Creative Loafing reviews Gross Indency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde "...Michael Titone as Wilde's lover Lord Alfred Douglas is superb: angry, vulnerable and rebellious, and dangerously ignorant of the calamity that's brewing. Welcome back, Gypsy. This is an eye-opening, important play and a fine way to announce your rebirth." Read the full review here, Our Condolences to the family and friends of "Bill" Rothstein Gypsy Productions Inc. wishes to express it's deepest sympathies to the family and friends of William "Bill" Rothstein. Barry and Bill headed up the many Tampa Bay Bears visits to the Suncoast Theatre. Bill passed on Sunday August 3, 2008. A memorial page has been created on www.talentquestflorida.com. Please remember to appreciate, Validate and love your family and Friends every moment of every day! St Pete Times: Homeless Gypsy gazes into the future John Fleming of the St. Petersburg Times recently sat down with Trevor Keller, Gypsy Productions' Artistic Director to talk about the future of Gypsy, after Suncoast. You can read the entire article here. Suncoast Resort Closing We need your support as we move forward We appreciate this opportunity to brief you on Gypsy Productions, Inc. We would like to apprise you of our current situation and our need to develop a financial partnership with members of our valued community. On September 26th, 2003 Gypsy Productions, Inc. was formed by theatre professionals who wanted to see live alternative theatre remain in St. Petersburg. This project was sparked by the death of Brett Lassiter, founder of Central Stage Theatre, 2002. On November 21st, 2003 Gypsy Productions Inc opened its inaugural show, SLAP & TICKLE by David Parr. In 2004, Gypsy Productions Inc. became a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization. As of May 2007, Gypsy Productions has performed 29 shows, with a combined attendance of 15,749. Gypsy Productions also provided entertainment by world renowned artist Jade Estaban Estrada as a kick off for both the 2004 and 2005 St. Pete Pride events. As well, in cooperation with Gary Bruel, Artistic Director (Sarasota AIDS Theater Project) and American Stage, Gypsy Productions Inc. has brought awareness to the AIDS epidemic through A Night of Alternative Theater 2005, 2006 & 2007. As you are fully aware, running a theater takes a financial commitment. So far, all of the costs associated with running the theater have been covered solely by ticket sales and some individual donations. On May 17th Gypsy Productions Inc. received notice that the Suncoast Resort had been sold to Home Depot and effective June 17th, 2007, it would be closing. Although our goal was to have our own location offsite, this news was quite unexpected and at a very inopportune time. We suddenly found ourselves without a theatre in the middle of our 4th season. While we have been able operate successfully in the past on tickets sales and individual donations, we realize that this will no longer meet the expenses (building lease or purchase, utilities, insurance, etc.) that Gypsy Productions Inc. will incur as we move forward. Gypsy Productions Inc. is asking for your help. We are seeking your sponsorship and/or donations to make our theater a continued success. We are in need of a building to house Gypsy Productions Inc. & the New Suncoast Theatre. With your generous support, we expect to bridge the financial gap to continue to keep alternative theatre alive in St. Petersburg. For those of you who have assisted us with your generosity in the past, thank you! Now more than ever, we need your financial continuance for our survivability. Without your help, the artistic creativity that we have shared would never have been possible. Thank you for considering our request for assistance in earnest. We look forward to hearing from you soon, and would like to thank you in advance for your anticipated support. Your continued generosity will ensure that Gypsy Productions Inc. will find a new home and continue with our 2007 Season and insure the stability of alternative theater for years to come. Gypsy Productions Inc. is a qualified tax-exempt entity recognized under IRS Code 501(c)3. Please feel free to contact us through our website or by calling our temporary business number at 727-644-7077. Trevor Keller, Artistic Director Daryl Epperly, Business Manager Gypsy Productions Inc. Two Spoons Review From Mark Leib's review in Creative Loafing: "...with Peter Mercurio's Two Spoons, Gypsy is offering