- April 25, 2024
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Erin Weinberger and her mom, Amy Weinberger, who said the Players have helped Erin earn professional acting jobs.
Sarasota twins Gabe and Liv Tunks entertained the crowd with 1970s dance moves.
Sarasota twins Gabe and Liv Tunks.
Players Artistic Director Jeffery Kin was ready to get the event started as the guests began to come through the doors at Lakewood Ranch Country Club.
Ken Junkins, the Players' technical director, and his wife, Kathy, who is a director for The Players, are excited the new theater in Lakewood Ranch is coming close to being a reality.
Lakewood Ranch's Margo Lovett and Players board member Gayle Logan are excited plans for the new theater complex in Waterside Place are moving forward.
David and Hope Carey, Players Artistic Director Jeffery Kin and Peggy Kronus and Jerry Lamb are smitten with The Players fundraiser at Lakewood Ranch Country Club.
Players supporter Janet Davies visits with Players Chair Donna DeFant.
Sarasota's Valerie and Kevin Tunks enjoyed seeing their twins, Liv and Gabe, dance at Smitten.
Lakewood Ranch's Barbara Matazinski and Sarasota's Linda Morgan check out the silent auction items.
Bradenton's Justin and Harloe Rifner said they have yet to attend a Players event, but they are looking forward to going in the future.
Sarasota's Steven and Martha Novick said they will miss the old Players theater.
The crowd gathered for the second annual Smitten fundraiser for The Players Centre for Performing Arts.
Listening to those who attended the fundraiser Feb. 9 at Lakewood Ranch Country Club, it was easy to understand why they are smitten with the Players Centre for Performing Arts.
Sarasota's Erin Weinberger, who currently is performing in "Kiss Me Kate" at The Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, said participating with The Players since she was 5 basically educated her.
"I would tell anyone who is aspiring to be a performer to go to the Players," Weinberger said. "They taught me how to walk into a room as a professional. They taught me how to work with a director, how to take notes, how to audition."
Weinberger and her mom, Amy Weinberger, were attending Smitten with the 70s, the Players' second annual benefit for its Arnold Simonsen Studio. The Players is building a new theater complex in the new Waterside Place hub of Lakewood Ranch.
Amy Weinberger said those living in the Lakewood Ranch area should be excited about the new theater as the Players' had a tremendous impact on her daughter.
"I thought it was the best-kept secret in town," Amy Weinberger said. "It raised so many great talents."
Next in line could be 10-year-old twins Liv and Gabe Tunks, who performed 1970s' style dances for the crowd at Smitten with the 70s. They both perform for both the Players Kids group as well as in the Players main performances.
Liv Tunks said she was excited about the new theater, but will be sad to leave the old one in Sarasota.
"It is where I did my first performance," she said.
