1. September 30, 2015
The Naples Players to present Spinning Into Butter October 28 - November 21
Naples, FL - The Naples Players will present Spinning Into Butter, written by
American playwright Rebecca Gilman, October 28 - November 21, in the Tobye Studio at
Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples. The production will be directed by Anna
Segreto who studied acting and directing at the American Stanislavski Theater in N.Y.C. and
has directed several previous Naples Players’ productions.
In this provocative drama, students and administration alike are forced to confront
their own feelings on racism when an African American student at Belmont College begins
receiving racist hate mail. What they discover is not at all what they expected.
Denise Villarreal stars as Sarah Daniels, Dean of Students at the fictional Belmont
College who struggles with her own prejudices as she attempts to navigate the controversy at
Belmont. Villareal has participated both on and off stage in numerous Players’ productions,
most recently on stage in Legally Blonde.
Naples Players veteran, Janina Birtolo, will play the part of Dean Catherine Kenney.
Janina most recently performed on the Naples Players stage as Rose in The Last Romance.
Juan Alejandro takes on the role of Patrick Chibas, a sophomore at the mostly-white
college who fights to find his place at a school that does not recognize what he considers his
true ethnicity. Juan is a regular of the Southwest Florida theatre scene, preforming most
recently at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers as Septimus Hodge in Arcadia and at the
FGCU Theatre Lab in both Depotic Twilight Zone and Bloody Poetry.
Another theatre regular gracing the stage is Marilyn Hilbert as Mrs. Meyers.
Marilyn’s latest performances include Evelyn in Sunset Park and Gingy in Love, Loss &
What I Wore, both with the Marco Players.

2. Making their Naples Players debuts are Bill Richards playing Burton Strauss, the
Head of Humanities at Belmont College, Derek Perry in the role of college senior Greg
Sullivan and Paul Nicodemi as Ross Collins, a professor at the school. This is Richards’ first
time back on the stage since high school when he performed in George Washington Slept
Here. Perry performed locally last fall in the dramatic comedy 4,000 Miles and in summer
2014 as Stephen in The Irish Curse. Nicodemi’s recent acting credits include the role of
Brian in last winter’s Let’s Put On a Show production of The Lyons’.
Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under, and can be purchased at the box
office, with credit card by calling 239-263-7990, or online at www.naplesplayers.org. Sugden
Community Theatre is located at 701 5th Avenue South, Naples.
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