Bravo Theatre

Bravo Theatre offers acting, singing, dancing, and theatre activities with a focus on musical theatre education and performance opportunities. The program works with children in Monroe County and is part of the Fringe Theatre team.

Bravo Theatre’s mission is to provide quality, professional level musical theatre education to the young minds of Monroe County, with a focus on outreach to children in need through scholarship programs and in-school education. The program aims to nurture personal and emotional growth, as well as character and community development, through performance opportunities that will translate to real world applications. It offers a comprehensive learning experience that touches on all aspects of the theatre world and aims to give an adequate depiction of the process of production. Bravo Theatre is in its first year under the umbrella of the Fringe Theatre, Key West, and its original incarnation was in 2009. Penny Leto has been with the project since its original incarnation in 2009, and Lauren Thompson has been a collaborator with Bravo since 2010.

The leadership team includes director Penny Leto, director Lauren Thompson, sound professional Ben Pegg, lighting designer Kendall Cameron, set designers Jack McDonald and Rick Worth, costume designer Gary “Sushi” Marion, spot director Aramis Ikatu, and Fringe Theatre’s artistic director Rebecca Tomlinson. Penny Leto is the owner and operator of the Coffee Mill Dance Studio since 1983 and has been a performer and choreographer in theatres in town, an original member of the Fabulous Spectrelles, and a lifelong educator who has taught theatre and dance in schools in the lower keys and with Keys Kids. Lauren Thompson is a Key West native who has been performing on local stages since childhood and, since moving back in 2017, has worked as an actress, choreographer, and director in theatres in Key West and provides theatre education year round with different organizations and schools. Ben Pegg is a Florida-based producer and songwriter, a sound designer for the Waterfront Playhouse, Red Barn, and The Studios of Key West, and an accomplished guitarist and singer songwriter. Kendall Cameron is a lighting designer whose work is primarily seen with the Fringe Theatre and also at The Studios and Tennessee Williams, and was previously a school principal. Jack McDonald is a creative visual artist, born and raised in Key West, and is the set designer for the Red Barn Theatre. Rick Worth has been instrumental in the creation of Monroe County’s Arts in Public Places development and has created murals on buildings from Key West to Plantation Key. Gary “Sushi” Marion studied fashion design at Bassist College, trained at Jansport, worked in NYC Fashion Week for 6 years for Ohne Titel, designed the shoe for Key West’s New Years Eve shoe drop, and has been a costume designer in the theatres in Key West for 27 years. Aramis Ikatu is a lighting designer, camera operator, cinematographer, writer, actor, and singer. Rebecca Tomlinson is the artistic director of the Fringe Theatre Key West, has a PhD in theatre, and is an accomplished director and actor.

Bravo Theatre focuses on outreach to children in need through scholarship programs and in-school education and collaborates with artists who are active in the community’s theatre world. It is described as dedicated to growth and education for children in the world of theatre and as providing a creative, fun, safe environment for children to learn and grow.

Last updated May 31, 2026.