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It's a wrap for a year of theater and dining

There were some losses, but many gains as we look back at entertainment and restaurants in Pasco in 2005.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published January 3, 2006

Pasco County's theater and restaurant scene took several losses in 2005, but the theaters and restaurants that remained continued stronger than ever.

The biggest blow to theater was the departure of longtime community theater director Dick Poole, who, at the age of 82, moved from New Port Richey to California to wed his longtime friend, Gerry Gollihur, who is 83.

"It's never too late to start a family," Poole quipped at his big going-away bash at Francis Wilson Playhouse in Clearwater, as his bride-to-be beamed.

Poole directed more than 70 plays and musicals (My Fair Lady, Mack and Mabel, The King and I ), made hundreds of costumes for his and other productions and acted, danced and sang in several musicals and plays during his 25-year career in the Tampa Bay area. He has shelves full of awards and trophies for his theater accomplishments, including the Lloyd Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award he got at this year's Lary Awards. He was a frequent guest speaker at civic and social organizations and a lecturer at Pasco-Hernando Community College.

Meanwhile, Richey Suncoast Theatre continued its makeover, with new Art-Deco-ish signage, a fresh coat of paint, new roof surface, new marquee cases, refurbished air conditioning and heating and a plan in the works to re-do the auditorium.

For the first time in years, the 325-seat theater brought in a professional touring company to do musicals. The Salerno Theatre Company of Tampa had nice attendance for Grease, Jekyll and Hyde and She Loves Me .

The theater also booked the Frank Parsons Orchestra for a Wednesday afternoon concert and hopes to make this a monthly event in 2006, said board president Charlie Skelton.

A few miles north, the professional Show Palace Dinner Theatre started its 10th year in business by remodeling its front office, expanding its back offices and refurbishing its entire exterior.

Midway through the year, the Show Palace hired audience favorite Matthew McGee as its full-time artistic director.

On the restaurant scene, two popular and longtime specialty restaurants closed: Ganko Sushi Bar in Davis Plaza and Pit Boss Barbecue in Outback Plaza, both on U.S. 19 in New Port Richey. Interestingly, both were replaced by Mexican Restaurants - Ganko's by Mexico City Restaurant, Pit Boss by El Ranchito.

The not-so-popular Roadhouse Grill on U.S. 19 also closed, but, almost at the same time, the big, family-friendly Remington Steakhouse opened a couple of miles away on Little Road, north Embassy Boulevard.

Several local performers made national venues.

Holiday resident Darlene Cahill was chosen to compete on the CBS-TV reality show Wickedly Perfect , the search to find "America's Next Great Stylemaker." She lasted for seven rounds before the judges and her fellow contestants voted her off the show. Her departure caused a furor among viewers, who went online to say they thought Darlene was by far the most talented and hardest-working of the 12 contestants.

On the live stage, New Port Richey's Abigail Taylor, 8, landed a spot as the little boy, Michael, in Olympic gold medal-winner Cathy Rigby's national touring company production of Peter Pan . Abigail appeared in the show at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in October, flying around the stage courtesy of a sturdy harness and wires. She'll be at New York's Madison Square Garden over the holidays, then back out on the road at least through April.

Finally, Dr. Marc Yacht, the head of the Pasco County Health Department, continues to receive accolades for his fiction writing prowess.

In 2005, he won the Dr. Ed Hirschberg Award for best fiction or non-fiction piece with a Florida theme for his short story, Never Heard of It. The story is set in Ybor City and Aripeka and is about some low-life dope-dealers doublecrossing each other.

[Last modified January 3, 2006, 01:57:16]