TheatreZone is Naples’ Premier Professional Musical Theatre Company
Among the theatre community in Southwest Florida, Mark Danni and Karen Danni are household names. Mark, a director, conductor and percussionist, and Karen, an actress and choreographer, established Naples’ TheatreZone in 2005 and are celebrating the 20th season of the theatre company in 2025.
The Dannis’ Naples connection began in 1999 when they were busy theatre professionals in New York City with big careers on Broadway and off. That year, Mark was playing percussion on the national tour of Fame: The Musical, when the show came to the Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts (former name of Artis-Naples). Karen Danni came down for a visit. With an astute eye for investing, she recognized Naples as a booming town and began looking at real estate. They settled on a house in Naples Park as a vacation home and an investment property, and rented the house to actors and musicians who were on tour playing Artis-Naples and the Barbara B. Mann.
They were happy with their life in New York City and their flourishing careers with no plans for careers based in Naples.
Mark playing
percussion on the
national tour of
Fame: The Musical
Snap shots
of Mark
and Karen growing up.
Meet Mark Danni
Mark Danni is a sought-after theatre professional as a director, conductor and drummer. As a teenager (he picked up his drumsticks at 10-years-old) his remarkable talent was noticed and he was invited to join orchestras for theatre productions in his native Buffalo, N.Y. He honed and expanded his conducting and percussive skills as a music student at Baldwin-Wallace University in Cleveland, where he received his Bachelor of Music Education in 1988, with an emphasis on conducting.
He also studied acting and script analysis at The Acting Studio in New York City and participated in intensive Shakespeare workshops at Florida Gulf Coast University. A highlight of his education is the musical theatre workshop in NYC with legendary Broadway music director Jack Lee, a treasured mentor.
(In the fall of 2018, Mark won the Baldwin-Wallace University Conservatory of Music Alumni Achievement Award. Each year, the Conservatory of Music recognizes an outstanding alumnus who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit so deeply rooted in Baldwin-Wallace culture. The university noted that Mark not only shines in this regard, but is an accomplished musician, contributes to the development of future musicians, and serves voluntarily in the community.)
Mark’s other early career highlights include drumming on Broadway for shows such as Chicago, Grand Hotel, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Joseph … Dreamcoat, Annie Get Your Gun, and Nunsense. He quickly moved into the conductor’s chair with the national tours of Barnum and Les Misérables. He also toured with The Phantom of the Opera, 42nd Street, Hair (the 25th anniversary tour), Evita, and Fame, the musical that brought him to Naples when it played at the Philharmonic for the Arts (later renamed Artis Naples).
While conducting on the national tour of Les Misérables (1996-1998), Mark became a favorite conductor for many of the cast members. The director of the national touring company, Karen Carpenter, noticed his natural talent with directing performers, and started teaching him the ropes and encouraged him to start directing himself. Directing became a passion, and he began working in regional and Off-Broadway productions.
With Mark’s career as a director established, the Naples connection accelerated when Mark and Karen learned that the Naples Players were looking to hire a director and choreographer for its 2002 production of Oklahoma. Mark and Karen met with Naples Players’ artistic director, Dallas Dunnegan, and both accepted their jobs in August of 2001.
New Horizons
A volunteer assistant stage manager for Oklahoma, Allan Wolf, was also the Director of Admissions for the Community School of Naples, which was looking to expand its arts curriculum. He introduced the Dannis to then headmaster of the school, John Zeller.
“We toured Community School with our son, Luke, in a stroller,” recalled Mark Danni. “I was offered the opportunity to create a theatre program for the students, but we were happy in New York with our professional lives.”
Karen Danni’s intuition was at it again when she nudged Mark awake one night in New York with an idea: Agree to start the theatre program in Naples in exchange for starting an Equity theatre company that would be in residence at the school’s beautiful 250-seat G&L Theater. Zeller agreed, and the Dannis moved to Naples — pregnant with twins!
Teacher & Director
The Dannis got busy with creating TheatreZone. “We liked the idea of being ‘in the Zone’ when you came to our productions,” Mark explains. Their first task was securing a contract with the Actors’ Equity Association to ensure access to the best actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and stage management professionals from throughout the country.
Another major milestone was establishing TheatreZone as a nonprofit 501(c)3 theatre in 2005. Becoming a nonprofit solidified the foundation of the company. It meant that the company was able to accept tax deductible donations to help with productions costs, staffing and keeping ticket prices affordable.
The mission? “As musical theatre was Karen’s and my passion, we would search for the hidden musical treasures of Broadway and produce productions of these award-winning gems,” commented Mark.
A highlight of this period was TheatreZone’s first donation from Dot and Moe Kent, the honorary chairs of TheatreZone’s 20th anniversary celebration, to be held Feb. 11, 2025.
The Dannis brought passion and fire to Naples when creating TheatreZone and drew musical theatre luminaries to its stage from the outset.
“In order to let people know who we were, we mounted our first production: Jerry Herman’s Mack & Mabel starring Gary Sandy, star of WKRP In Cincinnati. It was such a success that we said let’s do another one immediately,” said Mark.
“Before we had online ticketing, I had a TheatreZone cellphone and a metal box with paper tickets. I manually took credit cards and plotted the seating chart with a yellow highlighter,” Mark recalled.
“We’ve been fortunate to cast incredible talent in our musicals, including celebrities and Broadway veterans,” Mark said. Well-known performers have included Gary Sandy (WKRP in Cincinnati); Donna McKechnie, Tony Award-winning star of A Chorus Line and TV’s Fame; Eddie Mekka, Laverne & Shirley; Georgia Engel, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Everybody Loves Raymond; Andrea McArdle, Broadway’s original Annie; Nancy Dussault, Too Close for Comfort and the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, and many more.
20 years of
musical theatre milestones
Our 20th Season
The 20th season musical lineup continues the Dannis’ flair for selecting a bold and vibrant mix of a big Broadway splash (Jersey Boys) and three edgier gems – Once, The Rink, and Ghost: The Musical. The season kicks off with TheatreZone’s traditional opener in Dec. 2024, the musical extravaganza, Home for the Holidays.
