The Dixie Swim Club at The Naples Players

The Naples Players will present the endearing and witty comedy The Dixie Swim Club by Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten, and Jessie Jones. Collectively known as Jones Hope Wooten, this trio enjoys the reputation of being three of the most popular and widely produced playwrights in the United States. They specialize in writing laugh-out-loud comedies and creating vivid strong roles for women. The Dixie Swim Club will run April 20 – May 15 in Blackburn Hall at Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples. John McKerrow will direct.
Enduring friendships are at the heart of this lively story where five very different women, who met on their college swim team, reconnect every year at a beachfront home in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Leaving husbands, jobs and kids behind these women come to laugh, reminisce and meddle in each other’s lives. With the southern charm of Steel Magnolias and the biting repartee of The Golden Girls (which Jamie Wooten was an award-winning writer for), The Dixie Swim Club is a hilarious and often touching tribute to friendships that last a lifetime.
Appearing as Sheree, the hyper-organized and athletic group leader, is Genai Corban. A newcomer to Naples, this will be Corban’s first production with The Naples Players. Though just debuting with the Players, Corban is no stranger to the stage, having performed in numerous shows in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and London during her 30 years in the entertainment industry. A long-time member of SAG-AFTRA, with lead performances in several movies and TV shows, Corban was last seen as Anna in Burn This at Players Theatre in New York.
Dolores Fetters will perform as Vernadette Simms, the self-deprecating one of the group whose life seems to constantly be followed by a dark cloud. Fetters, The Naples Players Administrative Assistant during business hours, last performed in the ensemble of 2015’s The Foreigner, and was a featured player in The Women of Lockerbie.
Naples Player’s veteran Carol Fox stars as Lexie Richards, the beautiful Southern belle obsessed with her youth. Most recently Fox has performed the roles of Aunt Eller in Oklahoma, Mrs. Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone and Clairee in the 2012 production of Steel Magnolias.
Dinah Grayson, the dry humored, overachieving, and sometimes cynical lawyer of the ensemble, will be played by Ann Hoover. Hoover is welcomed back to the stage after performing as Mrs. Boyle in 2013’s The Mousetrap, and as the acerbic Ouiser Boudreaux in the 2012 production of Steel Magnolias.
Susan West will play Jeri Neal Mcfeeley, the sweet as pie, sometimes naïve, former nun. This will be West’s theatrical debut , having recently moved to the Naples area after working as a high school teacher in Arlington, Texas.
Theatre-goers should note that Wednesday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. this year. Thursday through Saturday performances start at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under, and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 239-263-7990, or by visiting www.naplesplayers.org. Sugden Community Theatre is located at 701 5th Avenue South, Naples.