Naples couple pledges $1.5M for new Gulfshore Playhouse theater

An effort to build a new downtown Naples theater received a big boost Tuesday.

Sandi and Tom Moran of Naples have pledged $1.5 million toward the Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre and Education Center, expected to be built near Goodlette-Frank Road and First Avenue South. Sandi Moran is a member of its board of directors.

Gulfshore Playhouse — which for years has performed plays at Norris Community Center in Naples — in October announced its first corporate gift of $250,000 from Bank of America. That gift brought the campaign total to more than $20 million of its $53 million construction and land goal.

It’s hoping to build a new 350-seat theater, creating a 40,000-square-foot cultural center.

They’re hoping to break ground in January 2021.

Dave Osborn, Naples Daily News