Joe Dafeldecker (Florida Repertory Theatre)
Bradford Building 10
Historic Bradford Building and Historic Arcade Theatre in downtown Fort Myers. Built in 1901 as the Bradford Hotel. The Arcade Theatre opened in 1914 as a touring Vaudeville house, before becoming a movie theatre in the 1920s.
Florida Repertory Theatre took over downtown Fort Myers’ Historic Arcade Theater in 1998 and has since grown to be one of the top regional theaters, earning national attention from critics and helping to revitalize downtown Fort Myers’ now-bustling arts scene. The silver anniversary season was supposed to kick off with a musical dedication to jazz icon Billie Holiday, which was halted due to the storm. While the 107-year-old theater suffered flooding, restoration is underway and the troupe is gearing up for a brilliant return. We’re particularly excited for the witty historical fan-fiction piece, which artistic director Greg Longenhagen dubs a “play of ideas,” with Freud’s Last Session. The story pins the neurologist against Chronicles of Narnia writer C.S. Lewis in an intellectual tour de force. The show goes on!