Arts & Entertainment Preview

A few other highlights: the eclectic Austin Lounge Lizards, playing everything from bluegrass to surf music, Nov. 26 at BIG ARTS on Sanibel . Quartetto Gelato's holiday concert, Dec. 13, for Classic Chamber Concerts ... former disco queen Donna Summers, Feb. 22, and pop songstress Petula Clark, March 16, both at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall . And the brand-new Opera Naples company, headed by Steffanie Pearce, plans its first opera production in April. Stay tuned for more info.

Gao Wows

Last summer, 15-year-old violinist Alan Gao earned a place on the prestigious Sydney Opera House stage, sharing the limelight with other budding virtuosos at the International Children's Culture and Arts Festival. It was far from the first time Gao had been on center stage. He began studying violin at age three and by 11 was playing in his first orchestra, starting at the top as principal violinist and concertmaster for the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He was one of the youngest of the middle and high school students.

"I was a little uncertain at first," Gao remembers. "But my dad helped me."

His father, Ming Gao, was well qualified to help: He is also a violinist-and the associate concertmaster for the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.

"It's an amazing privilege," says the young musician of his role in the youth orchestra. "I've gained a new sense of what it means to be a real musician."

But like most 15-year-olds, he's still not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. "I'm interested in math, sciences and a lot of other things," he says. "I'm keeping my options open, but I'll never completely give up the violin. It will always be there for me."

The Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra offers two major concerts this year, Nov. 13 and May 21, with the young musicians playing side-by-side with the professional musicians.

For ticket information, call (239) 597-1900 or visit www.thephil.org.

-Lynne Howard Frazer

Taking the Stage

How much room is there for live theater in Southwest Florida? More than you might think, insist the founders of two new theater groups.

"I can't tell you how many times we were asked, 'Is there room for another community theater group?'" says Mark McClellan, artistic director for the year-old Stage 88 Theatre. "But traditional rules don't seem to apply to the Naples marketplace. This community really enjoys live theater."

Although there were plenty of other community theater groups in town, McClellan and a small group of community theater veterans wanted to form a company dedicated to presenting recent and original works not usually attempted by all-volunteer theater troupes.

"We wanted to concentrate on the type of productions you wouldn't see anywhere else," he says.

The first step for the fledgling company was finding a stage; the group was able to reserve space at the Norris Center at Cambier Park in Naples. The location-at the corner of Eighth Street South and Eighth Avenue South-inspired the Stage 88 name.

Despite the demands of real-life jobs (McClellan works full-time as a producer of commercials for a local television station), Stage 88 embarked on an ambitious first season, debuting with Escanaba in da Moonlight, a comedy by actor/writer Jeff Daniels.

"We were blown away by the response," says McClellan. "I thought we'd have about 25 people. Instead, we had them practically hanging off the rafters."

The company then presented Pump Boys and Dinettes (a production rarely attempted by community theater groups, since most of the performers must also be musicians) and Frame 312, a haunting drama about the assassination of JFK and one woman's secret involvement.

Escanaba in da Moonlight was such a success that the group will present it again this season, Nov. 25 to Dec. 10. McClellan also has written and composed the music for a new musical thriller, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band!, which will debut on March 30.

"We've been able to do things I never thought we could in our first year," McClellan notes. "We all have the same fire in the gut to do this. Performing is a passion for us."

Until recently, finding a place to perform was a passion of another new theater group, the Gulfshore Playhouse. After months of searching for a site, the company has announced that it will build a new theater in Estero on land donated by a

local developer.

In the meantime, the legendary Carol Channing will host Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, a celebrity jewelry auction benefiting the regional theater, on Jan. 12.

"Carol really believes in promoting the growth of theater," says Kristen Coury, Gulfshore Playhouse founder and producing artistic director. "We're thrilled she's helping us."

For more information about Stage 88, visit www.stage88.com or call (239) 513-8600. To learn more about Gulfshore Playhouse, visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org or call (239) 261-5870.

-Lynne Howard Frazer

In the Blood

More than 30 years ago, Tom and Debbie Prather ran a summer stock theater in Selinsgrove, Pa., where their young son, Will, did curtain speeches and helped run the concession stand. By 1987, the family had built the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster, Pa., and Will Prather was hooked on the theater business.

"I often say that I came out of my mother's womb and straight onto the stage," he jokes. "I always knew I wanted to run the family business."

In 1993, the Prathers converted a failing Fort Myers grocery store into the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, with Will at the helm. He admits he had to learn the hard way about running a dinner theater in Southwest Florida. "I had some dreadful failures and offered some of the worst stuff ever produced," he says with a laugh. "But we learned. This year, we're celebrating our 100th show, which is a milestone not too many dinner theater companies can claim."

The Broadway Palm will celebrate its 12th season this year with a series of popular mega-musicals, including Cats, Oklahoma!, Godspell and The Full Monty. With Tom and Debbie Prather now semi-retired, Will manages all three of the family's dinner theaters, including the new Broadway Palm West in Mesa, Ariz.

"I love this business and consider it an honor to continue my parent's legacy," he says. As for the future, "My son, T. J., is almost seven. Maybe he'll follow the family tradition."

For dates and ticket information, call (239) 278-4422.

-Lynne Howard Frazer

Top Tickets

The curtain rises on another packed theater season this fall, and here are some of the highlights: The Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall Broadway season piles on the laughs with the Tony-winning Hairspray, John Waters' tribute to 1960s Baltimore and one girl's dream to dance on TV and snag the guy she loves, Feb. 14-19. At the Philharmonic Center, the theater season offers a timely look at The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial with stars Ed Asner, James Cromwell and Marsha Mason, Jan. 20-21; as well as a revival of Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue starring JoBeth Williams and Hector Elizondo, March 19. Both shows will be performed in the style of a radio play and are being recorded for broadcast on NPR. The Phil also has the Billy Joel-Twyla Tharp hit Movin' Out, Jan. 31 to Feb. 5, and ropes in Larry Gatlin to play Will in The Will Rogers Follies, Feb. 17-19.

In home-grown theater, look for the Naples Dinner Theatre's High Society, the musical version of the classic Philadelphia Story, Dec. 8 to Jan. 15, and a repeat of one of NDT's most successful shows ever, La Cage Aux Folles, with Barry Marcus reprising his role as Zaza/Albin, March 2 to April 15 . The Naples Players reach back to stage master Noel Coward with a production of Present Laughter, April 19 to May 13; this one is about actor/ladies-man Garry Essendine, originally portrayed by Coward himself.

In Fort Myers, the season offers Cats hanging from the rafters of the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, Dec. 29 to March 4, along with the area premiere of Sherlock Holmes and the West End Horror, a fast-moving murder mystery with comic and musical overtones, March 17 to April 9 at Florida Repertory Theatre . Also in Fort Myers, Theatre Conspiracy plans more premieres: The Florida debut of Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference runs Nov. 3-6 and stars Marcy Lafferty, which includes a fund raiser for the company; See Rock City by Arlene Hutton (whose Last Train to Nibroc played last season) runs April 27 to May 13 and centers on a pair of newlyweds during World War II . And Cape Coral's Cultural Park Theatre brings back perennial favorite On Golden Pond, March 17 to April 2.