Hooray for Hollywood - The 2025 Carrollwood Players Gala

Presented by Real-Time Labor Guide

Honorary Chairs - Patricia and Steven Farber

Gala Chair - Jen Martin

Sunday, November 16th - 5 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Carrollwood Cultural Center
4537 Lowell Rd, Tampa, FL 33618
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Are you ready for your closeup?

On the evening of Sunday, November 16th, 2025, the sky will be filled with spotlights, the paparazzi will be crowding the rope line, the red carpet will be filled with famous feet and the biggest stars will align at HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD, the 2025 Carrollwood Players Gala.

Join us for an unforgettable evening of food, drink and fun as we celebrate Carrollwood Players, raise funds in support of great community theatre for all, and pay homage to the greatest music and moments in film history with our live show!

Individual Tickets: $125

Play it By Ear - Holidays Gone Wild

 A Black Box Comedy 

 Directed by Krista Virga and Lisa Chase

 November 21st - 23rd, 2025

 Friday at 8 p.m.

Saturday at 2 p.m and 8 p.m.

Sunday at 2 p.m

One of the most outrageously funny shows in the history of Carrollwood Players is BACK, with a holiday twist! What happens when a group of actors walks onto the stage to perform a comedy they’ve never heard of?

In Play it By Ear, our actors have NO advance knowledge of the play they must perform. In fact, no one knows what might happen until the audience chooses one of several colored boxes containing scripts for several plays.

The only thing that’s certain is that all of the possible plays have a holiday theme. And they are all fun!

With the help of a stage full of props and costumes that might come in handy, our cast will perform whatever play the audience chooses ON THE SPOT.

Will the play be about Thanksgiving? Christmas? Hanukkah? New Year’s Eve? Nobody knows!

Don’t miss this wild evening of experimental theater that is sure to be a laugh riot!

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

A Holiday Mainstage Classic 

Adapted by Jim Russell

Directed by Joise Marsh

December 5th - 21st, 2025

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. matinee on December 13th and 20th.

CWP’s annual holiday tradition returns to its roots as we present the beloved, classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas, adapted for the stage with all the Victorian splendor, warmth, laughter and storytelling you expect from the original Dickens novella.

Will Ebenezer Scrooge change his ways in time for Christmas? Will Tiny Tim and the Cratchits find hope? Will the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future successfully complete their mission in old London town this snowy, wintry Christmas Eve?

Bring the whole family for a magical journey through time as we present this beautiful story that will inspire you to laugh, be of good cheer, and experience a heartwarming message about the power of love and kindness

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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The Carol Burnett Show

A Black Box Comedy 

Directed by Alicia Spiegel

Presented by an Anonymous Supporter - "Comedy = Tragedy + Time"

January 9th - 18th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Carol Burnett is known as one of the most brilliant comedians of all time, and the wildly popular Carol Burnett Show had Americans glued to their TVs for 11 years, garnering 25 Emmy awards and inclusion in Time magazine’s list of the “100 Best TV Shows of All Time.”

It’s the early 1970s and you are a member of the studio audience on Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. As you settle into your seat, the lights dim, that familiar theme song begins to play, and our own cast of cut-ups take to the stage as Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman and special guests to perform a collection of the show’s funniest and most memorable comedy sketches. And you never know what might happen when this funny foursome and their friends go off script.

Also featuring questions with Carol, hilarious TV commercial parodies and more!

The entire staff of the original Carol Burnett Show are donating their share of profits from this production to the Navajo Children’s Scholarship Trust.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

The Carol Burnett Show is presented by arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service.

The Carol Burnett Show is included in our 5-pack Black Box Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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Arnie and the Itch 

by Marc S. Sanders

A Mainstage Comedy

Directed by Marc S. Sanders

Presented by Walter S. Sanders and Associates, CPA

January 23rd - February 7th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. matinee on January 31st

Thanksgiving has become demanding on the Solan family.

Not only is there the traditional holiday to prepare for, but there’s also a Bar Mitzvah for young Arnie coming up.

With all this on the mind of his overbearing Grandmother Edith, Arnie will somehow have to endure a tortuous 3 piece suit, court his first crush, and help his older brother avoid the wrath of Grandma when a precious high school graduation ring goes missing in a very unusual way.

