Naples is getting a Christmas Carol that its own theater boss spent a year rewriting, and the ghost at the end of it stands 20 feet tall. Previews start Tuesday, opening night is Friday, and the run closes on Christmas Eve.
Gulfshore Playhouse founder, CEO and producing artistic director Kristen Coury adapted and directed the production, which Florida Weekly reported is a new interpretation of Charles Dickens, staged on the Moran Mainstage. Previews run November 17–19, the show opens November 20, and performances continue through December 24, 2026. The company is in its third season in the newly built theater at 100 Goodlette-Frank Road South, a 40,000-square-foot facility at Goodlette-Frank Road and First Avenue South.
A Year on the Page, Then a Ghost That Towers
Coury has said she had never seen the story told quite this way. On the theater's cast announcement she put a bow on the rewrite: "it now becomes a gift from me to Naples."
That gift is a script, not a free ticket. Naples Illustrated reports she spent a year on the adaptation and goes further into Scrooge's apprenticeship, his relationship with Belle, and his dealings with a young Jacob Marley. The familiar route is still there — past, present and future, and the chance to change — but the early business partnership gets more room than the usual carol allows. The same account says audiences can expect a 20-foot Ghost of Christmas Future.
Florida Weekly describes live music, dancing, original music and theatrical effects. Scenic design is by Robert Mark Morgan, original costumes by Lisa Zinni, and original music and sound by two-time Tony nominee Lindsay Jones. Dann Dunn choreographs. Sarah Wussow is music director.
Scrooge, Cratchit and a Bench of Kids
Christopher Patrick Mullen plays Ebenezer Scrooge in his Gulfshore debut, the playhouse says. His credits include the first national tour of the West Side Story revival, Off-Broadway work, and more than three decades with People's Light. Jeff Williams stands by for Scrooge and Marley.
Jonathan Spivey, also making a Gulfshore debut, plays Jacob Marley. He has appeared on Broadway in The Front Page and Act One, the latter televised on PBS's Live From Lincoln Center. Oliver Prose returns as Bob Cratchit after playing Barry Mann in Gulfshore's Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; he originated Alex Mann in the Broadway musical New York, New York.
Steven Rattazzi, who made his Broadway debut in Indecent, plays the Ghost of Christmas Present. Sarah Killough plays Christmas Past. Talia Sulla is Belle, Ben James Tyrrell is Fred, and Cáitlín Burke is Mrs. Fezziwig. The Cratchit children include Santiago Sepulveda as Peter and Amia Korman as Martha. Sixteen Gulfshore Playhouse Conservatory students, ages 7 to 13, appear as well. Ensemble roles include Erin Burniston, David Bonanno, Matthew Nikitow, Kyle Patrick, Tiana Marie Williams and Aubrie-Mei Rubel, with Noah C. Yager as an understudy.
The Complimentary Seats Are Invitation-Only
The night that is actually free is narrower than the civic language around it. On November 17, the first preview date, Gulfshore hosts Hospitality Night: a complimentary performance for Naples hospitality professionals, available by invitation, with advance reservations and limited seating. An anonymous donor established it. Coury has said hospitality is at the heart of what makes Naples special. The general public still buys a ticket.
Tickets are at gulfshoreplayhouse.org or through patron services at 239-261-7529. The run ends Thursday, December 24.
