CEO & Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury Awarded 2023 Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award
Naples, FL – Gulfshore Playhouse and The Collier Citizens Council are pleased to announce that Kristen Coury, a stalwart of the arts in Collier County, is this year’s winner of the Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award, given annually for extraordinary contributions to the community.
“I’m humbled and overjoyed to be acknowledged as this year’s recipient of the Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award,” stated Kristen Coury, CEO and Producing Artistic Director. “To be thought to have made a positive impact on our county is gratifying, but what is even more important from a sentimental perspective is that Murray and his wife Pauline were longtime patrons at Gulfshore Playhouse, always sitting in the front row. I am so pleased to receive this award that bears his name in memory of his great service to our community.”
Kristen Coury is the CEO and Producing Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse. She founded the Playhouse in 2004, after moving to Naples from New York City. Under her leadership, the Playhouse has grown to a staff of 57, an annual budget of $8.15M with no debt, and she led the charge to create a $72M state-of-the-art Baker Theatre and Education Center at the gateway to downtown Naples, which will be open to the public in late 2024. Offering more than 40,000 square feet of space, the theatre and education center will enhance the vibrant redevelopment occurring in the downtown area, and spur more than $20 million annually in economic activity within the City.
While in New York, Kristen Coury worked on Broadway for Walt Disney Theatrical’s production of Beauty and the Beast, both nationally and internationally, and for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company, The Really Useful Group, working on Sunset Boulevard and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She has directed over 40 productions for The Playhouse.
Kristen was recently appointed to Florida Council for arts and culture by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. She is a member of the board of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce and served two terms on the board of Theatre Communications Group, the national advocacy group for professional theatres. Kristen was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Business Leaders in Collier County in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, she was named a “Leading Lady” by Naples Illustrated in 2018, one of the Men and Women of the Year by Gulfshore Life in 2013, a “Star in the Arts” by the United Arts Council of Collier County in 2011, and one of the “Top 40 Professionals Under 40” by Gulfshore Life Magazine in 2008.
Coury also spearheaded a powerful public/private partnership by donating purchased land adjacent to the theatre site to build a new municipal garage at 1st Avenue South and 12th Street South. With the valuable donation of land from Gulfshore, this location will leverage the Naples Community Redevelopment Agency’s resources for the benefit of all residents and local businesses.
This centrally located site will serve as an anchor to the dynamic redevelopment occurring in the area, including the future Gulfshore Playhouse theatre and education center. Neighboring businesses and the entire 10th Street corridor will benefit from this investment, as well as those businesses and restaurants in renowned Naples destinations such as Bayfront, Tin City, and Fifth Avenue. This transformational change that is on the verge of becoming a reality will help our community continue to thrive and enhance quality of life.
Coury also proposed the donation of land to the City of Naples for the purpose of builidng a public parking garage, and a land swap with Wynn Properties, resulting in a mixed-use retail and restaurant establishment, this $100M public/private partnership will change the face of downtown forever
ABOUT THE MURRAY HENDEL AWARD
The Murray Hendel Civic Achievement Award was established in remembrance of Murray Hendel, a local icon and cofounder and first president of the Collier Citizens Council. It is awarded annually to a Collier County leader who has made an extraordinary contribution to the community.
Past recipients were Carrie Kerskie for her efforts to combat identity theft, Judge Janeice Martin for her work to advance mental health services, Nancy Lascheid for leadership in providing medical care to the underprivileged, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk for enlightened law enforcement to safeguard county residents and Nina Gray for her tireless efforts to aid the needy.
ABOUT GULFSHORE PLAYHOUSE
Gulfshore Playhouse is passionately committed to enriching the cultural landscape of our region by producing professional theatre to the highest artistic standards and providing unique educational opportunities to diverse groups of people in a spirit of service, adventure, and excitement. The work of Gulfshore Playhouse is inspired by a belief in the magic of theatre to expand the imagination, challenge the senses, provoke discussion, and revitalize in its audiences an understanding of our common humanity. This belief drives the care with which Gulfshore Playhouse treats its artists, audiences, students, staff, and members of the greater community.
Gulfshore Playhouse is under construction on the state-of-the-art Baker Theatre and Education Center. Located at the corner of Goodlette-Frank Road and 1st Avenue South, the gateway to downtown Naples, the facility will house a 368-seat mainstage theatre and a 125-seat studio space, in addition to numerous events, rehearsal, and educational spaces. Naming opportunities are still available.
For more information about Gulfshore Playhouse or its new facility, or to make a contribution, visit www.gulfshoreplayhouse.