For the third consecutive year, Cypress Lake High School students will take part in the Fort Myers Fringe Festival. Program director Carmen Crussard says there’s more than mere tradition involved.
“It’s really important for them to get out into the community, to get exposure in the community and just kind of welcome in new audiences and also just get more performance experience,” Crussard said.
The first of their two Fringe productions is “Why Won’t Zee Quack?” a children’s show by local playwright Wayne Keller about a nonverbal duck.
“This is a show about a family of ducks and one duck named Zee who is nonverbal,” said Keller.
Zee’s siblings don’t understand his inability to articulate his thoughts and feelings — or even answer simple, straightforward questions.
The story was inspired by the playwright’s son, Zander, who’s on the autism spectrum. The ducks are a metaphor for the way people with disabilities — and their parents — are often ostracized when they venture out into the world. While Keller notes that society is making progress, many still are virtually excluded from social groups and gatherings.
Keller delivers this message with humor and a Dr. Seuss-inspired rhyme about what people should … and should not feed to ducks in the wild.
Cypress Lake will also perform a modern retelling of "Elektra."
This version calls into question whether the events actually happened or were, instead, the hallucination of a mentally ill young woman. First time student director Katie Cook explains her vision for this psychological thriller.
“My vision with ‘Elektra' was really to have the thoughts of Elektra in her mind closing in on her throughout it, so at a lot of points in the show we have the chorus closing in on Elektra and being part of her mind and her thoughts and really controlling her throughout the show,” Cook explained.
Cypress Lake is one of the top high school theater programs in Southwest Florida. Its production of “Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812” was recently named best musical at the 2026 High School Musical Theatre Awards.
Their talent and training are on full display in “Elektra.”
“Why Won’t Zee Quack?” is Saturday at 10 and 11:30 a.m.
“Elektra, a Modern Retelling” is at 1 and 2:30 p.m.
Both are in the Off Broadway Palm theater at Broadway Palm.
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About Cypress Lake High theatre program
The theatre program at Cypress Lake High School reflects the formidable skills and considerable experience of theatre director and teacher Carmen Crussard, who also directs the Alliance Youth Theatre. For this year’s High School Musical Theatre Awards, Crussard chose "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” as its competition piece.
As WGCU noted in its spotlight of this show, three aspects of this musical made it a huge risk as a musical theater competition piece for high school students. First is its genre- defying musical score, characterized by some as an electro-pop opera or, as lead actress Gigi Lieze-Adams said, “18th century meets techno music.” Next, it’s based on a scandalous slice of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” Finally, the story required a multi-tiered set, dozens of period costumes that possessed a rave, punk flair, and hundreds of lighting cues.
The gamble paid off, both during its run and the cast’s performance of a medley of songs from the show during the Musical Theatre Awards. The judges chose “Nastasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” as this year’s Outstanding Overall Production, as well as winner in the Outstanding Performance by an Orchestra category.
In addition, Gigi Lieze-Adams was named Outstanding Performer in a Female-Identifying Role, with Reagan Fournier, Gabriel Cruz and Christian Varela taking away runner-up honors as Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Female-Identifying Role, Outstanding Performer in a Male-Identifying Role and Outstanding Performer in Supporting Male-Identifying Role for their portrayals of Mary, Anatole and Balaga, respectively. In addition, Sasha Hirshberg received the Outstanding Student Technical Achievement Award for her costume design for “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” and Gigi Lieze-Adams was Outstanding Performer in the role of Natasha.
More about ‘Why Won’t Zee Quack?
In a world where every duckling is expected to quack, a quiet youngling, Zee, dares to be different. “Why Won't Zee Quack?” is a heartwarming tale about a non-verbal duckling who, despite being teased by his noisier siblings, ultimately becomes their unlikely hero. When danger strikes, it’s his unique way of seeing the world — and his silent courage —that saves the day. This charming play celebrates the power of individuality, the strength in differences, and the truth that every voice matters… even the ones we can’t hear.
When he’s not tending bar at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, Wayne Keller is writing plays. Last year, Theatre Conspiracy performed the world premiere of his comedy, “Sharing the Same Umbrella” in the Off Broadway Palm. It won BroadwayWorld’s award for Best New Play.
The prolific playwright pens more than 10 new plays per year.
He also writes children’s theater.
“My son has special needs, and so I've come up with whole worlds that kind of serve as parables for my son,” said Keller. “Why Won’t Zee Quack?” is the first of a series on six such stories.
Having children of his own, Keller has read and watched a great deal of kids' stories.
