Mary Tyler Moore to Present 'Distinguished Dedication and Service to the American Musical Theater' Award to Bernadette Peters at WCP

By: Aug. 24, 2011
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Mary Tyler Moore will present Bernadette Peters with Westport Country Playhouse's Distinguished Dedication and ServIce To the American Musical Theater Award at the historic theater's annual gala on Monday evening, September 19. Moore and Peters are friends who co-founded Broadway Barks, an annual dog and cat adoption event benefiting New York City area rescue shelters. 


Moore is primarily known for her groundbreaking roles on television's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970 - 77) in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-66) as Laura Petrie. She also appeared in a number of films, most notably "Ordinary People" (1980), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Tony Award-winning Peters has dazzled audiences and critics with her performances on stage, in television and films, on recordings and in concert throughout her illustrious career. In addition, Peters appeared at Westport Country Playhouse early in her career in the musical, "Riverwind," in 1966. At the 2008 Playhouse Gala, she presented a tribute to Angela Lansbury.

Joining The Playhouse celebration, which also marks the legendary venue's 80th birthday, will be a star-studded group of alumni artists whose work has graced the Westport stage during their careers. Planning to attend The Playhouse gala, schedule permitting, are Lucie Arnaz, Joel Grey, Sheldon Harnick, Tom Jones, Jo Sullivan Loesser, Laurence Luckinbill, James Naughton, Christopher Plummer, Jane Powell, Stephen Schwartz and JoAnne Woodward.

Westport Country Playhouse's 2011 annual fundraising gala, "Playing Our Songs: Celebrating 80 Years of Musical Theater," will include pre-show cocktails at 6 p.m., a performance by Broadway talents, featuring a retrospective of musicals that have been produced at The Playhouse since its founding in 1931, at 7:30 p.m., and post-show dinner and parties at 8:45 p.m. In addition, there will be silent and live auctions of unique and one-of-a-kind items, and a "giving tree" in support of The Playhouse's educational and artistic programs.

Gala tickets are $2500, $1000 and $500. Corporate sponsorship packages are available. For more gala information or ticket purchases, contact Kathryn Gloor at (203) 227-5137, ext. 122, or kgloor@westportplayhouse.org.

About The Playhouse

Reimagining itself in recent years, Westport Country Playhouse is rapidly emerging as a nationally recognized professional theater. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos and management direction of Michael Ross, The Playhouse creates five live theater experiences, produced at the highest level, from April through November. Its vital mix of works---dramatic, comedic, occasionally exploratory and unusual---expands the audience's sense of what theater can be. The depth and scope of its productions display the foremost theatrical literature from the past---recent as well as distant---in addition to musicals and premieres of new plays. During the summer, The Playhouse is home to the Woodward Internship Program, renowned for the training of aspiring theater professionals. Winter at The Playhouse, from November through March, offers events outside of the main season---Family Festivities presentations, Script in Hand play readings and a Holiday Festival. In addition, businesses and organizations are encouraged to rent the handsome facility for their meetings, receptions and fundraisers.

As an historic venue, Westport Country Playhouse has had many different lives leading up to the present. Originally built in 1835 as a tannery manufacturing hatters' leathers, it became a steam-powered cider mill in 1880, later to be abandoned in the 1920s. Splendidly transformed into a theater in 1931, it initially served as a try-out house for Broadway transfers, evolving into an established stop on the New England straw hat circuit of summer stock theaters through the end of the 20th century.

Today, the not-for-profit Westport Country Playhouse serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut. There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build.
Westport Country Playhouse's five-play 2011 season: "Beyond Therapy," a wicked, and wickedly funny, look at the days and nights of the young and single, written by comic master Christopher Durang and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, April 26 - May 14; "The Circle," the scintillating comedy of manners, written by W. Somerset Maugham and directed by Nicholas Martin, June 7 - June 25; "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," a perceptive comedy about people struggling against their limitations, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director, July 12 - July 30; "Suddenly Last Summer," the poetic, sensual and evocative drama, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, August 23 - September 10; and "Twelfth Night, or What You Will," the beguiling comedy/romance, written by William Shakespeare and directed by Mark Lamos, October 11 - November 5.

For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to The Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse) or get an insider's peek on The Playhouse Blog (www.theplayhouseblog.org).



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