Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples to see major renovations

There are plans to give the Sugden Community Theatre, home of the Naples Players, major renovations, providing more room for audiences and a state-of-the-art setting for performances.

The developer involved says the theater at 701 5th Ave. S. needs a makeover, and now Naples is looking to renovate and expand it. Bryce Alexander, executive artistic director of the Naples Players, says the goal is to add a new balcony that will have additional seating. They also want to expand the theater so it can be used for educational purposes.
Right now, the Sugden Community Theatre has 330 seats; they’re looking to add 120 more.

Alexander says that as the city keeps growing, it’s only right to make sure businesses keep up with that growth.

“All of the current spaces that exist in the theater now are being completely modernized and renovated,” Alexander said. “You know, the theater now is well over 20 years old, and it still has the original seats, for example. While those things have held up really nicely, to make sure that the theater continues to serve downtown Naples for another 25-plus years, the theater just needed to be updated.”

The project will cost $15 million, and so far the Naples Players have raised $12 million, all from donations. They say they’re ready to grow, especially since they are constantly seeing new faces.

“For several years, eight to 10 years, the Naples Players have actually been sold out every night of the week,” Alexander said. “We have waitlists upon waitlists for people to be able to access what is a community theater, local performers who are volunteering their time. This project will allow for us to add additional capacity for the people who are constantly on the waitlist.”

The planning advisory committee will meet later Wednesday morning to discuss the future of the project.