Sarasota’s Starlite Players say ‘Thank You — I Think’

For its last show of 2016, Starlite Players in Sarasota is staging a collection of comedies that it’s calling “Thank You — I Think.”

The distinctive company has kept up a hectic schedule since it debuted in July of last year. Every month, company founder Jo Morello and her associates find four short works, out of hundreds submitted specifically to the company from all over the country, and then cast them, design them, rehearse them and stage them. With only about three weeks between performances, that’s an impressive amount of work.

Starlite takes December off for some holiday R&R, so if you don’t catch this month’s show, you won’t be able to see Starlite until 2017.

The plays in “Thank You — I Think” are “Slip and Fall” by Scott Mullen, “Dolly Gets Her Shot” by Cary Pepper, “Close Encounter” by Robin Pond and “Frisking Happy Gaylord” by Les Hunter.

Hunter’s play is a world premiere. Starlite previously has staged two of Mullen’s plays, “Potential” and “Next,” and two of Pepper’s, “Gram Scams” and “Mark My Worms.”

The plays are all recent, and you’re unlikely to have seen any of them. But if you follow local theater, you’ll recognize a lot of the actors and directors involved in Starlite productions. Among the theater stalwarts involved in this month’s show are Mark Woodland, Melliss Swenson, Grace Vitale, Jenny Aldrich Walker and Don Walker.

The company’s intimate space is upstairs from the Starlite Room, and your theater ticket gets you a discount on dinner before or after the show in the restaurant.

Details: Nov. 10-13, The Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Ave., Sarasota. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday. $17.50. 941-587-8290, starliteplayers.com.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Sarasota’s Starlite Players say ‘Thank You — I Think’."