St. Stephen Theater Troupe Staging 'Man of La Mancha' This Weekend

With actors, an orchestra and stage hands from all over Eastern Hillsborough County, the St. Stephen Theater Troupe will stage “Man of La Mancha” beginning this weekend.

The first performance is tonight, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Nativity Catholic Church, 705 East Brandon Blvd.

Director Tammy Modica said the cast is raring to go.

“The cast is amazing. They are all anxious to start performing in front of an audience. They are really ready for it. They look and sound amazing.”

A video and digital media director for Good News Ministries in Tampa, theater is a lifelong love for Modica, a Bloomingdale High graduate.

“I started acting in fifth grade and then in high school I began doing more backstage work,” Modica said.

“It’s more fun for me backstage,” said Modica, 28, who was an assistant director at Bloomingdale when the school staged “The Crucible.” “I get to design and build sets, set the mood and the ambiance and really set up the entire show.”

“Man of La Mancha” is her second time in the director’s chair. Modica directed the St. Stephen troupe in “Little Women” last year.

Modica recruited some of the area’s top acting and singing talent for the popular musical.

“We the cast and crew is pretty much equally divided between actors from St. Stephen, Nativity and local acting groups.”

Orchestra director Susanne Hathaway, a teacher at Music Showcase, employed the same strategy when picking her team of musicians from both churches.

Stage manager Kristen Lunden, 24, is working to make sure every light, set and microphone is working on opening night.

“It’s all worth it when everything comes together in the end.”

As it is with most theater productions, there’s been a run to get everything in place for the show, which started rehearsals in June.

“It’s been giant rush at the end but I have a lot of confidence in the cast and crew.”

The show is a “dream come true” for Peter Sanders who plays Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s faithful sidekick in the show. Dave Hickie, a St. Stephen parishioner, plays Quixote.

“I have seen Dave perform in 10 to 15 shows over the years and really admired his work. Getting the chance to work with him is great,” said Sanders.

A singer all his life, Sanders started acting in community theater five years ago. He has played Curly in “Oklahoma” and took on the lead role in “Sweeney Todd” last year with the Footlights Theatre Productions.

Sanders grew up in a musical family. His dad teaches music at Boyette Springs Elementary School while his mom plays first violin in the Tampa Bay Symphony Orchestra.

“I just love telling a story and being part of it. It brings me a fulfillment I have never gotten from anything else in my entire life. I just have to perform,” said Sanders.

There are nerves among the cast but that is only natural, Sanders said.

“There’s nervous energy but we can just pour that into our performance. It will be a great performance.”

ST. STEPHEN THEATER TROUPE - MAN OF LA MANCHA

•When/Where: Aug. 19-20 and 26, 7:30 p.m., Aug. 27 at 2 p.m., Nativity Catholic Church, 705 E. Brandon Blvd., Brandon.

•Cost: Tickets are available at St. Stephen, 5049 Bell Shoals Road, Valrico, after Mass and also at the parish office; $10 presale, $12 at the door. Call: 813-689-4900