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Players Circle plans full winter season

By CHUCK BALLARO 3 min read
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Danny Sinoff will be in residency every Thursday, beginning Feb. 4; at 7 p.m. He will sing and play jazz featuring music from the American songbook. PHOTO PROVIDED

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The Players Circle Performing Arts Center, located at the Shell Factory, plans a full 2021 winter nightclub season, featuring music, comedy, cabaret, and burlesque.

Robert Cacioppo, artistic director at the Players Circle, said there will be something for everybody this season.

“When I do theater, I like to have a wide variety. I think the nightclub season we’ve chosen reflects that,” Cacioppo said. “We have a comedian who’s improvisational, another is a storyteller, we have jazz and country. We have a really nice mix.”

Shows will run from Feb. 4 through April 1 at the venue that has reinvented itself from a 200-seat professional theater to a 50-seat nightclub with spaced seating, temperature checks, thorough sanitizing, and masks worn by all audience members, in compliance with all CDC guidelines.

More than 30 performances are scheduled, including Danny Sinoff, who will be in residency every Thursday, beginning Feb. 4; at 7 p.m. He will sing and play jazz featuring music from the American songbook, with singer/drummer Patricia Dean and Scott Smith on bass. Tickets are $15 and $25.

On Feb. 5 and 6, comedian R.C. Smith returns. This national comedy act will perform at the standard start times of 8 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.

On Feb. 12-14 and 19-21, Guys and Doll: Love on the Rocks, a musical revue, will be presented. It features three experienced singer-actors accompanied by maestro Brian Gurl on the keyboard. They will sing Broadway songs from Porter to Hamilton. Sunday shows will start at 2 p.m.

The following weekend, Feb. 26 to 28, Gurl returns with singer Michele Pruyn in the musical Revue, “Gershwin with a Twist.”

“People love the Broadway songs and we had great success with the Broadway Babes with three beautiful singers. It’s about giving people safe entertainment,” Cacioppo said.

March brings the return of nationally known headline comedian Carmen Ciricillo, who will appear March 5 and 6.

On March 19 and 21, the Ladies of Country, starring Rebecca O’Quinn singing the songs of Patsy, Tammy, June and Dolly.

Sandwiched in between will be another show with the popular burlesque troupe, Glam! Bam! Burlesque! On Saturday, March 20, with shows at 7 and 9:30 p.m., a show meant for adults, so it may not be for those easily offended.

The announced season concludes March 26 to 28 with Hot Keys and G Strings, with the piano and violin combo of Brian Gurl and Carlann Evans.

As for the future, a five-show theater opening is scheduled for Oct. 27 with the Florida premiere of the recent Broadway hit comedy-drama, “Lifespan of a Fact.”

Tickets can be purchased at playerscircletheater.com or by calling 239-800-3292. Register on website to get updates on all performances. Free parking is available for all performances. A lite dinner and special cocktail menu are available in the theater 45 minutes before every performance.

Full dinner is available before all shows at the Southern Grill Restaurant in the Shell Factory; call 995-3999 for reservations.