Page 66 - LIN_December 2022

M E ET THE

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST…

by Lauren Speirs

Everyone loves a comeback story! All of us at The Naples Players are delighted that Kevin Kenneally is
gracing our stage again in “A Christmas Carol, The Musical” after a two year hiatus due to a knee
injury. Healed and ready to take the stage, Kevin is thrilled to portray Marley in this classic production!
... It’s a joy to come here
Kevin joined TNP almost a decade ago for The Drowsy Chaperone. “I was retired and needed
something other than home projects and I had done community theatre when I could fit it in with and do a show
teaching in Massachusetts. I thought I would try it again. I auditioned for something in the Tobye because you know
that required three accents that I believe were: Russian, Viennese, and Brooklyn. After the audi- everyone is going to
tion, I knew I didn’t have the part, but later on I received a call to play Underling in The Drowsy get along and
Chaperone. When I arrived here, I thought to myself ‘this is not your usual community theatre,’
and it has really lived up to that! Dawn and Charlie (Fornara) are great to work with and they’re a work hard. Things like
part of the reason I keep coming back. A Christmas Carol was also an opportunity to work with that bring you
Bryce (Alexander).” back again and again.
Previous community theatres Kevin worked for were certainly not at the same professional level
as The Naples Players. “Usually it was in a school auditorium, it was the director’s first production,
and you only rehearsed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Meanwhile, at TNP, our volunteers rehearse
daily and have significant time on stage to prepare with costumes and lighting before opening
night, just as professionals would.

66 Life in Naples December 2022