Two stages sit at opposite edges of Old Naples, and this fall they keep very similar calendars. Gulfshore Playhouse at the Baker Theatre and Education Center, on the corner of First Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road, opened The World Goes 'Round on October 23. The Naples Players at the Sugden Community Theatre, 701 Fifth Avenue South, opened Rocket Man on October 21. Both shows close on November 22.
The holiday shows open almost together too. Come From Away starts at the Sugden on November 18. A Christmas Carol starts previews at the Baker on November 17. So the two companies' fall seasons fall into two windows, and for five nights, from November 18 through 22, all four productions are playing at once.
The Fall Calendar, Side by Side
| Window | Gulfshore Playhouse, Baker Theatre | The Naples Players, Sugden Theatre |
|---|---|---|
| Now through Nov. 22 | The World Goes 'Round, Struthers Studio | Rocket Man, Price Theater |
| Mid-Nov. through Dec. | A Christmas Carol, Moran Mainstage, Nov. 17 to Dec. 24 | Come From Away, Kizzie Theater, Nov. 18 to Dec. 20 |
The Naples Players opened the fall early. Over the River & Through The Woods, about a grandson's Sunday dinners with his four Italian-American grandparents, ran in the Kizzie Theater from October 7 and closed October 25. The Kizzie then has a gap until Come From Away moves in. For the rest of October and most of November, the downtown choice is between the two shows on the first line of the table.
The First Window: A Jazz Club and a Quiet Drama
These two shows are very different, so the first window is about what kind of evening you want.
At the Baker, Gulfshore Playhouse has turned the Struthers Studio into what it calls a "hazy, swanky jazz club" for The World Goes 'Round. It's the Kander and Ebb revue, with songs from Cabaret and Chicago such as "Maybe This Time," "New York, New York" and "And All That Jazz." Dann Dunn directs and choreographs, Trevor M. Pierce leads the music, and the show runs 2 hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission. Live musicians play in the room, which is part of the cabaret feel the Playhouse describes in its rehearsal update.
On Fifth Avenue, Rocket Man is the opposite kind of evening. The Naples Players describe it as "a bittersweet, funny, contemplative drama about Donny, a man who feels increasingly disconnected from his own life." Tickets on the show page run $25 to $67.
If you want songs and a cocktail-hour mood, the Baker is the pick. If you want a play that sends you out to dinner with something to talk about, it's the Sugden. Either way, the deadline is the same. After November 22, neither show is running.
November 18 to 22: All Four Shows at Once
The overlap follows from how the two calendars fall:
- Tuesday, November 17. A Christmas Carol starts previews on the Baker's Moran Mainstage.
- Wednesday, November 18. Come From Away opens in the Sugden's Kizzie Theater.
- Friday, November 20. A Christmas Carol has its opening night.
- Sunday, November 22. The World Goes 'Round and Rocket Man both close.
For those five nights, both of the Baker's performance spaces and two of the Sugden's are running productions. Four separate curtains in one downtown week also means more theater traffic on the garages, valet stands and pre-show tables described below. That week is also when people with tickets to the first shows start fitting in the holiday shows. For anyone who left The World Goes 'Round or Rocket Man for later, the closing weekend lands right on top of the openings.
The Second Window: Gander and Scrooge
After November 22 the choice comes down to two well-known stories, and both run into the holidays.
Come From Away is the musical about September 11, 2001, when 38 planes were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, "doubling its population overnight." It runs in the Kizzie Theater through December 20, with tickets from $25 to $67 on the show page. WGCU called Season 73 a blockbuster lineup when The Naples Players announced it in February, and this show sits right in the middle of that season.
A Christmas Carol at the Baker is a new adaptation by Kristen Coury on the Moran Mainstage. Its final performance is December 24, four days after Come From Away closes. That leaves the Baker as the only one of the two main stages still running in the last days before Christmas.
The Sugden adds smaller events around Come From Away, and these are easy to miss on the main season page:
- Comedy Night, November 28: a Family Game Night edition.
- Come From Away Dinner Onstage, November 29 and December 6.
- Readers Theatre, Odds, Ends, and Other Stories, November 15, and Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, December 12 to 20.
- *TNP Academy, The Addams Family Jr., October 31 to November 8*, and Holiday Inn, December 12 to 19.
- Holiday Show Comedy Night, December 26.
Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol runs at the Sugden at the same time as Gulfshore Playhouse's A Christmas Carol. That gives downtown two takes on the Dickens story in mid-December, one told from Marley's side of the ledger.
The Two Ends of the Evening
The two venues sit at different edges of Old Naples, and each handles arrival a little differently.
At the Baker, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road South. The free garage the City of Naples built across the street has entrances on First Avenue South and 12th Street, with accessible spaces on every floor. You take the elevator down and use the crosswalk to the theater. Valet costs $10, cash or card. Turn onto Third Avenue South, then take the first right at the roundabout onto 12th Street South. The Collective's free garage at First Avenue South and 10th Street is another option, and there's street parking throughout the Design District. The building was unveiled with a ribbon-cutting on October 17, 2024, and its first production, Anything Goes, opened that November 1, so this is the venue's third fall. Its lobby works as a public space as well as a theater lobby. The café and bar are open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a Thursday and Friday happy hour from 2 to 5 p.m. Florida Weekly described the building as a place for coffee, lunch, classes and community events on days without a show. The Playhouse's own visit guide sends patrons to Fifth Avenue for dinner before or after.
At the Sugden, 701 Fifth Avenue South. There's free self-parking in the public garage next door and on downtown streets. Valet costs $10 if you order it ahead, and it's free for donors and season-ticket holders. Two Fifth Avenue dining partners give ticket holders 15% off, with some exclusions: Osteria Tulia at 466 Fifth Avenue South and Tulia Italian Steak at 365 Fifth Avenue South.
For anyone planning more than one Sugden night this season, the ticket math is simple. The Naples Players list single tickets at $62 standard and $67 premium. Season packages work out to $50 to $55 per show and include free valet. Gulfshore Playhouse sells single tickets and redeems Flex Passes online for both of its fall shows. The Playhouse's parking page gives advice that applies to both venues, and it matters most from November 18 to 22: allow extra time, because downtown traffic and city events can tighten parking.
Good hosting starts with timing, and the same goes for a theater night: a table on Fifth Avenue, the curtain, then a walk home under the palms. If you're hosting family for the holidays and want help planning an evening around Come From Away or A Christmas Carol, David Rashty would be glad to help you plan the night from first course to final bow. Schedule a private consultation.
