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coming downtown.” And Andrés Duany
was certain that culture was the key to 5th
Avenue’s revitalization, saying “If Naples loses
its culture, it loses its single most important
asset.”
According to Duany, 5th Avenue, without
community and civic space, would “be
nothing but a mall, an open-air mall . . .
merely a hot mall.” But, “if Naples builds
Sugden Community Theater, it would be a
tremendous asset.”
Following the excitement and support of the
5th Avenue property owners and Duany, the
next step was raising the funds required to
make this dream a reality.
An unprecedented fundraising effort
immediately followed, and the first major gift
came from Frances Pew Hayes. Others soon
followed including Peg and Herb Sugden,
Lois and Dick Blackburn, and Jay and Patty
Baker. Three successive yearly grants
from the State of Florida totaling nearly
$1.5 million helped create the final result:
the 1998 debt-free opening of The Naples
Players’ Sugden Community Theatre on 5th
Avenue South, just two blocks south of the
original building where they staged their
first production 65 years ago.
Today, The Naples Players stage more than
250 performances a year. With a subscriber
base of more than 3,000, education
program that reaches over 1,000 students
annually, and having been voted Best Live
Theatre for sixteen consecutive years
in the Naples Daily News, many best-of
Southwest Florida Choice Awards among
others, The Naples Players are regarded as
the cultural jewel of Naples.
Now in our 65th year, we look forward to
exploring ways to continue to grow our
programs and productions to serve Naples
for another 65 years to come.
The Naples Players’ Sugden Community Theatre as
it stands today on 5th Avenue South.
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