Cheaper tickets, more big changes at Cape Coral's Cultural Park Theater

Big changes are coming to Cape Coral’s Cultural Park Theater, starting with the venue’s old paintjob.

“The '80s wants their colors back,” says new executive director Mark Fleming, smiling as he gives a tour of the theater. “And we’re giving it gladly.”

The color scheme is just the start, though.

More dramatic changes are happening at the theater, including a renovated lobby designed to feel more like a lounge, cheaper show tickets and plans for outdoor concerts and festivals.

Meet Mark Fleming: New executive director right at home in Cape Coral's Cultural Park Theatre

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From left, Johanna Navarro, Luke Lewis, Kira Dunlap andPaige Steiner perform a dance routine during a theater tryout. Cultural Park Theater hosted auditions for its 60th anniversary season on Thursday, August 11, 2022. The theater has lowered its ticket prices and started selling tickets online. New changes for the season also included a renovated lobby with new TV monitors and Art Deco decor currently under construction.

Fleming had lots of ideas when he took the reins at Cultural Park Theater in March, and the theater’s board of directors jumped at the chance to refresh the place for its 60th anniversary season.

“When Mark came in, he had a vision…” says Robin Murray, an actor, volunteer and board member at the theater.  “And everybody was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, this will be great!’

“That theater is in such a prime spot, and it just needed somebody to love it. I mean, we ALL love it, but we needed someone to really bring it out.”

Right now, workers are busy drilling, hammering and sawing in the theater. But when the place opens Sept. 22 for the musical “School of Rock,” audiences will see a renovated and reinvigorated lobby: Art Deco décor to match the theater’s marquee outside; TV screens showing sponsors and upcoming shows; high-top tables; foldable shelves along the wall for people’s drinks; and a new vestibule with red-velvet curtains leading into the main, 200-seat theater.

“Think of an Art Deco lounge,” Fleming says. “That’s what the look will be.”

Cheaper tickets. And you can buy them online, too

Another big change is happening nearby in the theater’s corner box office: A drop in ticket prices, and — for the first time — the ability for people to buy tickets online.

Cultural Park Theater announced those changes last month. Now tickets are $3-$5 cheaper for plays and musicals: $26 for adults, $22 for seniors and $12-$16 for children and students.

The change goes hand-in-hand with the theater’s new online ticket sales, which start in September. That will make it faster for people to get tickets to shows and other events, Fleming predicts. “It’ll make it easier for when they have that impulse to say, ‘Hey, let’s go!’”

Prices needed to be brought down after they climbed to “an exorbitant amount” during the pandemic, he says. Fleming wants to make live theater more affordable for families and younger people — epecially now, with inflation rising and everyone facing steeper grocery and electricity bills.

“I believe in all ages being able to go to experience theater,” he says, “and I believe families need to be able to go and take their children. Because they need to be exposed to it.”

Cultural Park Theater executive director Mark Fleming smiles while interacting with a group of performers during an audition for the theaterÕs 60th anniversary season Thursday, August 11, 2022. The theater has lowered its ticket prices and started selling tickets online. New changes for the season also included a renovated lobby with new TV monitors and Art Deco decor currently under construction.

Another way to draw in families and younger crowds: Concerts and other outdoor events in Cultural Park, the sprawling 16-acre campus that includes the theater, the Cape Coral Museum of History, the Cape Coral Art League and a new neighborhood park expected to open later this year.

Fleming says he’s still working out exactly what those events will be, but he’s hoping to program live music, car shows, food festivals and more. “I’m looking at a variety of things. … We’ve got 16 acres to play with out there. There’s so many other possibilities.”

More changes at Cultural Park Theater

Other developments at the Cape Coral theater include:

  • An emphasis on more Broadway and name-brand shows for the theater’s new season, including the Neil Simon play "Rumors" and the musicals "Pippin," "Grease" and "The Sound of Music."

  • More concerts, both indoors and outdoors.

  • Two new rehearsal spaces and a VIP reception area.

  • Recent auditions to find fresh talent for the theater’s 60th season and beyond.

  • A push to find more volunteers for a variety of theater tasks, including music, sewing and design.

  • An search for sponsors to support each concert, play and musical. Broadway shows aren’t cheap, Fleming says. The average musical costs $5,000 just for the rights, and that’s before the added expenses of costumes, props, the set, etc.

  • And plans for live musical accompaniment for the theater’s 2023-24 season — or perhaps later this season — including a pianist for some shows and a small orchestra for others. The theater mostly uses pre-recorded music at the moment.

Fleming says he’s doing what he can to bring the theater into modern times.

“There’s a lot of things happening,” he says. “It’s slowly but surely.”

Board member Murray can't wait to see all these changes come to life at Cultural Park Theater. And she predicts they'll help draw in new audiences and keep them coming back for more.

“It’s gonna be beautiful,” she says.

Giana Randall sings along with pianist Carrie Guffy during a a theater tryout. Cultural Park Theater hosted auditions for its 60th anniversary season on Thursday, August 11, 2022. The theater has lowered its ticket prices and started selling tickets online. New changes for the season also included a renovated lobby with new TV monitors and Art Deco decor currently under construction.

Cultural Park Theater’s Broadway Series

Here are all the plays and musicals planned for the Cape Coral theater’s 60th anniversary season:

  • “School of Rock,” Sept. 22-Oct. 2

  • “The Women,” Oct. 13-23

  •  “Pippin,” Nov. 10-20

  • “The Sound of Music,” Jan. 12-22

  • “Rumors,” Feb. 16-26

  •  “Grease,” March 9-19

  • “Crimes of the Heart,” April 20-30

  • “Private Lives,” May 11-21

To learn more about Cultural Park Theater, call 772-5862 or visit culturalparktheater.com.

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Email him at crunnells@gannett.com or connect on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral Cultural Park Theater discounts tickets, makes more changes