This coming of age story depicts the love, conflict and craziness of a caring Jewish family, living in Fair Lawn, New Jersey in 1985.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Arnie and the Itch is included in our 8-pack and 5-pack Mainstage Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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Disaster! 

by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick

A Mainstage Musical

Directed by Thomas Pahl

February 27th - March 21st, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. matinee on March 7th, 2026

Earthquakes, tidal waves, infernos and the unforgettable songs of the '70s take center stage in Broadway’s side-splitting homage to classic disaster films.

It's 1979, and New York's hottest A-listers are lining up for the opening of a floating casino and discotheque. Also attending is a faded disco star, a sexy nightclub singer with her eleven-year-old twins, a disaster expert, a feminist reporter, an older couple with a secret, a pair of young guys who are looking for ladies, an untrustworthy businessman and a nun with a gambling addiction.

What begins as a night of boogie fever quickly changes to panic as the ship succumbs to multiple disasters, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and infernos. As the night turns into day, everyone struggles to survive and, quite possibly, repair the love that they've lost... or at least escape the killer rats.

Dozens of the most unforgettable and scintillating hit songs of the '70s are hilariously woven into the story in this laugh-a-minute, toe-tapping musical comedy.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Disaster is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI.) All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Disaster is included in our 8-pack Mainstage Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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My Big Gay Italian Wedding

by Anthony Wilkinson

A Black Box Comedy 

Directed by Kevin Still

March 27th - April 5th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Andrew and Anthony are getting married – and everyone wants to "help"!

My Big Gay Italian Wedding spins into a hysterical fiasco as everyone tries to have their way.

From a saboteur ex-boyfriend to a loud, opinionated, outspoken Italian mother, personalities and cultures collide in a music and dance-filled extravaganza of hilarity.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

My Big Gay Italian Wedding is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

My Big Gay Italian Wedding is included in our 5-pack Black Box Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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A Streetcar Named Desire

by Tennessee Williams

A Mainstage Drama

Directed by Marc S. Sanders

April 17th - May 3rd, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. matinee on April 25th

In one of the most renowned plays of the American theater, Blanche DuBois, a schoolteacher from Mississippi, arrives in New Orleans and takes a streetcar named “Desire“ to the French Quarter, where her sister, Stella, and Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski, live barely above squalor.

Blanche’s affectations of refinement set her immediately at odds with blue-collar Stanley, who is further incensed when he learns his wife’s aristocratic inheritance has been forfeited to creditors.

Believing that Blanche has sold the estate for personal profit and is swindling Stella and Stanley from sharing in the proceeds, Stanley disdains and demeans Blanche, who fights back in the only way she knows: with her genteel femininity.

The Kowalskis’ Elysian Fields apartment becomes a pressure cooker of sensuality and class tensions, until ultimately erupting into some of the most iconic dramatic moments seen on the modern stage.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

A Streetcar Named Desire is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

A Streetcar Named Desire is included in our 8-pack and 5-pack Mainstage Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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Lady Windermere's Fan

by Oscar Wilde

A Black Box Classic Comedy 

Adapted and Directed by Jeff Slagle

May 15th - 24th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Set in the Victorian world of London’s high society, this timeless comedy explores the complexities of love, trust, and social expectations and captivates with its sharp dialogue, intriguing characters, and unexpected twists.

Watch as the innocent Lady Windermere struggles with her jealous feelings toward her husband’s new interest in the older, mysterious Mrs. Erlynne, and witness the unfolding of Mrs. Erlynne’s dark past through lies, gossip, and assumptions.

Perfect for lovers of classic theater, Lady Windermere’s Fan is a must-see performance that continues to enchant audiences with its brilliant humor and profound insights.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Lady Windermere's Fan is included in our 5-pack Black Box Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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Rent 

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

A Mainstage Musical

Directed by David J. Valdez

June 5th - 27th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. matinee on June 13th

You La Vie Boheme! Jonathan Larson's iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love.

Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.

Based loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, Jonathan Larson's Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

Rent is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI.) All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

Rent is included in our 8-pack Mainstage Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.

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The Gods of Comedy

by Ken Ludwig

A Mainstage Comedy

Directed by Miguel E. Rodriguez

August 14th - 30th, 2026

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 2 p.m.

The Ivy League will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption.

Daphne and Ralph are young classics professors who have just made a discovery that's sure to turn them into academic superstars. But something goes disastrously wrong, and Daphne cries out in a panic, "Save me, gods of ancient Greece!"...and the gods actually appear!

Presented with the support of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.

The Gods of Comedy is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

The Gods of Comedy is included in our 8-pack and 5-pack Mainstage Season Ticket.

Business Sponsorships and Family/Individual Sponsorships are available for this production.