“I’ve seen so many terrible kid shows, but when you get something like a ‘SpongeBob,’ you're like, ‘You know what? I'm writing this for the kids, but I also have to keep the parents in mind too because they’re likely to be watching it too.’ So I write parables about different values and life lessons, but I won't come across heavy-handed, and at the same time, I try to bring up the intelligence level and not stoop down to beneath them.”
Although he’s been writing plays for more than 20 years, Keller got his start in film. He quickly discovered that it’s expensive and extremely time-intensive to convert a screenplay into a movie.
“Working at Broadway Palm, I have been able to network with so many fabulous people, and it's just been a domino effect of ‘Hey, you should talk to this person, you should talk to that person.’ That’s how I met Lucy [Sundby] and how I met [Theatre Conspiracy Artistic Director] Bill [Taylor]. So it's always networking and you just never know who you can work with.”
Another person Keller’s met along the way is Rachael Endrizzi. She’s an actor, director and teaching artist.
Her acting resume includes both theater and film. Her stage credits include a number of productions in the Off Broadway Palm, including Bridget in "Nana Does Vegas” (Off Broadway Palm, 2021), Anna in “‘Til Theft Do Us Part” (Off Broadway Palm, 2021), Linoleum in “Great American Trailer Park Musical” (Off Broadway Palm, 2020) and “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Show” (Off Broadway Palm, 2019). She also recently directed "The 39 Steps" for Theatre Conspiracy.
Through her Spark Theatre Company, she developed and produced “Why Won’t Zee Quack?” in Elyria, Ohio, where’s she’s subsequently traveled the show to 18 area schools. As a result, more than 3,500 students have gotten to see the story of Zee and his family. [A number of Southwest Florida theaters also take children’s shows into area schools, including Naples Performing Arts Center, The Naples Players and Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota. Others, including Broadway Palm and Florida Repertory Theatre stage shows especially for preschool and elementary school children.]
He’s also partnered with Julian Sundby to create a cartoon based on the book that can be found on YouTube.
“He came up with a little tune, got a professional narrator and condensed the story so that it’s almost like a trailer of what you’ll see in the stage play,” said Keller.
Keller hopes that “Why Won’t Zee Quack?" and its sequels sensitize people to the challenges faced by children and the parents of children with disabilities when they go out in public.
“I hope that people will pause a little bit when they see different parents with their children out in public and be a little bit more compassionate, be a little bit more patient and understanding,” Keller said. “It is very easy for special needs kids to be frustrated and every child is different. So parents with special needs children really appreciate people’s patience and understanding when we’re out in public.”
His idea was to create a non-threatening story that enables other children and their parents to walk in the shoes of special needs children and their parents.
“When you get down to it, special needs persons have just some of the most beautiful hearts that you'll ever come across,” Keller added. “You just have to have your eyes open and see it.”
While Cypress Lake will perform “Zee” twice on Saturday, the 11:30 show is already sold out. That’s because the theater has been booked by the Challenger Baseball League.
“Challenger Baseball is a fantastic organization right here in Lee County,” said Keller. “We have kids of different ages and all kinds of different special needs. It doesn't matter what they are, every child gets to play. This is all about inclusion. No balls and no strikes, just smiles.”
Seats are still available for the 10 o'clock show, and are only $5.
Cast of ‘Why Won’t Zee Quack?’
Mama: Ella Maas
Dee: Tristan Michael
Stuffy: Miracle Joston
Shiny: Reagan Strachan
Zee: Isaiah Beneche
Owl: Harper Schofield
Stage Manager: Addy Myers
Maas played the title role in Cypress Lake High’s March production of Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice.”
Reagan Strachan was runner-up at the 2026 High School Musical Theatre Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Female-Identifying Role for her portrayal of Mary in “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.”
Cast of ‘Elektra’
Elektra: Reagan Strachan
Orestes: Cristian Davis Varela Morales
Doctor: Parker Madison Hemmer
Young Elektra: Maria
Young Orestes: Olivia Lynn Kanady
Agamemnon: Harper Jane Schofield
Clytemnestra: Parker Madison Hemmer
Chorus: Alana Laurie Banker, Isaiah Pierre Beneche, Brooke Barcelona Cashen, Quinn Shelley Hall, Heza Abera Kajeguhakwa, Ella Deborah Maas, Adelynn Hope Myers, Zivah Marie Sholomith, Ashanti Cherisa Watkins
Nurse: Genevieve, Sasha Belle Hirshberg, Claire Adelaide Lain, Olivia Nicole Schiller,
“Elektra is a very hard part to take on because Electra is in this mental institution and she has so much going on in her head,” noted student director Katie Cook. “But Reagan is amazing in the role. Her performance is very strong and definitely worth coming out to see.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
