The reactions were swift and often emotional last week — a mix of happy and sad — after the Players Theatre announced that it would be leaving its home of 80 years in favor of a new theater complex in Lakewood Ranch.
The Players Theatre has presented plays and musicals and run educational programs on a site on U.S. 41 near downtown Sarasota since 1936. STAFF PHOTO/JAY HANDELMAN
The amateur theater, the area’s first performing arts group, has operated at its current site on U.S. 41 and 9th Street in Sarasota since 1936, and a lot of people just expected the company to be there forever.
But with parking severely limited and the building in need of major repairs and enhancements, the theater’s board and staff is doing what seems to make the most sense — selling the property (at a hopefully high price) and moving elsewhere.
The move isn’t a surprise, but the destination is for some who expected the Players to stay near downtown Sarasota. Instead, organization now known as the Players Centre for the Performing Arts, will build a three-theater complex at the Waterside development of homes, condos and businesses. Developers broke ground just last month on this new southern section of Lakewood Ranch, between Fruitville Road and University Park, east of Interstate 75.
Like “The Jeffersons,” the Players are movin’ on up (or at least east.)
The new location won’t be as close for some people who have voiced complaints in Facebook posts. But it will be convenient for many more people who live away from the downtown core. Our region is expanding, and Lakewood Ranch doesn’t seem as far away as it once did.
For the moment, at least, the Players will be the only arts organization in an area that has been steadily growing over the past 20 years. I’m surprised it’s taken this long for an arts group to move to the area.
Managing director Michelle Pingel, left, and artistic director Jeffery Kin announce a new name for the former Players Theatre and a planned move to Lakewood Ranch during an event for media and sponsors on May 2, 2016. STAFF PHOTO/JAY HANDELMAN
We are creatures of habit. My car can practically drive itself to the current theater (but it doesn’t get to see the shows on stage). I may not like having to drive an extra 10 or so miles, especially during the tourist season, from my office or home to the new location. But I’ll appreciate not having to wonder how early I’ll have to get there in order to find a place to park, or whether I’ll need to risk my life by parking at the Municipal Auditorium and dashing across the heavy traffic on U.S. 41.
Theater leaders are taking a big risk that longtime ticket buyers will follow and that new fans will emerge, but it sure seems like this move provides the Players Centre with a great opportunity for growth.
The artists who stage and perform in the shows may be under more pressure to put on great productions to remind the community of the value of their work, both for the artists and the audiences.
The strong emotions expressed by so many are understandable because theaters aren’t just buildings. They carry the ghosts of all the performers, directors and designers and others who shared their talent on the stage and off. The backstage walls of the Players are covered with the signatures of those who have worked in the hundreds of shows that have been presented since the current building went up in the early 1970s.
We still have plenty of time to share memories and say farewell to what we will long think of as the Players.
The backstage walls at the Players theater are filled with logos of past shows and signatures of the people who performed and worked on them over the years. HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE
Now the community has a chance to step up and support the company’s $25 million capital and endowment campaign. Whatever its name, The Players has survived through many ups and downs in Sarasota since 1931. It was a groundbreaker when it started and can be once again as it ushers in a new era in a different part of town.
— Contact Jay Handelman at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. Keep up with entertainment coverage at ticketsarasota.com. Follow me on Twitter @jayhandelman and Instagram @jayhandelman
