Gulfshore Playhouse Concludes Season With MASTER CLASS, Beginning 4/4

By: Apr. 03, 2013
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Gulfshore Playhouse ends their seventh season with the musical play Master Class, in partnership with the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, playing April 5 through 21, with a preview performance April 4.

This award-winning play takes places in an empty opera hall at Julliard as opera diva Maria Callas coaxes, prods and inspires her opera students into giving the performances of their lives. Filled with funny quips about life, love and her relationship with Aristotle Onassis, Maria shares her passion, her joy, and the tireless pursuit of perfection that resulted in one of the greatest voices of all time. With profound insights into the masterful realization of song and riveting perspectives on how to bring art truthfully to the stage this beautiful Tony Award-winning play is not to be missed!

Founder and Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury will direct the production. "It is a pleasure to be able to bring this incredible play about passion and art, focusing one of the world's greatest performers, to the Phil."

"The Phil is delighted to be partnering with Gulfshore Playhouse in these performances of Master Class. I am a great fan of Kristen Coury's work, and can't wait to see the show," says Kathleen Van Bergen, CEO and President of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts.

Marina Re is making her Gulfshore Playhouse debut as opera diva Maria Callas. Marina has previously appeared in She earned a Boston IRNE award nomination and was named "Favorite local Actress" for her seven seasons at Gloucester Stage, Boston Shakespeare Company, Lyric Stage, and Jewish Theatre of New England.

Charles Czarnecki will play the role of Manny. Charles is a pianist, conductor, music director and composer and made his Broadway debut conducting Jersey Boys and his Carnegie Hall debut conducting (and orchestrating for) the New York Pops. Charles earned his Bachelor's in Classical Piano Performance and Psychology from Purchase Conservatory of Music (SUNY), his Master's in Classical Piano from the Manhattan School of Music, and certificates of completion from the Sarasota Music Festival, Piano Summer at New Paltz, the International Academy of Music (St. Petersburg, Russia), and the Amherst School of Music.

Christine Cornell will play Sophie. Most recently, Christine performed at the Paper Mill Playhouse in the 2012 revival of James Brennan's The Sound of Music and as a featured soloist in a review of the works of Jerry Herman. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Performance from The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and is a Master's Degree Candidate in Performance at the Manhattan School of Music.

Leah Edwards will be playing Sharon. Leah is reprising her role as Sharon after making her Broadway debut as a member of the company of Master Class in the 2011 revival. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, as well as sang with the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic.

Glenn Seven Allen will play Tony. He has appeared on Broadway and at major concert and opera venues throughout the United States. Broadway and N.Y. credits include The Light in the Piazza (Lincoln Center Theatre), Girl Crazy (City Center Encores), Casino Paradise (Lincoln Center-American Songbook) and A Fine and Private Place (York Theater).

Take advantage of our exclusive dinner deal with the new The Chapel Grill. This seasonal menu features three courses plus a glass of wine or champagne for just $29.95! Reservations can be made between 5:00 - 6:15 p.m. To take advantage of this special dinner deal, Gulfshore Playhouse patrons must call The Chapel Grill for reservations at (239) 206-4310 and provide their Gulfshore Playhouse e-mail ticket confirmation when they visit the restaurant. This deal is valid only on the date a patron is attending a Gulfshore Playhouse production.

Gulfshore Playhouse is Naples' first and finest professional theatre company offering a variety of stimulating, thought-provoking and entertaining productions from important classics to Broadway hits and innovative new works. Our shows are conceived and created in-house using a team of professional designers and technicians as well as Equity actors with credits ranging from Broadway shows to film and television.

The Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre Education Project serves Southwest Florida through a wide variety of unique educational opportunities. Our programming provides people from our diverse community accessibility to the art of theatre. Program offerings range from ART SMART, our in-school residencies which teach content curriculum through the lively art of theatre during the school day, to the STAR (Student Theatre Artist in Residence) after-school theatre classes and Theatre Summer Camps. We offer a variety of educational opportunities for adults, from rigorous internship programs to Professional Training Series classes taught by professional actors and members of the Gulfshore Playhouse creative team, and our newly unveiled Synergy Series, a series of panel discussions and talk-backs relating to our Mainstage productions.

Gulfshore Playhouse's production of Master Class, in partnership with the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, will play April 5 through 21, with a preview performance April 4. Single tickets are between $40 - 49. Master Class will be presented at the Daniels Pavilion at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Boulevard, Naples, FL 34108. Tickets for Master Class can purchased through the Phil box office at 239-597-1900.

Gulfshore Playhouse has announced its 2013-2014 season with five diverse productions, including a world premiere! The season includes: Something Intangible by Bruce Graham, the new spin on a classic holiday tale Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, the world premiere drama The God Game by Suzanne Bradbeer, from the author of The Fox on the Fairway, Ken Ludwig's The Game's Afoot and the Arthur Miller classic All My Sons. Subscriptions and single tickets are available now. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at 1-866-811-4111 or visiting our website at www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.



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