In Feb. 2010 I was diagnosed with mucosal melamona which is internal melanoma and very rare. I am so fortunate to have the wonderful care through Tampa General Hospital, the exceptional care available at the Moffitt Cancer Center, …
Thursday, October 4, 2012
A large turnout showed up for the fundraiser banquet on behalf of the 2013 Seffner Relay For Life. Community theater actors performed "A History of Broadway" for an event that a cancer survivor helped organize.
A dinner theater performance and buffet dinner fundraiser was held at The Regent in Riverview on Oct. 3 to benefit the 2013 Seffner Relay For Life at Armwood High School. There, Andrea Bearry, the chair of next year's overnight fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, said she has high hopes the Seffner Relay For Life will meet its goal of signing on 50 teams and raising $75,000. Last year's Greater Seffner Relay For Life raised more than $50,000, which is a remarkable feat for a Relay that at one time had almost closed, because of the great effort it took to raise what in comparison were low funds compared to other Tampa Bay area Relay events. But Seffner now is a force to be reckoned with, given last year's draw at the first time …
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Stagedoor Performing Arts, in conjunction with the Village Players, is in production with "The Odd Couple," on stage at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico. The show's only matinee is Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. Remaining show dates are Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.
On stage at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico is "The Odd Couple," staged by Stagedoor Performing Arts in conjunction with the Village Players and starring a cast of seven thespians. Directed by G. Todd Siverling, with production management by Josie Costa, the Neil Simon comedy takes to the stage today, Aug. 26, with a 3 p.m. matinee. Additional show dates are Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at 8 p.m. The show, featuring the comedic highlights of a tested friendship between the divorced Oscar Madison (Randy Magruder), a slob, and the divorcing Felix Ungar (Dave Friedman), a neat freak, premiered on Broadway in 1965, followed by both a successful television and film series. In his program notes, Siverling gives notice to Corey Wade, who built "…
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Domin Pazo talks about his draw to "The Best of Broadway" revue format he has directed three times over the past decade. Arrive early for closing night tickets July 28 at the Plant City Entertainment theatre. A quick sell-out is expected.
For Domin Pazo, tonight's final performance of The Best of Broadway in Plant City marks his third time as the director of a revue that features top songs from top Broadway musicals. It's his first time directing the revue for Plant City Entertainment, at the Plant City Theatre at 101 North Thomast St., following two similar efforts in Brandon, for Stagedoor Performing Arts. "It's fun to bring together a bunch of the most popular songs from the most popular Broadway musicals together in one revue," Pazo said in an interview July 28, hours before the final curtain of the closing night performance of the third revue. Tickets for the July 28 performance are still available, "but I expect it to be a sell out," Pazo said. "People will probably…
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Twenty-five MONTI awards were presented at Center Place in August. Plant City Entertainment holds its 26th Annual Applause Awards ceremony Sept. 10 at the First United Methodist Church.
It's awards season for community theater in Greater Brandon and beyond, with 25 MONTI awards recently announced and another slew of honorees to be named tonight, Sept. 10, at the 26th Annual Applause Awards Banquet in Plant City. The Applause Awards event starts with a social at 6:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 7, at the First United Methodist Church's Wesley Center, at 2311 Walden Place South in Plant city. The theme is "Old Hollywood" and awards will be given based on the community theater troupe's 2010-11 season. Meanwhile, the Sixth Annual MONTI awards were presented Aug. 19 at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association in Brandon. Along with awards in 22 production categories, the group annual presents three "Hall of Fame" …
Friday, February 4, 2011
A quick look at who's holding auditions and what shows you might want to catch as the latest community theater season gets underway.
"All the world's a stage," William Shakespeare said, and especially so for the upcoming community theater season in Greater Brandon and beyond. As you might like it, the season runs the gamut with auditions and shows ranging from the comedic to the musical — and there is something for all ages. We start with auditions, then give news of shows closer to home and then a bit farther away. (And please, as always, if you know of something we've missed, write a comment below.) See you at the theater! AUDITIONS UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS A BIT FARTHER FROM HOME
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Three established community theater companies in the Greater Brandon area— The Frenzie, Stagedoor and Village Players — are holding auditions for well-known musicals with production dates in March, April and May.