us a tightly staged production that's as professional as anything you'll find at American Stage, Stageworks or Jobsite. The script is wonderfully literate (if not very important); the acting is superb; the design is attractive. ...Trevor Keller's direction is kinetic, as fluid as Mercurio's script, and the simple set, by Keller and Harris, is just right for the small Suncoast stage. Keller scores again -- assisted by Daryl Epperly -- with the attractive, felicitous costuming. All in all, this show looks as good as any Gypsy has ever presented." Read the entire review here. Independence Review From Mark Leib's review in Creative Loafing: Gypsy breaks out. Lee Blessing's Independence is one of the best shows Gypsy Productions has ever offered. Four excellent actresses, crackerjack direction and attractive design turn this exploration of family dysfunction into a riveting and rewarding two hours at the Suncoast Theatre. I recommend it to all truth-seekers hungry for drama with substance. The play is about a cruel and disturbed woman, Evelyn Briggs (the very talented Lynne Locher), and her three daughters: Kess (the slowly unfolding Lisa Ruzzi), a lesbian who usually stays far from home; Jo (the superb LeAnn Chester), a single pregnant woman who has chosen to act as Evelyn's caretaker; and Sherry (the delightful Naomi R. Welsh), a resolutely promiscuous beauty who can't wait to graduate high school and leave home forever... In the course of nine well-crafted scenes, we watch the havoc Evelyn wreaks on the strong but still vulnerable younger women, and the bonding of the three in the face of their ruthless, needy opponent... As directed by Trevor Keller and Brad Minus, Independence has the look and feel of life itself: unpredictable, only occasionally governable, never quite what it's supposed to be. Keller's living room set is the most convincing I've ever seen at the Suncoast...I may have seemed harsh in some of my reviews of earlier Gypsy productions, but it was always in the hopes that I'd eventually find a gem like this one. Now it's here, and I've got to tell you: This is worth your valuable time. See it and feel better about your own family -- and about the surprising Gypsy. Read the entire review here. Twilight of the Golds Review From the St. Petersburg Times review: "...even a family held together by strong bonds of love can be shattered by a single act deemed unforgivable by one of its members. By the end of the play, the Golds have become entangled in a tragedy of operatic proportions, a fact not lost on opera-loving David, the gay brother [David] who drives the story to its devastating climax. ...Daniel Harris portrays David as brimming with charm, exuberance and a consuming passion for opera. Harris' high-energy performance dominates every scene he's in... Twilight opened on Broadway in 1993. But Tolins' warning that a family can be destroyed by a failure of love remains as urgent as ever, and the Suncoast production provides a potent and disturbing theatrical experience." Read the entire article here. Psycho Beach Party Review Weekly Planet reviews Gypsy Productions' staging of Psycho Beach Party: "...production of Charles Busch's Psycho Beach Party that is solidly acted, beautifully designed, cleverly directed and, in short, presented with taste. ...Gypsy...has demonstrated that it's capable of real artistry." "...the acting, the directing, the design are of a piece: top-notch. Gypsy Productions has done itself proud, perhaps prouder than ever before." Read the entire article here. Driven by a Higher Power Weekly Planet arts reviewer Mark E. Leib recently sat down with Gypsy Productions' artistic director Trevor Keller, to talk about what makes him persevere in the face of hardships, and what direction Gypsy is going in. "[Trevor]...literally feels called by a Higher Power to bring gay theater to local audiences, and who's committed to persevering in spite of financial difficulties and the reluctance of the Bay area's two daily newspapers to review his productions. Keller, I learned, is an HIV/AIDS survivor who believes there's a reason he's still alive and who intends to give Gypsy the kind of staying power that its model, Central Stage Theatre, didn't have after the death of its artistic director, Brett Lassiter. Keller is aware of Gypsy's challenges... but he's devoted nonetheless to the theater's evolution." We're retaining a history of Gypsy Productions through both photographs and older News items. For our News Archive, please click here.