ANNA MARIA – After the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to live theater in 2020, the Island Players are excited to kick off their historic 73rd season on Thursday, Sept. 16, with a production of “The Savannah Sipping Society,” directed by Mike Lusk.
“It’s the story of four women who meet at a hot yoga session and none of them can last very long, so they decide to get together for cocktails and quickly become fast friends,” Lusk said. The comedy was written by the trio of Nicholas Hope, Jessie Jones and Jamie Wooten, who wrote scripts for The Golden Girls television series and other productions involving Southern characters.
Lusk is no stranger to the Island Players, having worked as director, stage manager and other roles for about a decade, like many Players who have served in various capacities for several years.
“I actually acted on this stage in 1975,” said Priscilla Boyd, who is the stage manager for this production and also runs lights and sound. Boyd is a retired nurse and enjoys working in the theater, doing what she loves.
“It’s community theater,” she said. “You don’t do it for the money, you do it because you love it.”
Both Lusk and Boyd give a great deal of credit to Sylvia Marnie, the president of the Island Players, for her strong leadership and dedication to making the theater company what it is today.
“Sylvia is very, very good to work with; she’s smart,” Boyd said. Lusk agreed, saying that Marnie was instrumental in keeping the theater going in the right direction during the COVID-19 pandemic when no productions could be held.
The Island Playhouse, located at 10009 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, is one of the oldest structures on Anna Maria Island. It was originally a home in Parrish that was loaded onto a barge in 1912 and floated down the Manatee River to its current location at the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue. In addition to the structure being historic, the Island Players is the oldest community theater in Manatee County, dating back to 1949.
Tickets for “The Savannah Sipping Society,” are $25 and are available at the box office. Call 941-778-5755 for ticket information or visit the website, http://www.theislandplayers.org. The production runs from Sept. 16-26.
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