Theater

Most area theaters have suffered the dreaded summer box-office slowdown, but Naples Dinner Theatre's Michael Wainstein hopes he has a cure for the malady this time around.

Wainstein and company are taking a brief departure from their usual summer model of standard musicals and trying something different to draw bigger crowds. First up is June's Superstar Month, offering impersonators of Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Liberace and Elvis. You can catch all three of these acts for $75 (matinees) or $100 (evenings).

Perhaps a bigger change: In July and August, the theater has three shows running in rotating rep to provide audiences with a pleasing variety. The Who's rock opera Tommy, opening July 1, will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Then Tommy's cast members, abetted by an additional chorus of local teens, appear in the '50s-era family musical Bye, Bye, Birdie, which opens July 7. Finally, NDT reaches out to a really younger audience with You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, onstage for matinees on Thursdays and Fridays in July and August and throughout the week in June.

Wainstain and fellow NDT owners Stuart Glazer and Barry Marcus hope the new summer schedule lures year-rounders to join the out-of-towners who've begun to visit Naples during the hotter months. For schedule and ticket info, call 514-STAR (7827).