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Richey Suncoast Theatre board president Charlie Skelton was bustin' his buttons with pride this week over his theater's first-place award in the Florida Secretary of State's Main Street 2003 Awards program.
Out of 58 applications, the theater won "Outstanding Florida Main Street Rehabilitation Project," one of three first places New Port Richey Main Street won. (The other two went to Liz Dono for "Outstanding Local Florida Main Street Supporter" and the organization for "Outstanding Private-Public Partnership.")
Not bad, considering that there were only 11 first place awards given in the entire state.
Richey Suncoast richly deserves the accolades. A few years ago, it was fast becoming a downtown eyesore, with dirty, streaked paint, tacky outdoor signage, and a peeling, crusty dome on the roof.
Under Skelton's guidance and with lots of help from other board members and the theater's special "Patrons in Progress" donors, the theater has been turned into a showplace.
"We've spent more than $30,000 just on the outside," Skelton said. Of that, the city of New Port Richey chipped in $5,000.
The newly burnished gold dome job was worth $11,000 alone. The new art deco sign on the corner of the building was $3,200. Design committee members Chaz Bender, Alma Scheuer, Gil Thivener and Jim Trappeo chose the exterior colors and saw that the splitting, peeling doors over the entrance were replaced with new, good-looking doors.
Inside, there are new carpets. An anonymous donor paid $1,082 for two new speakers on the stage. Two others paid for safety lights around the stage to prevent tumbles into the orchestra pit.
"Next up, the same design committee is meeting with an architect to consider redoing the inside," Skelton said. "We're just taking it in stages," he added with a laugh.
One really happy theater veteran is Sara DelBeato, who won the role of stage legend Fanny Brice in Stage West Community Playhouse's upcoming production of Funny Girl, based on Brice's life.
"It's a role I've wanted to play all my life," Ms. DelBeato told me.
Ms. DelBeato has had several feature roles in area theaters - Richey Suncoast, Show Palace and the now-defunct Angel "garden cafe" Theatre, to name only three - but this is her first lead. She came within two places of landing the lead in the Broadway blockbuster Hairspray during her first-ever jaunt to New York to try out, a genuine accomplishment.
Sara can turn a jazz tune inside out with her husky voice and perfect timing. That voice was just made for Funny Girl's big songs - Don't Rain on My Parade, Who Are You Now? and People. It will be fun to see what she does with the acting part of the role.
Funny Girl opens Nov. 6 and continues the following three weekends.
It's not Halloween yet, but the organizers of the popular "Angels on High" holiday display at the Spring Hill Community Association are busily taking reservations for spaces where people can display their creations for this year's December show (call 352-666-4746 by Nov. 14 to reserve a spot).
This is the third year for the colorful display of painted plywood angels that, with the help of wires and clever lighting, seem to be flying through the trees surrounding the association's Lake House on Hunter's Lake.
I've been to both previous exhibits, and they really put me in the holiday mood.
Last year's show had more than 70 angels, all handmade by area residents. And, yes, it's okay to enter last year's angel, as each angel may appear for three years (after all, not everybody has gotten to see all of them).
The association has arranged with the Spring Hill Home Depot on U.S. 19 to have materials and instructions in one bundle for just $23.20. You can copy an angel from a coloring book, a Christmas card, or even design your own. If you aren't an artist, you can use the association's projector to trace the angel's outline on your board before you cut it.
You can put your name, or that of your family, club, school or business on the angel so everyone will know who made it.