Naples' Whitney Winfield a princess, muckraker, beast tamer

When she was 8 years old, Whitney Winfield's mother took her to a Naples Players production of “The Sound of Music." After the performance, she bounded up to the stage and stood on it.

“This is what I want to do. Find me a play to be in!” she pleaded to her mother in the seats below.

Winfield is getting her wish three times over this summer. She's in three overlapping musicals, playing three totally different characters for nightly performances at the 1,920-seat open-air Tuacahn Theater in Ivins, Utah. 

Her calling card is Fiona, feisty heartthrob of Dreamworks animated favorite Shrek. The green fairy tale star and his milieu have jumped from drawing boards onto the musical stage, and Winfield played Fiona on its last national tour before coming to Utah.

"That was a crazy challenge as a 22-year-old just out of college. It was tough because of the schedule. We played 30 of the 50 states and 70-plus cities,"  she recalled. "I learned a lot about myself and how challenging this career can be."

At the same time she's playing Fiona, the former Barron Collier student has been rehearsing for a high-energy role as Katherine in Disney's "Newsies," the musical of crusading young Victorian news carriers.

Then she twirls into an ensemble role for "Mama Mia," when the theater opens it later in the summer.

Winfield, who has been creating characters out of herself since elementary school, isn't worried about giving Katherine a Fiona line.

"They're such different characters," she said. But she appreciates their similarities. "They're both strong women, and I like both of them.

"Sometimes as an actor you ... don’t agree with a certain writing style or a certain message. But these characters are role models, especially for young women, I think. We have a lot of families coming to the theater in the summer, and I love sharing that message with young girls especially."

The Fiona character also gives Winfield's sense of humor a free rein, said Barbara Winfield. 

"She's got a great sense of humor and she gets to use it here. She's  a very funny girl." 

In fact, when Winfield daydreams about future roles, they always have a sense of humor — the baker's wife in Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" and Louise in "Gypsy."

Both also have extensive musical demands, and despite Winfield's Interlochen Arts Academy and Pace University musical theater training, she still has a vocal teacher back in New York, where she lives now.

"It's going to be a very diverse vocal season," she said. "With these two roles I get to do everything, from belting to one moment in 'Shrek' when I have this very operatic piece." 

Her Disney aura must come naturally; as a teenager she came home from Interlochen in 2007 to play Belle in another Disney tour de force, "Beauty and the Beast," for Naples Players. Whitney specializes in demanding roles, from Maureen in "Rent," to Emma in "Jekyll and Hyde" and the heroine of "Brooklyn, the Musical."

As important as the training to stay limber for singing and dancing is her physical health, and Winfield has learned to be careful about hers. 

"As a 22 year old you think you’re invincible," she said wryly. Amid tours from Alaska and Alabama, Winfield learned to respect the local climate. The outdoor amphitheater in Utah has been a special challenge: "I found  being out here it's extremely dry. I have to hydrate like I’ve never had to hydrate before."

Her family will come out  to see her this summer. "We're doing a lot more traveling with Whitney in this career," said Barbara Winfield. But she said that's become its own treat.

Her daughter still enjoys trips back to Florida to see her family and friends who know she's most likely to be with them in spirit.

"I'm glad I have friends that are true friends, who understand I'm not around much. They get it," she said. She also has a boy friend in New York with whom she tries to talk with daily, also a challenge with the time zone differences, she said.

"This isn't for everyone," Winfield warned of show business. But her work is obviously important to her: Winfield said she doesn't spend her off-days as many actors do, flying to other auditions or submitting resumes. She trusts her agent to do that.

"I find when I do that I'm always thinking about the next job instead of what I'm doing.

I try to fully invest myself and really enjoy the roles I'm playing."