Southwest Florida-based playwright, author, and actor Joe Simonelli is the Producing Artistic Director of the region’s newest theater venue, Cape Café Theatre. This off-Broadway, repertory-style venue in the heart of Cape Coral opened it’s first show in March and is now holding auditions for a third production of Simonelli’s work. The café theatre offers patrons a unique experience, as the stage is situated inside a bakery offering delicious desserts and coffee included with the price of admission, which is $25.
Meanwhile, Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers is running a production of Simonelli’s hilarious farce “Half Baked” in the Off-Broadway Palm Theatre through May 24. The play was written in collaboration with Simonelli’s long-time girlfriend Lori Jean Sigrist.
Simonelli is a New York transplant and a prolific playwright having penned nearly two dozen full-length plays including comedies, dramedies, ghost stories, thrillers, and a musical about internet dating titled “Romace.com.” His plays are produced regularly by theater companies throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
The Cape Café Theatre’s next show will be Simonelli’s play “Roommates,” which first garnered comparisons to the late, great playwright Neil Simon, who’s responsible for such classics as “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” and Brighton Beach Memoirs.”
Simonelli joins us to talk about the new Cape Café Theatre, his artistic journey through theater, and his creative approach to playwrighting.