NOTE FROM EDITOR: Stagedoor announced Jan. 15 that it would not be able to stage Jesus Christ Superstar and is looking for a substitute show to bring to its new venue. That show has been selected: Terry Abbott's "Neverland." Jesus, Birdie and Rocky take center stage as audition season gets under way for community theater troupes in the Greater Brandon area. The Frenzie - Life Theatre company is in production with “The Rocky Horror Show.” Stagedoor of Brandon, with “Jesus Christ Superstar.” And the Village Players, with “Bye Bye Birdie.” Frenzie's "Rocky Horror" The Frenzie - Life Theatre company holds auditions Jan. 10 for “The Rocky Horror Show,” the Richard O’Brien rock musical that centers on two clean-cut kids who break down with car …
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A surprise party for Josie Costa at Hamburger Mary's in Centro Ybor ends with a video that starts off typical enough — but doesn't quite end that way.
Josie Costa celebrated her birthday in Ybor City, the place of her birth 64 years ago, with a surprise party thrown by her son Mark — with a very surprise ending, captured on video. "All my life I've lived in the (Greater Brandon) area," said Josie Costa, whose family for 20 years owned and operated Marchese's restaurant in Brandon. "I grew up in Ybor City and everything I do is in Brandon. I work in Brandon (at SalonCentric), my theater work is in Brandon and I live on the outskirts of Brandon, in Tampa. I love the togetherness of all the people, and especially in the world of community theater." The birthday celebration came as a surprise to Josie Costa, who was driven by her son Vince to the party his younger brother planned at …
27.96098
-82.441723
1600 E 8th Ave, Tampa, FL
Hamburger Mary's
/articles/brandons-momma-josie-gets-a-surprise-in-her-native-ybor-city
/locations/2930795
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Only a handful of companies in Florida held the initial rights to stage the Tony Award-winning musical. The three-week run at the James McCabe Theater is a joint staging of the Village Players and Stagedoor Performing Arts.
At first glance, Domin Pazo found Jonathan Larson's musical "Rent" unimpressive, "a depressing, artsy thing" with music that "wasn't very memorable." In a word, he said, a "downer." The year was 1998 and the venue, the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Two years later, a friend, Greg Summerall, left behind at Pazo's house a CD recording of the rock opera, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for best musical, and Pazo would listen to it from time to time. "After about two months I liked two songs, 'One Song Glory' and 'Seasons of Love,' " Pazo said. "After six months, I loved everything about 'Rent.' Instead of looking at it as this dark, depressing piece I realized that it wasn't about dying and diseases it was more about …
27.94589
-82.25895
506 5th St, Valrico, FL
James McCabe Theater
/articles/final-run-for-rent-this-weekend-at-james-mccabe-theater
/locations/2796020
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Community theater troupe's long-time association with Limona Village Chapel ends with "Plaza Suite" and opens a new era of uncertainty for one of the Greater Brandon area's oldest performing arts organization.
The final curtain of the final show at Limona Village Chapel signals a new chapter for Stagedoor Performing Arts and its board of directors as they seek a new home for the 15-year-old community theater troupe. Founded by Wayne Otto in 1995, the troupe most recently spent a five-year stint at the United Methodist church at 408 Limona Road. There, pastor Kirk Dreiser would take to the stage at the start of each show to welcome theatergoers to the church's fellowship hall. "This is a sad night for me," he said before the curtain rose Oct. 30 on Stagedoor's last performance of Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite" at the church hall temporarily transformed into a theatre. "It's fun because I get to the see the show but it's also sad because I will miss …
27.9446
-82.30417
Limona Village Chapel
408 Limona Rd, Brandon, FL
/articles/stagedoors-final-curtain-at-limona-village-chapel
953808
/locations/2740756
Linda Chion Kenney
11:59 am on Sunday, July 29, 2012
Will be posting a follow-up story! Kudos to PCE cast and crew, abc a show that featured kids and adults, from ages 5 and up, together. A true community affair! more ›