Taylor Morgan is the Marketing and Audience Services Manager at Gulfshore Playhouse.

Yesterday we celebrated the much anticipated (and nearly sold out) production of My Fair Lady at Gulfshore Playhouse with a high tea event at the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club. Many of you might think, GP has never done anything like this before and you’re right! This year we have launched a new series called “Page to Stage” which is designed to further immerse the audience into our productions, and this was the first installment. With the help of our incredible Page to Stage Committee ladies and Playhouse Partners, the afternoon was nothing short of “loverly”.

The tea included exclusive performances by My Fair Lady cast members, Jeffrey Binder who plays Henry Higgins and Patricia Noonan, our Eliza Doolittle. Throughout the afternoon, guests were delighted with performances from the US National Dance Champions Alexander Voskalchuk and Veronika Egorova to beloved songs from the musical. Guests were thrilled to have a chance to meet and mingle with the cast of My Fair Lady as well as some of the creative team.

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IF you missed the tea, don’t fret! The next “Page to Stage” event is called  “Bestseller to Broadway” that celebrates Gulfshore Playhouse’s third world premiere, Do This. The event will feature Karen Siff Exkorn, renowned author of The Autism Sourcebook and playwright of Gulfshore Playhouse’s Do This, as she shares her incredible story. Karen and her family have been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, CBS, The View, NBC Nightly News, Nightline, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Coverage of their amazing story recently won a 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Feature Story in Regularly Scheduled Newscast. You will not want to miss your chance to hear first-hand the intricate and vastly different processes an author goes through when writing a nonfiction book for a literary audience compared to a stage play and the impact both have on our lives.

The final “Page to Stage” event of the season is an annual event called Share the Love. Graciously donated by Scott and Renee Relf, the event is held at the gorgeous property at the Portico with Gulfshore Playhouse as its featured not-for-profit organization of 2017. Held on February 13, 2017, the evening will celebrate Shakespeare under the stars for a truly unique Valentine’s Day treat limited to just 45 couples. Guests will enjoy a delicious catered dinner by master chef Brian Roland and an exclusive performance from operatic baritone Mark Llewelyn Evans. On the night prior to this romantic evening – February 12 – there will be a cocktail reception and fireside chat with Gail Kern Paster, renowned Shakespeare scholar, trustee of the Shakespeare Association of America, and director emerita of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Ms. Kern Paster also sits on the Board of Directors for Gulfshore Playhouse and is the consultant for its upcoming production of The Merchant of Venice. She, along with Gulfshore Playhouse founder, Kristen Coury, will be speaking on the concepts behind Gulfshore Playhouse’s production and the life and times of Shakespeare’s Venice, and some short scenes will be read.

If you are interested in reserving tickets for the upcoming “Page to Stage” events please visit our website at gulfshoreplayhouse.org for more information!